Examining dimensions of teachers’ digital competence: A systematic review pre- and during COVID-19

The outstanding growth in digital technologies has raised higher education teachers’ attention towards developing digital competences for effectively fulfilling students’ learning requirements and keeping up with the rapidly evolving global education system. Nowadays, higher education teachers can find a plethora of online courses provided by educational organizations, universities, and businesses for reskilling and upskilling. The objective of this paper is to provide results from the assessment of existing massive open online courses regarding their potential to cover a large range of digital competences that higher education teachers should possess. A total of one hundred and sixty-two (162) online courses from three prominent international digital platforms, offering massive open online courses, were subjected to evaluation using a model incorporating six categories of attributes aligned with pertinent digital competences. The results indicate that the majority of the existing online courses lack sufficient coverage of key digital competences required by higher education teachers. Notably, these inadequately addressed competences regard evaluating students’ performance in the digital environment and ensuring positive online student experiences through collaborative engagement and self-reflection. The findings of this study offer valuable insights not only to higher education teachers, but also to online course developers and education policy-makers. The identified gaps in digital competences underscore the pressing need for substantial improvements in existing online courses or the development of new courses to effectively bridge these competence gaps. By addressing these shortcomings, higher education institutions can better equip their teachers to navigate the digital realm and elevate the overall quality of education in the digital era.

Section: Descriptive Category Attributesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Massive Open Online Courses for Developing Digital Competences among Higher Education Teachers

Bitakou,

Ntaliani,

Demestichas

et al. 2023

“…The term 'digital competence' has become polysemous, as it holds different meanings depending on the field and background of the reader [22]. This presents the first challenge in developing the digital competence of PSTs; a range of definitions and scales designed to measure the digital competence of teachers exist within the research literature [23]; varying terms including digital competence, digital skill, and digital literacy are used interchangeably to refer to broadly the same concept [10,24]. As the term digital competence is used in curriculum and education policy documents in the European Union and Republic of Ireland [5,7,8], the term 'digital competence' is used in this paper for consistency.…”

Section: Digital Competencementioning

confidence: 99%

All the World’s a Stage: Examining the Actors That Influence the Development of Primary Pre-Service Teacher Digital Competence in the Republic of Ireland

Moynihan,

Gorman,

Leahy

et al. 2023

In accordance with contemporary educational policy, changes have been made to the requirements of initial teacher education (ITE) with the aim of promoting the development of digital competence among pre-service teachers (PSTs). This paper explores what it means for a primary PST to develop digital competence and posits that programmes of ITE should develop the digital teaching competence of PSTs, alongside positive attitudes toward digital technology use. This is a complex and under-researched process involving multiple actors, including higher education institution tutors, school placement tutors, and cooperating teachers. This research gap is addressed within this paper by examining these actors and unpacking the key issues which may prevent PSTs from developing and enacting digital teaching competence. It appears there is a lack of alignment across these actors, which may negatively impact the digital competence of PSTs. Consequently, we propose that the conceptualization of digital competence across programmes of ITE needs to be brought into alignment. Actions including the establishment of a shared vision of pedagogical use of digital technology, formal induction, and ongoing transformative professional learning for all actors across a programme of ITE are proposed if PSTs are to be enabled to develop the digital competence required by policy.

“…Teaching and learning: The teaching competency that the teacher must acquire is related to the design, programming, and implementation of the use of digital technologies throughout the learning process [25,26]. Providing guidance and support to learning, collaborative learning, and self-regulated learning through digital technology seeks that the center of the entire teaching and learning process be the student and that they should access these types of learning through their interactions with others, the promotion of collaboration between peers, and their ability to reflect on their learning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Facilitating the digital competence of students corresponds to the ability to develop digital competencies within students, which has a transversal axis within learning. This area includes information and media literacy, digital communication and collaboration, digital content creation, responsible use and welfare, and digital problem solving [21,23,26]. This dimension seeks the active participation of students in the field of citizenship through the integration of their activities into the problem-solving process [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of Hybrid Education in Peruvian Public Universities: The Challenges

Colina-Ysea,

Pantigoso-Leython,

Abad-Lezama

et al. 2024

Digital competencies and hybrid education have become fundamental tools to promote new learning styles in the context of higher education. The objective of the research was to evaluate the challenges that hybrid education creates with respect to the digital competencies of Peruvian university teachers in times of uncertainty. The approach used was mixed in order to collect both numerical and qualitative data. The population and sample were composed of 189 teachers from three national universities. The techniques used were a survey for quantitative data and an interview for qualitative data. The instruments used were a questionnaire and an interview protocol. The results show that the challenges that universities in Peru must face are the recognition of their own potential, technical–technological capacity, interpretation of the felt needs, the formative development of human talent, and reflecting themselves as a dynamic node that responds to the changes in society. It was concluded that Peruvian universities must proactively address the challenges presented by hybrid education and the development of digital competencies to ensure a high quality education that prepares students for the world of today and the world of tomorrow.