Digital Skills That All Teachers Should Have

Hello there! With exam season last year, internal interviews and a summer of redecorating as well as wanting to take a few steps away from everything to recharge the creative juices, it’s been quite a few minutes since my last post! Now that we’re back in the swing of a new academic year, it’s time to put thoughts down on to the digital paper!

In today’s post, I want to look at the digital skills every teacher should have. They are not listed in order, nor are they split according to sector (primary, secondary, SEN etc.). They are simply the skills I believe teachers should have in todays’ world. This is not to say they will be the same skills that we need in 1 years time, or 5 years time. By then, they’ll probably have moved on to new skills, or added to the list. But at any rate, I think they make for better teachers – if you’re trying to educate your students in any way that you can, the chances are, you’re doing a good job!

In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, digital literacy has become an indispensable skill set for educators. The integration of technology in education has transformed traditional teaching methods, making it crucial for teachers to develop and maintain specific digital competencies. This guide explores the essential digital skills that every modern educator should possess to effectively facilitate learning in the 21st century.

Modern educators must possess a solid foundation in basic technology operations. This includes proficiency in operating various devices, understanding file management systems, and being able to navigate different operating systems. Teachers should be comfortable with basic hardware troubleshooting, managing digital storage, and maintaining basic cyber security practices. These fundamental skills serve as the building blocks for more advanced digital competencies.

By this, I’m talking about the basics of working a device, knowing how it works, how to get the best out of it and how to make use of digital technology to raise your impact in your classroom. This foundational aspect will also equip you for higher level skills, particularly when it comes to things not working the way they should – I will say this repeatedly, but competence brings confidence. When you know how to solve a problem, you’re not as fearful of the next one.

Proficiency in using Learning Management Systems has become non-negotiable in contemporary education. Teachers must understand how to create and organise course content, manage online assignments, track student progress, and facilitate virtual discussions through platforms like Canvas, Blackboard, or Moodle. This includes skills in creating digital assessments, managing gradebooks, and utilising built-in communication tools effectively.

I know this sounds like a lot, but here me out, what I’m talking about here, makes your job easier. Think about it – if you have lesson content, quizzes, assignments etc. all online, then those lovely email requests to provide work for a long-term absence become inconsequential. You already have it online. Revision for internal or external exams? You already have it online. I hope you’re getting the picture here. By providing the content online, you remove excuses for non-completion.

Educators should be skilled in creating and curating digital content that enhances student learning. There are a number of tools that can be used to present information without needing a high level of digital literacy. This can include but is not limited to:

• Developing multimedia presentations using tools like PowerPoint or Google Slides
• Creating educational videos and screencasts
• Designing digital worksheets and interactive activities
• Curating relevant online resources and digital libraries
• Understanding basic principles of instructional design for digital content

As practical examples to these, most teachers can use PowerPoint or the equivalent Google Slides. We talk about death by PowerPoint, so as a move beyond simple use, I would point teachers towards being able to limit what they say on the slide – less is definitely more!

I realise that content still needs to covered, but as a subject expert, I can talk around my subject, while still pointing students towards the most important information, I will supplement this with subject notes and extra material to develop understanding in specific topic areas. Add to this or supplementary notes, we can present a fuller vista of our learning content to pupils and help them move deeper into learning and develop a love for the subject, which certainly applies in the post-primary sector when it comes to thinking about future careers.

Developing new learning resources can also take time. Here I would urge (somewhat obviously) that you make a plan. You won’t be able to update everything immediately, so after you make a list of the content you want to update, what is of greatest priority? I initially started with our Key Stage 3 classes. I researched what already existed online, what was freely available and what other schools did. The result was the choice to use the NCCE – Teach Computing curriculum. This had everything I needed, unit plans, lesson plans, resources, presentation files, activity files, homework tasks and curriculum maps. I’m not sure if this exists for other subjects, but it worked for me and it has worked for the last three years in our school. Having completed that, I moved to our exam classes – changes here are slower when it comes to changing courses (presentations, admin discussion with SLT etc.) so my plan to update the resources was more straightforward and had the benefit of guiding pupils in the level of content and depth needed. I also teach coursework modules, so creating this type of content also guided pupils in what was needed if they were taking initiative, and gave a sufficient explanation of new topics that supplemented my classroom presentations.

When it comes to creating digital content, it is difficult to look past Canva. Not because it is the best, I personally prefer individual creativity over mass-created templates, but then again, I am an IT teacher with a professional history in creative design – not every teacher has this! So in the most part, Canva works really well – especially when  we consider time spent creating and the higher quality of the design against normal teacher designs. A lack of Comic Sans in this respect is also always welcome!

A final point in this section is in regards to the amount of content teachers tend to put on a page – some I have seen lack focus, direction and appear as a knowledge dump. Think of this from a pupils’ point of view – what is important in terms of a visual hierarchy? What do we want the pupil to focus on or learn first? If the page lacks structure, so will the learning!

Modern teaching requires a digital skills in various types of digital communication platforms that schools now use.

Teachers will more than likely be adept at managing email (well, hopefully). A note here is probably needed to clarify that I’m looking at new communication platforms – like Seesaw or Teams. Equally, using new video conferencing platforms. Not for remote teaching, but new norms of communication with other professionals and with parents after Covid, the ability to negotiate this is now part of the academic year. In my school, management made the decision that Key Stage 3 classes would continue to be held online but senior exam classes would be in person.

