At the International Conference on Thinking in Miami this year, over and over again the speakers mentioned how important it is for our students to master the soft skills. Employers care less bout the academic content a student has memorized and more about things like flexibility, creativity, and productivity.
Focusing on the soft skills just as much as the hard skills can take a paradigm shift for educators. It can seem super overwhelming at first, but this is one problem edtech hopes to solve.
In the article, Using Digital Tools to Teach Soft Skills, Matthew Lynch gives his take.
“Most educators who have attempted to infuse their instructional activities with edtech have learned the hard way that things do not always go according to plan. But wise educators will turn this into a learning opportunity: the inevitable challenges to getting technology to work properly can become a powerful lesson on adaptability and flexibility that will help students develop these soft skills.”
How do you help prepare your students for life beyond the classroom?