Apply extended information communication technology skills to achieve solutions to supporting professional development.

Communicate and critically analyse new knowledge to a specialist audience.

Critically reflect upon own professional identity as an asset to the 21st century workforce

Task 1 – Presentation of Digital Training Resource (LO1&2)

Students will create a high-quality asynchronous digital training resource on a focus of their choice, preferably a passion/interest of theirs as a result of studying their subject area. The intended audience is future students on their course of study, and therefore students must ensure this genuinely constructs knowledge for others in a professional manner. The resource will be assessed on the information communication technology skills employed and the application of knowledge to a professional context.

Task 2 - Written Commentary (LO3)

Students will write a concise commentary which critically reflects on how the experience creating the resource has served to shape their professional identity and will be an asset to the 21st century workforce.

Formative assessment – students will receive peer and tutor feedback on their prototype resources, using the feedback to inform the design of their submitted resource.

Students will explore innovative and theory/evidence-based means of making substantive decisions about showcasing their professional identity and skills in contemporary means. Knowledge will be constructed via interdisciplinary modes and students will become active users and designers of digital products for authentic audiences. The principles, philosophies and tools underpinning 21st century teaching and learning will be explored. New and emerging tools and approaches will be considered. Subsequently students will be designers and constructors of high-quality learning resources, relevant and usable for genuine learners.

Digital Future of Education - 21st Century Learners is an opportunity to showcase innovative professionals whilst simultaneously facilitating the learning of others. There will be opportunity for students to present and disseminate their Digital Training Resource. This provides a real-world opportunity to use and showcase their subject knowledge and innovative skills in front of an authentic audience. This opportunity would not be assessed and provides a safe space to celebrate their achievements on the module, and, as a professional.

The teaching, learning and assessment strategy has been carefully developed for this module. It recognises you may bring practical experience and knowledge of specific contexts to share with others. This pool of practical experience will be used to promote discussion and debate, which will build upon existing knowledge to encourage reflection and critical thought. You will be an active participant in your learning and engage with online learning, some¿face to face¿content, group activities and individual tasks set.¿ You will be encouraged to be a critical thinker and apply your learning in an academic and professional context.¿ Some sessions require prior reading and independent research to inform the sessions.¿

A digitally enabled approach will be used to support both virtual and face to face opportunities.¿¿

University workshops will draw upon your experience and help you to interpret that experience in the light of current thinking on teaching, learning, assessment and schooling in relation to literacy and numeracy. You will also be asked to use the ideas explored in the sessions in planning your future work. You will also be asked to collaborate with others in preparing and presenting your work.¿¿

The methods are designed to provide practical contexts for the analysis of contemporary issues and problems of a practical nature. The following strategies will be adopted to ensure that you have a supportive teaching and learning environment, providing a range of learning opportunities¿¿

Work Related Learning – You will be required to reflect on values, practices, assumptions and work-place policies in your taught sessions. Work-based activities either as class based simulated tasks or in the workplace help students to establish connections between the workplace and issues raised by the programme.¿

Lectures - You will be given lectures which will provide theoretical underpinning on key educational concepts. These may take the form of face-to-face, digital or virtual sessions¿

Tutorials – You will be given the opportunity to discuss work-related and academic concerns in small group tutorials and/or individual tutorials. This will support the development of theoretical understanding.¿

Guided reading and supported self-study – You will be provided with booklists and reading tasks in order to enable you to engage with relevant and appropriate debates.¿

This module will also provide opportunities for you to:¿

Work¿with others¿

develop interpersonal skills¿

demonstrate the capacity to plan, share goals, and work as a member of a team¿

communicate and present oral and written arguments¿

¿¿

Breen, R. (2018) Developing Educators for the Digital Age, Westminster Press: Westminster

Gray, C. and Palaiologu, I. (2019) Early Learning in the Digital Age, Sage: London

Keene, B. and Kernowski, K. (2020) Sail the seven Cs with Microsoft, Dave Burgess Consulting: San Diego

Unless otherwise stated, all books are available online through Staffordshire University library website when logged in using your university username and password. If you have difficulty accessing these, please contact the University library. There is also an online reading list for each module on this course. To access this, go to http://staffs.rebuslist.com/ and then type in the module code in the search box. Do not worry if this list seems excessively long. You may wish to focus on texts which are most relevant to your education sector. This module covers a wide range of texts and you may find that you only need to read short sections of the texts listed (or from other texts that you may find in libraries or journals). Your tutor will also advise you on the relevant texts and sections of texts to read. Remember that it is important to show you have considered views from a wide range of sources. When referring to texts in your assignment, always use https://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/refzone for guidance. There are many versions of Harvard referencing systems in use around the world, but for Staffordshire University, Refzone Harvard system is the only correct method to use.

Study skills:

For guidance on academic writing, remember that the Staffordshire University library holds a wealth of resources to support study skills at https://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/study-skills. The study skills team can also provide 1 to 1 support

VLE Resources¿¿¿

Your University VLE will enable you to have access to course materials, lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations and reading lists.¿ Your VLE offers opportunities to engage in group work and independent learning¿by the use of¿such things as synchronous/asynchronous discussion boards, video links, blogs and wikis.