“The student of the future is what we call a maker, somebody who not only understands the problem, but also produces solutions to it.” 

Dr. Jan Holmervik

Over the past 50 years we have witnessed a steady decline in jobs that involve routine, manual and cognitive skills and have instead experienced a corresponding increase in jobs that require non-routine analytical and interpersonal skills. In a recent education study it was revealed a staggering 94% of teachers think students will work in careers that don’t exist yet.

Indeed current research shows that in order to get hired and succeed in jobs that are less likely to be impacted by automation, students need a particular set of soft skills: creativity, critical thinking, creative problem-solving and collaboration. Let’s take a look at these more closely:

Creativity – The ability to make new things or generate new ideas and approaches.
Critical Thinking – The ability to analyse and evaluate information in order to form a reasoned judgement.
Creative problem-solving – The ability to redefine problems and opportunities, come up with innovative responses and solutions, and then take action.
Collaboration – The ability to work in partnership with others to create something new or achieve a goal.

The skills gap –  Is your institution addressing it?

With critical thinking and problem solving the most commonly sought after skill from new graduates, it is clear to see the problem stems from current curriculum and those all too critical years of education. In a global student commissioned by Adobe in 2018, educators were asked their thoughts on how students are being prepared to be creative problem solvers. The results showed there’s not enough emphasis on creative problem solving in today’s curricula. From lack of time to create, lack of educator control over lessons and inadequate budget, training and tools these barriers all prevented the teaching of creative problem solving skills.

Bridging the skills gap with digital literacy education.

Research confirms that integrated digital literacy education is an effective way to teach students essential soft skills. That’s because, while it certainly involves learning hard technology skills, digital literacy goes far beyond knowing how to operate a particular set of digital tools to create something.

Digital literacy is defined as the power to use digital tools to solve problems, produce innovative projects, enhance communication and prepare for the challenges of an increasingly digital world. In doing the work of becoming digitally literate, students have to be creative, think critically, solve problems creatively and – when working with classmates – collaborate effectively. In other words, the soft skills so desperately sought after are gained as they gain digital skills.

Using readily available digital content creation tools, students are evolving into digital storytellers, weaving subject matter from their courses into narrative tapestries that illustrate a deeper understanding of what they are learning.  

New Media Consortium

How Adobe Creative Cloud fosters digital literacy to nurture soft skills.

When students use Creative Cloud software to create images, infographics or animations to tell their stories or complete assignments, they gain a deeper understanding of the content and retain their knowledge for a longer period of time. They think more critically and develop problem-solving strategies for how best to structure and present information. They communicate their ideas, discoveries and arguments in more innovative ways.

Here are a few ways of how institutions can integrate Creative Cloud into assignments campus-wide to teach digital literacy and essential soft skills –

In addition to helping students develop essential soft skills, digital literacy education gives them powerful technical communication skills. Students in every discipline need to be effective storytellers who can communicate in modern ways using digital media. When they know how to use Creative Cloud tools to showcase their work, they have the ability to set themselves apart from their peers in a competitive job market.

Technology alone can’t deliver soft skills but when solutions like Creative Cloud are part of a comprehensive digital literacy curriculum, they can help students develop the soft skills they need to land the most promising jobs in the age of automation and digital transformation.

Teachers work tirelessly to bring students amazing learning experiences and Learning Curve are here to help you be successful. Contact our Adobe Educational Specialist, Gerda Bessinger to find out how your institution can bridge the gap with affordable, flexible licensing solutions of Adobe Creative Cloud.

Gerda Bessinger | gerda@learningcurve.co.za | 083 463 4112.