Abstract
As technology influences societies worldwide and invents new opportunities and challenges, its role in education has become increasingly relevant. As the learning environment adapts and incorporates new e-teaching tools, it becomes imperative to find the role, place of technology in education, and examine the voices of educators that work with various technologies in teaching and learning to train young learners. Therefore, this research aims to examine if educators believe that they can inculcate the 21st century skills into the modern student in an online teaching environment. Furthermore, the research attempts to find the obstacles on part of the educators and students that inhibit delivery of a seamless online educational experience and teaching of the 21st century competencies.
TopBackground To The Issue
Globalization has influenced various dimensions of our modern lives. As more companies turn multinational or transnational due to globalization, education needs to go through a reformation process to accommodate the changing world order. This way it can prepare the 21st century learner for the future of work, opportunities and challenges. Furthermore, it may help prepare the learners to adapt to various backgrounds and thrive during times of uncertainty, complexity, diversity, and disruptions (Winarti, 2018).
Twenty-first century competencies has received recognition for building sustainable social and economic growth globally (Koh, Chai, Benjamin, & Hong, 2015). However, instructional methods in education need reformation to include the teaching of these skills (Winarti, 2018). The (4Cs) are essential skills of the 21st century and needed by learners to succeed in academics and the workplace of the future. However, it is widely felt that instructional methods have not changed sufficiently to allow for effective teaching of the 21st century competencies (Miller, 2016).
The contemporary world understands the importance of the (4Cs) and recognizes it as the basis upon which all other skills are build. Without this solid foundation, positioning the learner as workplace-ready is compromised (Koh, Chai, Benjamin, & Hong, 2015). Despite professional training being widely provided to educators (on the teaching of the (4Cs)), there remain barriers to practice (Joo et al., 2018). Exploring what these barriers are and why they exist is paramount to understanding the actions needed to overcome these issues. Successfully identifying barriers to teaching (4Cs), involves considering the effect on both teachers and learners as they strive to deal with the impact of technology in the online teaching and learning dynamic.
Regardless of the training given to the educator, instructional practices vary. This is due to the role of the culture, context, environment and perspectives of that professional (Guri-Rosenblit & Gros, 2011). Measuring whether digitisation of teaching and learning has helped in the integration of (4Cs) into the learning paradigm, or indeed is a barrier itself is another dilemma facing education. Finding a solution, which leads to a creative online approach to the teaching of (4Cs) in the curriculum, will require an understanding of the views of educators. Listening to their voices can provide an understanding on the growing role of technology in the future of education.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Intelligent Tutoring Systems: These are computer systems that work without a human teacher and provide personalized instruction and feedback to users through Artificial Intelligence technology.
Digital Alienation: Concerns with privacy of a person. Digital alienation occurs when one's digital life is exploited to extract value from a person's digital activity through pressure and manipulation.
Pandemic: An epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across the world (e.g., Corona Virus, Spanish Flu).
Microlearning: Deals with small knowledge learning units and activities. It is used to bring variation in teaching methods, address repetitive concepts and reduce the teaching burden of the educators.
New Normal: New normal means to reimagine life after crisis.
Auto Proctors: It is an automated proctoring system to record the test candidates. In addition to recording, the system also monitors the feeds for any suspicious activity using advanced video and audio analytics.
Phenomenological Study: A phenomenological study is based on an individual's lived experience of the world.