Up to 70% of the jobs our students will be working in by 2030 don't even exist yet and will require strong competency in the area of digital and 21st Century skills such as communication, collaboration, critical and computational thinking.
Taken from Microsoft's comprehensive report on The Class of 2030 which can be downloaded here.
The Importance of Developing Digital Skills
In the extensive research carried out by Microsoft and McKinsey & Company Education Practice on The Class of 2030, they identified that:
"The fastest growing occupations will require higher level cognitive skills in areas such as problem solving, critical thinking, creativity and social-emotional skills" while in 2019 "58% of employers said new college graduates were not adequately prepared for today’s workforce."
Technology is not only used as a tool to research and record learning at home and in school but also as a means of developing the key skills needed to live and thrive in the 21st Century. As a result, the National Council for Curriculum Assessment (NCCA) have identified 8 key skills that students must learn and focus on in Junior Cycle as listed above. The NCCA also outlines that “Working with digital technology forms a part of each of these skills”, therefore planning and using technology to build students' digital skills forms a fundamental part of learning and assessment in all Irish schools to prepare them with the skills they will need for the world of work today and into the future.
For more information on this, download the NCCA Key Skills of Junior Cycle document.
Blended Learning
Every student learns differently and the built-in tools for education provided by today’s platforms and devices for learning, enable learners of all needs and learning styles to access, demonstrate and record their learning in the way that suits them best, whilst building key 21st Century learning skills.
Using technology effectively in school has been shown to increase student engagement and learning outcomes by providing more opportunities for both teachers and students to personalise student learning.
"98% of students perform better when learning is personalised" (Class of 2030 report).
Learn how Le Chéile Secondary School enabled all students to achieve their potential and increase students' results by personalising learning using iPad.
Download Le Cheile White Paper
See how Malahide Community School increased student outcomes by giving all students access to an iPad for learning.
Download Malahide Community School Case Study
The Need for Training to Increase Digital Competency:
(from Wriggle's Report into Remote Learning)
"50% of Parents want better support and training on school digital learning platforms"
Download Wriggle's Report on Remote Learning here.
Following the first period of remote learning from March to May 2020, Wriggle Commissioned Amárach Research to ask 2,000 parents with school age children about their experiences of digital learning during this time.
The Wriggle Connect Family platform was created to answer the needs of parents and students, highlighted by this research, when it comes to digital learning for education. With 100’s of short, instructional videos developed by teachers and experts in the field of digital safety and wellbeing, all tutorials are created to support parents and students to get the full benefits from the most commonly used platforms and tools for learning; Microsoft Office 365, iPad and Google for Education.