Sound cloud - Transcript

Welcome to my podcast addressing the skills I will need to acquire to teach

effectively in the digital age. According to Starkey (2012) it requires a high level of
professional knowledge and skill to teach proficiently. Throughout my studies I will
obtain professional knowledge however, it will be through professional experiences that
I achieve these skills. There are many skills we can adopt to confront the nature of the
digital age, referring to the increase of technologies, integration of multiliteracies and
multimodal texts and the shift towards how we think, rather than what we think.
Today, I will discuss three skills that are significant to me, facilitating opportunities for
students to collaborate and critique knowledge and communicate effectively.
Collaborative learning is an aspect I find difficult. I hope to eliminate any
vulnerability and encourage confidence by recognising what constitutes a comfortable
learning environment and dissolve any anxieties. I need to promote the personal and
social capabilities outlined in the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, n.d.) by encouraging
self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness and social management. This can
be done by clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of the students, the purpose
and outcome we want to achieve through collaborative learning and successfully
managing the process (Global Digital Citizen Foundation, 2014).
The New London Group 1996 recognises the shift to an active, flexible and
developmental nature of learning driven by information and technology (Lau & Chan,
2014). It demands a lot more from students and this is where critical thinking plays an
important role. I need to guide students in their critical thinking, highlighting that it is not
just about what you learn but how you analyse, connect, reflect and create new
knowledge through challenging ideas. I need to demonstrate critical thinking in my
everyday practices by communicating values and beliefs to world issues that are
transparent in this digital age.
There are two aspects of communication skills I require to teach effectively, one
being my clarity of instruction and the other, knowing my audience. The latter is more
important in regards to the multimodal characteristics of the digital age. To determine

which means of communication is most effective, I will support Starkeys (2012) notion
in recognising the students interests, their motivations and prior knowledge, to choose
appropriate codes and channels to facilitate learning (Ewing, Lowrie & Higgs, 2010).
Collaboration, critical thinking and communication are significant skills I need to
acquire to address the demands of the digital age in the primary classroom.

References
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA].
(n.d.). Personal and social capability. Retrieved 31st of July 2015 from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Pdf/Personal-and-socialcapability
Ewing, R., Lowrie, T., & Higgs, J. (2010). Teaching and communicating:
Rethinking professional experience. South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.
Global Digital Citizen Foundation. (2014). Collaboration fluency. Retrieved 31st of
July 2015 from http://globaldigitalcitizen.org/21st-century-fluencies/collaboration-fluency/
Lau, J. & Chan, J. (2004-2014). What is critical thinking? Retrieved 31st of July
2015 from http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/critical/ct.php
Starkey, L. (2012). Teaching and learning in the digital age. Routledge.