This essay was written during the study of
Master of Education - Specialising in Digital Education
Charles Sturt University - Australia
Technical and Further Education (TAFE) discuss the implementation of technology into the learning environment to assist in preparing students to have the skills required for the 21st Century workplace. Identify two (2) barriers to learning through digital integration that is likely to impact student success and discuss strategies for addressing them.
21st Century Skills comprising of critical thinking, decision-making, problem-solving, communication, cooperation, responsibility and creativity are integral skills for success in a digital workplace and society (Hilt et al, 2019, p. 384). This essay will discuss the implementation of technology into the learning environment in Technical and Further Education (TAFE) to assist in preparing students to have the skills required for the 21st-century workplace. This essay will discuss two barriers to learning through digital integration that is likely to impact student success and will recommend strategies for addressing them.
Skills for the workplace, past, present and future
The careers of the future are unknown due to the development of new technology and as a result, students are required to develop transferable skills to survive a changing workforce (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2019, p. 9). According to Kuhn (2017), introducing technology into the learning environment will enable students to develop digital literacy skills of how to interact, engage, communicate and use a range of modalities to share knowledge with their peers (p. 13). Van Larr et al (2020), argue 21st Century skills and digital skills are described on a conceptual level only and as a result, there is a large amount of ambiguity surrounding future skills (p. 2). To succeed in a digital economy the ability to problem-solve using technology-rich environments is considered the foundation of digital proficiency (Jinghong et al, 2020, p. 178).
The Digital Literacy Skills Framework defines digital literacy as a core foundation skill alongside language, literacy and numeracy with digital literacy a major requirement to participate in a global society (Australian Government Department of Education, 2020, p. 4). Digital literacy skills in the Australian workforce are low and as a result, this will impact Australia’s ability to maintain global competitiveness (Gekara et, al, 2019, p. 21). For Australia to participate in a digital economy there needs to be widespread adoption of high-level digital integration and skills across all industries and occupation levels to ensure graduates are equipped with 21st Century Skills (Australian Government Department of Education, 2020, p. 26).
The education system is continually faced with the decision of what students should be learning and as a result, pressure is put on the education system to meet the demands of industry (Beck, 2020, p. 5). In the past, institutionalised schooling used didactic teaching strategies known as Fordism, where learning was instructed-led by the teacher through textbooks as a method to teach to the test and a hierarchy of authority encouraged respect of authority (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 89). The Fordist approach to teaching did not allow for critical thinking, communication or high-order thinking and is not suitable for future adaptability (Wei et al, 2019, p. 4). The Post-Fordist view emerged as employees were required to work autonomously and have problem-solving skills to use advanced technologies on the production line (Miller, 2020, p. 41).
With Post-Fordism workers now interacting with colleagues in the workplace, educational institutions started to modify teaching practices to promote peer collaboration and self-directed learning (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 86). As a result, The Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector in 1974 introduced non-trade education, traineeships and jobs in the service industry under Commonwealth funding to meet the changing needs of society and the workplace (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019, p. 18). The funding of the VET sector is closely aligned to government social-political policies and agendas, it is a widely held view policymakers need to inject funds into VET to prepare Australians with the skills required for the 21st century (Reeson et al, 2016, p. 8).
Critical analysis
At present, the ambiguity of introducing 21st Century skills into education is highly contested, with many holding the view skills for the future are driven by government funding and policy (Van Laar et al, 2020, p. 2). Norwegian educators argue, 21st Century skills are an act of neoliberalism driven by the human capital theory to steer education towards government policymakers and are not aligned with lifelong learning and adaptability for changing society (Hilt et al, 2019, p. 394). Peter argues, that education is seen as the catalyst to solve labour issues and the social-political problems of the world, however, this is a theory that never works in practice (Peters et al, 2019, p. 245). The challenges facing educators are the limited training programs that assist in teaching and developing 21st Century Skills and the ambiguity surrounding the required digital skills for the future. (Jinghong et al, 2020, p. 178).
In March 2020, The World Health Organisation announced COVID-19 as a global pandemic and around the world educational institutions transitioned from face-to-face to online learning as a method to flatten the spread of the virus (Duccharme, 2020). COVID-19 has identified the challenges of living in a digital world bringing with it a new perception of education, with the view we need to introduce a human-centric digital strategy into the workplace (Nachmias et al, 2021, p. 123). COVID-19 has changed future careers as we shift to a new virtual working environment resulting in a career shock as many new possibilities and opportunities are emerging (Li, et al, 2020, p. 331).
The Future of education Post-COVID-19 has resulted in new investment in TAFE to provide the skills required for the roadmap to recovery (Greene, 2020). The competency-based training and holistic nature of TAFE provide a flexible framework to prepare graduates with the skills required for the future (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019, p. 26). To maintain a strong workforce the TAFE sector is an integral agent to provide the required Digital Literacy skills required for the global economy (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2019, p. 9). For success, new teaching methods are required, replacing traditional Face-to-Face learning with digital blended learning opportunities utilising on-site and offsite teaching strategies to provide graduates with 21st Century skills (Educause, 2020, p. 11).
Two Barriers to Digital Integration
According to Anderson (2020), digital integration into the learning environment is not effective when technology is used incorrectly due to students' and educators' limited digital skills and confidence (p. 457). Nationally the internet infrastructure is available to almost all Australian however more than 2.5 million remain offline and there is a widening gap between richer and poorer Australians, with low-income households scoring 30.0 points lower than high-income households (Thomas et al, 2020, p. 5). Educators need to be aware of the digital divide and acknowledge students may have limited access to devices and connectivity, consequently, this impacts how a learner engages with technology (Aguilar, 2020, p. 286).