Another carry over from Covid is the use of online collaborative drives. At present we have Google Drive set up, but a in a slow transition to OneDrive. Again most people will be able to use these to great effect. A simple piece of advice I would give is to ensure you have more than one admin. If the admin disappears for whatever reason (illness, pregnancy etc.) then it can cause issues in terms of adding new/cover staff and creates issues were none need exist.

The ability to conduct digital assessments and provide timely feedback is crucial among digital skills that you want to have. This is an area I have seen some teachers are further ahead in than others, but most of it focuses around coursework – which if you don’t have, then you can’t provide feedback for!

There are now a lot of tools that teachers use for online quizzes. Platforms like Blooket and Kahoot! are established favourites in this area and relatively easy to set up. Other tools like digital rubrics and grading tools (outside of AI use) might not be as widespread for post-primary schools as most coursework or submitted work will be individually marked.

I’m sure a great many schools won’t make decisions without consulting some sort of data, but this type of analysis inevitably falls under the digital umbrella because…you guessed it! We use programmes like SIMS to collate and analyse data! I appreciate SIMS is old and clunky and your school (especially if you’re not in Northern Ireland) might not use it, but your version will do just the same job and it is this digital, transferable skill that will equip teachers for the modern classroom.

Continuous learning is essential in maintaining digital skills that are current in teaching. There are now multiple platforms that can be used to complete CPD that does not immediately need to be a university course. Some of these online courses can help teachers to stay current with educational technology trends. The SkillUp programme is still running in Northern Ireland at most FE and HE organisations and is a great way to take advantage of a free course to update your skills in specific areas.

Whether you are enrolled in a formal course (with Queens or Ulster University) or taking part in an online, self-paced course (through a site like Udemy), you will be developing your own skills and one of the most important facets I believe is included here, is that it is something you have chosen. How many courses have we ‘attended’ because we had to, but got little from? At least with CPD that is self-chosen, your motivation and enthusiasm for the topic will carry you through a lot of the harder times when energy is low, or workload is high.

Lastly, we have reflection. It’s through reflection that we can identify those areas of weakness and make a plan to address them, or it will be reflection that allows us to gauge how successful a new initiative has been. I’m a big fan of reflection, mostly because it was part of what inspired me to start this site. I wanted to learn, record and reflect on what I knew and how it could help other teachers – not just because I know a lot about educational technology and liked the sound of my own voice!

While not all teachers need to be experts in all emerging technologies when it comes to digital skills, awareness and basic understanding of these areas is valuable, particularly where it can apply to your subject area.

I would include the following in a list of emerging technologies that you should be aware of, but also explore much deeper in the areas that one can be applied to your subject:

• Artificial Intelligence in education
• Virtual and Augmented Reality
• Coding and computational thinking
• Mobile learning technologies
• Game-based learning platforms

AI is a topic that is getting a lot of attention and is increasingly being used by teachers and pupils alike. SO much of our knowledge will have to be on two levels – (1) how do we use it ourselves and (2) how do we guide learners to use it appropriately and ethically?

Computational thinking is a skill that could be utilised much more in schools. Many will think it’s about computing (from the title) but this is misleading. It relates to problem solving and attacking a problem (in any subject area) in a way that is methodical and structured to break larger problems into smaller, more manageable sections. This will encourage creative thinking and develop efficiency in problem solving. See? Not much to do with computers, but the process is also how computers attack problems, so also very much to do with computers!

AI really does deserve its own section as a new digital skill – and obviously any number of posts on its own, but that’s for another day.

AI used in the right way can take a lot of the heavy lifting from teaching. I here teachers talk about it quite a lot in school, but there are some who think of it as a genie – give me a complete script for a Year Assembly! There seems to be a bit of confusion that while it can work like a personal assistant, it isn’t fully a personal assistant, and it certainly isn’t there to do your job for you. Teachers who I see using it to a fuller potential, are using the Pareto Principle. AI does 80% of the work, I do 20% of the work. In this way, we utilise the speed and computing power of AI to complete the majority of a task, but still retain the human element – either through delivery, or tweaking it to fit the culture of your school or ability level of your students.

Helpfully, I have published an ebook that will help with specific subjects, management levels and pastoral roles in post-primary schools and you can get it here on a free download, no email address needed! It is a work in progress, so please forgive any mistakes (but also let me know as this can form part of the next version!).

There are also new ways that AI is being utilised within specific platforms. NotebookLM is a resource one of our Geography teachers presented on during our August INSET training and I found it really interesting to see how new content could be generated so quickly for students. Anything that helps a pupil learn, or presents information in a new way that helps learning happen is a good idea in my opinion

The development of these digital skills requires ongoing commitment and practice. Educational institutions should provide support and professional development opportunities to help teachers acquire and maintain these competencies. As technology continues to evolve, educators must remain adaptable and willing to learn new skills that enhance their teaching effectiveness and student learning outcomes.

Remember that the goal of developing digital skills is not to replace traditional teaching methods but to enhance them. By combining pedagogical knowledge with digital competencies, educators can create more engaging, effective, and inclusive learning environments for all students. If something you do here, helps a pupil to learn or cement their learning by themselves at home, then has it not been worth it? It’s only really by offering our pupils the tools to learn, can we lead them in being lifelong learners.