Digital Leaders: How We Can Empower Students

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the role of a digital leader is more crucial than ever. As technology continues to permeate every aspect of our lives, students have a unique opportunity to harness these tools to drive innovation, collaboration, and positive change. Becoming a digital leader isn’t just about mastering technology; it’s about using it to inspire and lead others. Here are some key strategies for students to become effective digital leaders.

The first step to becoming a digital leader is to cultivate a mindset of continuous learning. The digital world is ever-changing, with new tools, platforms, and technologies emerging regularly. Students should stay curious and proactive in learning about these advancements. This can be achieved through:

Online Courses and Tutorials that are offered on platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and Khan Academy can offer a plethora of courses on various digital skills. Many of these courses will be free or have a free auditing option (but without a final certificate). This type of knowledge availability can be crucial for developing new skills.

Many of these courses will operate through webinars and online workshops. Participating in webinars and workshops can provide hands-on experience and insights from industry experts. As with many of us – what we say in the moment have a level of insight that might not exist in a more deliberate and planned online environment and so offer more help to the learner.

These courses will also include reading lists and items for further research. This can be vital when it comes to reading beyond a topic to go into deeper learning. This skill of keeping up with the latest trends through blogs, articles, and research papers is an essential skill for students who wish to go into Higher Education.

While leadership is not solely about technical prowess, having a solid foundation in digital skills is crucial. Digital leaders should aim to focus on developing their coding and programming skills. Learning programming languages like Python, JavaScript, or HTML can open many doors to future opportunities. Many business leaders recognise that their staff lack in many digital skills areas and this can present as an opportunity for many students who take the time to develop their skills in this area.

Data analysis is a skill area that can open many career opportunities. Understanding how to organise,  interpret and analyse data is a valuable skill in making informed decisions. Business and data analysts are two employment areas in which this has a direct impact in business.

The ability to implement digital marketing is a third area in which digital leaders can set themselves as separate to others. Knowledge of how SEO, social media marketing, and content creation works and can help develop leadership skills in effectively promoting ideas and projects.

While we can talk about anlysis skills that are important, we cannot ignore that digital leadership also requires a strong set of soft skills.

The first we will consider is communication. Being able to convey ideas clearly and effectively is vital – both onscreen and off-screen. This includes both written and verbal communication and is becoming more and more important within education – the ability to communicate effectively is being identified as a core skills for leaders, digital or not.

The second aspect we can consider is collaboration. Working well with others, in virtual environments and in the physical world, is essential to effective leadership. Tools like Slack, Trello, Basecamp and Microsoft Teams can facilitate online collaboration. In Northern Ireland, there is an increasing move towards MS Teams and it does improve collaboration when we consider the ability to work on documents collaboratively.

Developing critical thinking skills is another significant skill that pupils should be given opportunities to develop as it is a skill that is required for their professional careers and one that many employers will request evidence of in an application process. By giving pupils an environment where they can work through problems and develop their ability to analyse problems, develop solutions and make decisions is a crucial skill to help them navigate the digital world.

Being a responsible digital citizen is a key aspect of digital leadership. This involves understanding how to have an ethical use of technology. For this, there has to be an understanding of the ethical implications of the technology we use and how as teachers, we can promote responsible behaviour online among students.

Developing cybersecurity awareness will also contribute to responsible digital citizenship. When students have a greater understanding of how to protect their personal information and understanding the basics of online security, they can act in a more secure way when online, and this increased level of knowledge will not only protect them more online, but also help avoid scams or downloading viruses.

A final aspect in this area of being a responsible digital citizen – which is of vital importance to pupils future careers – is digital footprint management. In this, students need to be mindful of the information they share or post online – including information or posts about others. Understanding how this can have a long-term impact is vital to future career and life opportunities. Many employers will now actively look at potential employees who have applied for jobs in their companies as a means of ensuring a good choice for the company.

Digital leaders and leaders in general, inspire others through their actions. We can develop these skills and traits in our students by giving them space and inspiration to start new initiatives. By having an environment where students feel enabled to launch new school projects or initiatives, we can give students a connection to the community that allows them to make a difference. Leveraging technology to solve problems or create value.

Developing student digital abilities so that they can mentor their peer groups is a strong method of sharing knowledge and information. Students teaching their peers can also be an effective way to help students help each other to navigate and learn more about the digital landscape.

