The use of educational technologies to equip students with 21st century skills

From the end of the last century, information and communication technologies (ICT) have begun a process of transformation of both education and industry. Now and into the future students need the skills to operate in the 21st century. This requires the development of personalised learning that is broader than the 3Rs of reading, writing and arithmetic in order to establish that students are equipped to take their place in the 21st century. What is needed in addition to the 3Rs are the 4Cs of critical thinking & problem solving, effective communication, collaboration & team building and creativity & innovation. The use of ICT is fundamental for the kind of personalised learning needed for the development of the 4Cs but, as the SAMR model makes clear, simply using ICT does not guarantee that the necessary deep learning will occur. What is crucial is the transformative use of ICT for learning. The present work provides direction to teachers who wish to lead in a technological environment of change.