What are the skills teachers need in the digital age?

The Deputy Minister of Education of the Community of Madrid, Rocío Albert, considers it vital to provide teachers with the necessary resources so that they can teach their students according to the diverse needs of each student. In this sense, technology is extremely useful because it allows for a personalisation of the pace of teaching for students in a way that motivates them and allows them to be creative. The president of the Brazilian Centre for Educational Innovation, Lucia Dellagnelo, says that teachers are responsible for the process of educating students and technology will not replace this. As professionals, teachers must be the designers of each child’s learning experience, and this is where technology comes in, to support teachers in doing their job in the best possible way. There are essential competences when it comes to teacher preparation in the use of technology, such as technology-mediated pedagogical practices, digital citizenship and professional development. The CEO of Kunskapskolan, Switzerland, Fredrik Lindgren, argues that the competences that should be addressed in teachers are curiosity, relationships and communication. Another important point of discussion is to establish a suitable model for teacher training; Rocío Albert considers the content to be the fundamental part and the technology to be the instrument or medium for the transmission of the content. Similarly, didactic and scientific learning methods must be updated. Lucia Dellagnelo supports a model of experimentation. Experimenting with technology and not only dealing with the theoretical level is essential for teachers and Fredrik Lindgren advocates collaborative learning. The discussions during the round table debated ideas such as the need to create collaborative environments where teachers can exchange visions and progress, the provision of tools for teachers to use depending on the teaching context they are in, providing them with solid training in the use of technologies or the personalisation and adaptation of training content according to the necessary skills, among others.