Digital SEL in EFL classrooms

digital sel

digisel

DigiSel is a platform that aims to provide teachers and students with activities and resources to develop soft skills through a digitally-enhanced SEL approach.

The advantage of SEL

To thrive in the 21st century, students need more than traditional academic learning. They must be adept at collaboration, communication and problem-solving, which are some of the skills developed through social and emotional learning (SEL). Social and emotional skills are critical to the workforce of the future. The kinds of skills that SEL addresses, such as problem solving and collaboration, are increasingly necessary for the labour market.

The opportunity of education technology

Technology has the potential to play a pivotal role in fostering SEL efficiently and cost-effectively. We see technology as a tool that a parent, educator or caregiver can use to complement and extend the learning experience. Technologies such as virtual, augmented and “mixed” reality; robots; video chats on mobile devices; and virtual tutors allow for a much less passive and more interactive experience. Technology holds enormous promise to help foster 21stcentury skills, including social and emotional skills. It can personalize learning, engage the disengaged, complement what happens in the classroom, extend education outside the classroom and provide access to learning to students who otherwise might not have sufficient educational opportunities.

21st century skills

In 2015, the World Economic Forum published a report that focused on the pressing issue of the 21st-century skills gap and ways to address it through technology (New Vision for Education: Unlocking the Potential of Technology). In that report, we defined a set of 16 crucial proficiencies for education in the 21st century. Those skills include six “foundational literacies”, such as literacy, numeracy and scientific literacy, and 10 skills that we labelled either “competencies” or “character qualities”. Competencies are the means by which students approach complex challenges; they include collaboration, communication and critical thinking and problem-solving. Character qualities are the ways in which students approach their changing environment; they include curiosity, adaptability and social and cultural awareness (see Exhibit 1).

In 2016, the World Economic Forum published a new report that focused on the importance of fostering Social and Emotional Learning through Technology (New Vision for Education: Fostering Social and Emotional Learning through Technology). In that report, they underline the importance of 16 skills for the 21st century once again.

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