**1. Introduction**

The 21st century is, according to Dede [1], quite different from the 20th in regard to the skills people need for work, citizenship, and self-actualisation. Proficiency in the 21st century differs primarily due to the emergence of sophisticated information and communication technologies (ICTs). All over the world, ICT in education has been incorporated into formal national guidelines of the degree requirements of teacher education as an official policy. Digital technology in itself is often seen as a catalyst for educational change, and technology as a symbol for change is often understood as something positive, as investments in technology supports development in society [2].

Despite the fact that a fifth of the 21st century is behind us, it seems we are not up to speed regarding the skills anticipated as central for our digital era. Furthermore, there is a lack of clarity regarding what 21st century skills really are. The digital revolution is part of the change making 21st century skills different from those learned in schooling through the 20th century. ICT is changing the nature of perennial skills that are valuable in the modern world, as well as creating new contextual skills necessary for digital societies [1]. The world has changed fundamentally in the last few decades, and in effect, the role of learning and education has changed. Many of the skills needed in past centuries, such as critical thinking and problem solving, are, according to Trilling and Fadel [3], even more relevant today. How these skills are learned and practiced in everyday life in the 21st century though, is rapidly shifting.

This chapter presents a critical perspective on how learners' information, media and technology skills can be understood, and how they are connected to learning and innovation skills. Data for this chapter is based on qualitative in-depth interviews of ten teaching educators at the University of Waikato in New Zealand and ten teaching educators from UiT, the Arctic University of Norway. Both countries are facing similar educational challenges when teaching in digital environments, as both must educate teaching students in digital-rich environments with high access to various ICTs and educational resources at home [4]. The universities are similar in size and student numbers.

This comparative study of Norwegian and New Zealand teaching education has led us to question how we educate students to meet the future and whether the educational systems are adapting sufficiently to new digital learning contexts. Is teaching students' deep learning and critical thinking at risk of being limited in digital learning environments? In short, are students sufficiently prepared for the future?