A strategy to assist students with the digital divide starts in the learning environment, where technology can create a shift in pedagogical practice (Mason et al, 2019, p. 202). The adoption of a new educational framework that is student-centred, flexible, collaborative and promotes lifelong learning is required to prepare students for future skills (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2019, p. 9). An education system holding onto traditions of hierarchy and outdated curriculum does not support new learning strategies to provide students with transferrable skills required in the 21st Century (Kemmis & Edwards-Groves, 2018, p. 33).To reflect, change will be successful when there is an organisational shift in culture, ownership and engagement by both the student and educator (Mason et al, 2019, p. 202).
Arguments & Views of Colleagues
In an interview with a colleague regarding digital integration into the learning environment, D. Lund a TAFE Learning and Development consultant advised many educators in the college are resistant to teaching Digital Literacy skills due to a lack of confidence and limited Professional Development (PD) opportunities (Debra, Lund, personal communication, May 26, 2021). To ensure student success educators need to participate in PD opportunities to develop digital problem-solving skills over a broad range of technology and digital information (Jinghong et al, 2020, p. 184). Educators are the foundations of institutions and play an integral role in preparing students with digital problem-solving skills, therefore, teacher training and professional development opportunities are required to fill the digital gap (Jinghong et al, 2020, p. 179).
This argument is supported by a second interview with S. Burrows, a TAFE lecturer who expressed the difficulties of teaching digital literacy when students have different devices through the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy (Sophie, Burrows, personal communication May 29, 2021). Sophie argues, that students using a variety of digital devices disrupts the classroom as she spends a large amount of time showing students how to carry out a task on a variety of modalities; and this disrupts the quality of learning (Sophie, Burrows, personal communication May 29, 2021).
TAFE requires students to BYOD as many classrooms do not have digital devices or infrastructure to accommodate digital learning, this is due to a lack of government investment in the sector (Alexander et al, 2013, p. 8). BOYD has many issues with students complaining of having to carry around equipment all day, short battery lives and limited assistance from educators when using their own devices (Nuhoglu et al, 2020, p. 466). As a strategy to navigate teaching 21st Century skills, educators need to adopt new digital pedagogies and move away from traditional didactic teaching methods of instructor-led learning (Mason et al, 2019, p. 201).
One strategy is BYOD-embedded Flipped learning pedagogy, where the delivery of information can occur off-campus with digital integration and a higher level of discussion and collaboration can occur on-campus and reduce carrying around equipment (Nuhoglu et al, 2020, p. 467). Creating personalised learning approaches through inquiry-based learning, project-based earning, and collaborative and flipped learning strategies will assist in developing the skills required for an adaptable and agile future (Nuhoglu et al, 2020, p. 466). There is growing evidence to suggest learning can occur at any time, at any place due to the ease of mobile technology and devices promoting free choice and self-directed learning (Aguayo et al, 2020, p. 2).
Educators need to acknowledge the style of the learner has changed and design educational experiences that encourage imagination, give students big picture projects to draw on various resources and provide asynchronous activities to support students with limited time and opportunities to access technology (Aguilar, 2020, p. 287). The adoption of Blended Learning using synchronous and asynchronous delivery will assist in closing the gap on the digital divide to provide students with a choice in how and where they learn (Hoffman, 2018).
A barrier to digital integration within TAFE is the outdated Training Packages with many core units having low levels of digital literacy integration, as a result, it is difficult for educators to teach the digital skills required (Gekara et al, 2019, p. 4). An analysis of Training Packages indicates it is possible to complete an entire qualification with underdeveloped digital literacy skills due to outdated training products (Australian Government Department of Education, 2020, p. 26). Long, argues Training Packages are based on traditional didactic teaching frameworks and do not promote collaborative and student-centred learning (Long, 2018, p. 99). In the roadmap to recovery Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged TAFE requires a major over hall to enable the sector to be more responsive to industry and mitigate the red tape attached to a bewildering and unresponsive skills sector (Locke, 2020).
As a strategy to compensate for outdated Training Packages and close the skills gap with job-ready graduates Micro-Credentials and online short courses are providing the soft skills required for the 21st Century workplace (Ruddy et al, 2019). Micro-credentials are competency-based and focused on the demonstration of skills through practical application and assignments and can be completed in a short time frame for immediate upskilling to meet workplace demands (Collins, 2020, p. 52). However, not everyone holds the view that micro-credentials are the answer to digital integration with Ralston arguing that micro-credentials are an extension of the neoliberal economy of learning to earn and the qualifications will not sustain future growth (Ralston et al, 2020, p. 85).
My position statement on integrating technology into the learning environment to promote 21st Century skills in the workplace is to ensure the use of technology is underpinned by pedagogy to create innovative teaching and learning that is student-centred and promotes collaboration (Mason et al, 2019, p. 208). The workplace has evolved from basic knowledge skills that were sufficiently taught by traditional didactic teaching methods, however, to develop 21st Century skills we need to prepare graduates with an aptitude for lifelong learning and transferable skills in a variety of technologies (Beck, 2020, p. 22). The future of education will continue to evolve to create student-centred learning that promotes choice and flexibility through synchronous and asynchronous pedagogies, and this will assist in preparing the workforce with the skills required to participate in a digital society for today and the future.
Reference
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