Providing opportunities for pupils to participate in communities can aid their digital development and understanding of how important the soft skills of digital citizenship can be. Joining or forming online communities based on technology and leadership can provide students with real life experience to support others, receive support and inspire others as well as providing inspiration to peers can be important lessons and character building moments that help develop the student holistically.

The digital world is dynamic, and adaptability is a key trait of successful digital leaders. Students should be given opportunities to embrace change. Being open to new ideas, tools and more effective ways of working can open new opportunities for students and aid their academic achievement.

Learning from failure is a crucial aspect. Many teachers are actively seeking ways to remove a fear of failure in their lessons, and use failure as a positive teaching tool. Equipping students with the ability to use failure as a means to improve can bring about a significant shift in mindset when experiencing failure.

This aspect of learning from failure can also bring the development of resilience – which is a crucial ability have in the world today. Resilience will empower students to keep a positive attitude and persevere when challenges arrive.

Social media can be a powerful tool for digital leaders and a risky one – at a young age there should be protective and healthy restrictions for students.

However, we should be urging students to build a personal brand. Using platforms like LinkedIn, X , and Instagram to showcase skills, projects, and achievements.

Using social media to network, can have significant positive outcomes for students – connecting with industry professionals, joining relevant industry groups, and participating in online discussions can aid their professional development and their expertise in an area.

Social media can also be used to share knowledge. Sharing insights, resources, and experiences with a broader audience can develop student confidence and aid in their brand development.

There is always a lot to do in schools, but implementing a mentor system can provide valuable insights and guidance to students in their school years and help them navigate the digital world.

Students should look to find a mentors and schools should look to build a system that offers this or connects pupils with external mentors that could be connected with their areas of interest/career. Students could look for their own mentors within their school, community, or online who can provide advice and support.

There is also the opportunity to join programs: Participate in mentorship programs or internships that offer real-world experience and learning opportunities.

The role of a mentor is not only to guide and advise, but can also provide feedback on various parts of a students’ life. Where this feedback is regular, it can help a student to improve, learn and grow.

Innovation should be at the heart of digital leadership. This is one of the great advantages of digital skills – the ability to innovate and create. Students should be encouraged to think creatively. Approaching problems with a creative mindset and look for innovative solutions can yield exciting results!

Another important aspect for students is the opportunity to experiment – trying out new tools, techniques, and ideas can be helpful to see what works for everyone – and we’re all different, so what works for one might not work for another.

This final point can be applied more generally, but by staying informed in new skills and concepts that move into the digital skills space, students will develop a positive attitude towards lifelong learning.  Keeping up with new and emerging technologies and digital trends will help your students to stay ahead of the curve and up to date with their digital literacy and skills.

Digital leaders understand the importance of giving back. We have all benefitted from someone giving us time, attention and guidance which has impacted our personal or professional lives in some way. We should look to give students opportunities to volunteer. Using their digital skills to support other students, non-profits, community projects, or educational initiatives is a great way to give back to the community within the school or beyond the school gates.

By teaching others we prove our own knowledge and understanding. This doesn’t need to be aimed at convincing students to become teachers, but there will be lots of instances in a student’s future were they will need to present information to others: Offer workshops or tutoring sessions to help others develop their digital skills.

By teaching our students to advocate for change, we can use technology for good and elevate principles like open access for all, or some other form of positive change in their community or beyond. This teaches pupils to be active members in their community and that we can effect positive change when we make an intentional move to change something for the better.

Becoming a digital leader is not a straightforward journey. It involves combining skills and knowledge that involves continuous learning, skill development, and a commitment to ethical and responsible use of technology. By embracing these strategies, students can not only enhance their own digital capabilities but also inspire and lead others in the digital age. The future is digital, and today’s students have the potential and responsibility to shape it in meaningful, positive and impactful ways.

I have found working in the digital skills arena (and also in teaching IT) to be massively rewarding and constantly interesting. It’s an area that not everyone will be skilled in and so can present with quite a bit more opportunity than in other areas, but it is not without its professional difficulties – colleagues will approach me with questions on nearly anything IT-related (they always start with, “You teach ICT…”). Training opportunities are beginning to gather momentum. Many areas of management (at government level) have recognised the need for training – particularly in new software that helps pupils with additional learning needs. For our pupils though, it can have a single significant impact of helping them to secure their future career with skills that are needed in the workplace.