Communication and technology, two disciplines

Communication and technology, two disciplines 

Communication and technology, two disciplines 

Communication Technologies (ICT) have become one of the disciplines with the most job offers in the world. We will tell you in this post why it is important that Communication and technology go hand in hand. The International Report on HR trends anticipated in 2014 that the areas of General Services and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) would be, in the coming years, those that would generate the most professional demand. In this way, 15% of the offers within the services sector would be linked to activities related to information and communications. Technology is a key factor in this growth, not only in the training and employment sector but especially in everything related to the world of Communication. This scenario is nothing more than a reflection of how society also communicates through electronic devices. The digitization of daily life, which is developing at high speed, transforms the habits of that society from the forms of consumption and leisure to the methods of disseminating information. One example of this is that email and instant messaging through applications such as WhatsApp or Telegram continue to be the most widely used Internet services today. In addition, social networks have become a common routine in our way of communicating, and in the case of access to information generated by the media, digital platforms are a fundamental element for news distribution. In this context, Political Communication must also move towards the digital field because if society is fully adapted to new forms of communication, the world of politics and everything that surrounds it must also be. However, and despite the rapid adaptation of society to technological changes, which also includes the digitization of the media and the transformation of politics, specialized profiles in technology are scarce throughout the world. In the case of Spain, Daniel Ruiz Sotillo, director of Human Resources at BQ, explains that “during this year 85,000 jobs will remain unfilled in the Spanish technology sector, to which is added a significant demand for jobs for that the necessary professional profiles do not yet exist ”. The Master's Degree in Advanced Political Communication of the Next Higher Education Center is aimed at preparing the student in all areas of Communication, but also at the application of New Technologies in subjects such as Digital Marketing or Data Analytics.

New information and communication technologies: introduction of ICT in education

Currently, new information and communication technologies have become an essential element of the 21st century. The mastery of ICT is imposed as an essential skill for the performance of all kinds of activities in the daily life of any individual. Technological development is an obvious aspect of the daily life of any person: it is difficult to find a profession or a moment in our social life where technology does not exist. The incidence of the new information and communication technologies in our society is, therefore, fundamental as a factor of development.  In the educational field, the new information and communication technologies or ICT tools are the engines of change and innovation. For a decade, taking as a reference the proposals of the OECD and the European Union in the field of education, our educational system has invested in resources to update the centers. Educational spaces are being transformed into virtual teaching centers: we have practical and intuitive tools that are very easy to use, attractive environments that motivate learning, and freely accessible standards available to everyone. Investment in the endowment is not enough. The educational system not only faces an update of the centers and material resources since it is necessary to review the teachings and update the knowledge.

ICT as a technological resource

The new information and communication technologies are not just another means of learning or a tool. The ICTs used in education allow us to develop a technological aptitude, a way of thinking and acting that is currently essential for the integral development of students. Technological resources are an educational objective in their own right and mastery of the new information and communication technologies is a very important competence within the curriculum. The incorporation of technological resources in the classroom and student learning must be gradual, gradual, and permanent. The introduction of ICT in the education system offers new ways of creating, accessing, and transmitting information and knowledge. The new information and communication technologies are an extremely effective learning tool but require a comprehensive adaptation of teaching.

ICT in the classroom

To use digital tools in classrooms as a teaching resource, we must adapt systems and reformulate strategies. There is a need for reflection on how we should integrate these new tools. The responsibility on the part of the teacher is to know the new information and communication technologies and their possibilities to use them appropriately, with a critical and innovative stance that favors continuous updating. This technological change in education systems has generated countless opinions and attitudes in the educational community. The most conservative is suspicious of technological educational trends since they consider that ICTs can be dangerous or not very useful tools for education. Most purists are committed to a radical transformation: they consider that it is necessary to abandon the classic educational methods and tools to constantly update themselves on the latest digital trends.

Conmasfuturo's educational project in ICT

Taking into account the current situation of technological development and its influence worldwide, the challenge of education is to take part in this social transformation by renewing our education and teachings. Without leaving aside the classic tools or strategies, we have to be up-to-date and educate the student in the use of new information and communication technologies objectively and practically. Our educational project conmasfuturo.com offers comprehensive training to educational centers to bring ICTs closer to the entire educational community. Through extracurricular programming classes, robotics courses, programming with AppInventor, and other activities, we develop in children a positive and practical technological attitude that allows them to learn autonomously and function in a technological society.