BC TEAL is proud to present our 2025 Annual Conference: Disruptive Educational Practices: Strategies for Transformation.
Educators shine in times of change to face unexpected challenges. This is when creativity flourishes by combining proven practices with fresh and innovative ideas. These times call for transformation which can be rooted in tradition or experience, or it can arise through unexplored approaches. The synthesis of old and new ideas drives meaningful progress. Join other insightful and creative educators as we flourish within the power of our community.
The objective of this session is to raise attendees’ awareness of the importance of acquiring digital soft skills necessary for hybrid roles because such skills may not be incorporated into the curriculum. The presenters aim to present practical opportunities for developing these skills based on a comprehensive framework to enhance students’ adaptability, ethical decision-making, digital collaboration, and empathy in virtual settings. The practical suggestions offered in the session include:
Preparing Students for Hybrid Workplaces: Focusing on traditional milestones such as job interviews and resumes, tailored for hybrid work environments by conducting regular workshops on specific soft skills such as digital collaboration, empathy, and ethical decision-making. Students can also be offered personalized coaching sessions to help them identify and develop their soft skills.
Incorporating Digital Soft Skills: Integrating digital soft skills into educational programs to help students improve their collaboration, empathy, and ethical decision-making in hybrid workplaces (Walker & Venker Weidenbenner, 2019). Simulation-based learning (SBL) can be implemented to provide students with realistic, hands-on experiences in a controlled environment.
Exploring Innovative Technologies and Teaching Methods: Investigating new technologies and pedagogical approaches to enhance digital soft skills (Czymoniewicz-Klippel & Cruz, 2023). Students need to be introduced to various digital collaboration tools, for example, Microsoft Teams, Slack or Trello. Seletced References Czymoniewicz-Klippel, M. T., & Cruz, L. E. (2023). Engagement of online biobehavioral health students in ethics education through virtual immersive experiences. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 9(3), 182-192. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/23733799231158384 García-Pérez, R., Santos-Delgado, J. M., & Buzón-García, O. (2016). Virtual empathy as digital competence in education 3.0. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 13, 1-10.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41239-016-0029-7
