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JIMINY SELF-HELP HANDBOOK 7

ICTs are changing the way we work, hence the skills requirements include a wider range of activities
related to greater frequency of information access, the ability to plan, to adapt faster to changing
conditions, as well as the ability to cooperate in horizontal organizations, quickly exchange information
and share knowledge among employees. There is also a clear correlation between the percentage of
people without experience in using ICT in their work and other indicators of the development of the
knowledge-based economy. The demand for employees with more advanced skills has been growing
rapidly in recent years. There is a concern that the market may encounter shortages in this area, which
on the one hand will cause a relative increase in salaries of this group of employees, and on the other
hand may prove to be a barrier to development.
Skills in information, media, information and communication technologies, data, and networking play
an important role in shaping people's ability to perform tasks related to education, work, culture, and
life. These competence areas are related to the cognitive skills necessary for critical thinking.
Unfortunately, research indicates that many people are at a disadvantage in this regard, which makes
this problem an important issue of socio-economic development policy. Indeed, digital literacy is listed
among the most important issues and policy objectives for the development of the digital economy,
such as: economic and social benefits of an open Internet, stimulation of ICT-related innovation,
improvement of communication networks, the Internet of Things, trust, digital security and privacy
protection. The lack of adequate digital skills puts at risk social exclusion. The reasons for this
exclusion may be different: no or difficult access, no use of ICT or low skills. The use of digital
technologies and Internet services, covering all sectors of the economy and the public sector, is
becoming an essential policy element. Increasing the use of ICT at work means increasing demand for
new skills. Changes in the demand for skills present, on the one hand, introduce major challenges for
the education system and, on the other hand, new opportunities improving learning in and out of
school, thanks to, for example, open educational platforms and access to high quality resources.

Digital Resources and Skills in Teaching and Learning
Digital skills play an important role in education, especially with more resources available online. The
European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators classifies digital resources under digital
tools and digital content, which constitute digital technologies.

The following types of digital resources are listed as examples within the mentioned framework:

 Online information, website, platforms
 Multimedia content (images, audio, video)
 Learning materials
 (Online) games, quizzes
 (Education) software, apps, programmes
 Virtual Learning Environments
 Social networks
Although, all the listed types of digital resources are useful and can be applied to various learning
conditions, Virtual Learning Environments, with the shift from traditional classroom learning to
blended learning and online learning, are especially powerful in today’s digitalized world. This web-
based digital environment is usually for the interaction between trainers and learners, learners among
each other or for the access of comprehensive learning paths through one platform. In this respect any
educational content that is published within a Virtual Learning Environment (or online) is a digital