Digital systems are increasingly becoming central to the running of contemporary schools. A range of digital tools are also adopted by teachers to facilitate face to face teaching and learning and ...more recently to accommodate remote schooling. Similarly, digital technologies lie at the heart of how students support their learning but also interact with peers. These digital practices raise questions in relation to teachers' own critical digital literacies as well as their role in developing students' critical digital literacies. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study that aimed to develop an understanding of teachers' current experiences and future needs relating to critical digital literacies within school contexts. Drawing on empirical data collected during focus group interviews with primary and secondary school teachers in Finland, Italy, Spain and the UK this paper looks at teachers' perceptions of critical digital literacies and explores whether and how these are manifested in their practices. Findings revealed that different dimensions of critical digital literacies were more prevalent for each national group and highlighted the disjuncture between how Critical digital literacies (CDL) is defined and perceived in academic research with a stronger emphasis on the "critical" and between the more "twenty-first century skills" oriented policy agendas and curricula which inform teachers' practice. The paper goes on to discuss the implications of these findings and identifies gaps in relation to teachers' understandings of critical digital literacies. Last, it offers original insights for future policymaking, research and practice regarding the challenges of supporting teachers with developing critical digital literacies.
Computational Thinking is a term applied to describe the increasing attention on students' knowledge development about designing computational solutions to problems, algorithmic thinking, and coding. ...It focuses on skills children develop from practicing programming and algorithms, and enables the development of qualities such as abstract thinking, problem solving, pattern recognition, and logical reasoning. Contemporary educational and infrastructural developments, like “CS for All” (https://www.csforall.org/), ISTE's Standards for Students in Computational Thinking (https://www.iste.org/explore/Solutions/Computational-thinking-for-all?articleid=152), Computer Science Teachers Association's Concepts of Computational Thinking (http://advocate.csteachers.org/2014/09/15/computational-thinking-and-beyond/), and the appearance of tools such as robotics, 3D printing, microprocessors, and intuitive programming languages posit Computational Thinking as a very promising area to support these learning competences. In this special issue of Computers in Human Behavior, the Editors report four studies conducted by interdisciplinary teams. The introduction to the special issue also draws attention to the great potential and need for further research in the area of Computational Thinking Education to engage students in meaningful learning so as to develop useful thinking skills and digital competences. Finally, the Editorspropose directions for future research and practice in Computational Thinking Education.
Over the last years, Information and Communication Technologies have played a substantial role in improving both the quality of life for people. However, their potential in education is still ...developing. In this regard, this paper provides a systematic review of the literature on digital competencies and teacher professional development from 2008 to 2018. The purpose of this study is identifying research trends and potential directions on this topic for future research. The method followed is based on the PRISMA Statement Guidelines for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis. After applying criteria of inclusion, exclusion and thematic belonging, in Scopus and Wos databases, the sample was constituted in 21 studies. The selected studies emphasise the importance of digital competence as one of the challenges facing teachers today, being mainly qualitative methodology studies. Among the conclusions we highlight that most of the selected studies reveal a lack of teacher training and insufficient ICT training.
This study examines Finnish geography teachers' (n = 16) perceptions of the significance of geomedia and geomedia teaching. Thematic analysis was applied. The findings reveal teachers' concerns about ...students' cursory critical geomedia literacy as well as the potential of geomedia to enhance students' management of information overflow. Teachers' perceptions of digital geomedia teaching were diverse. The significance teachers associated with geomedia was not aligned with their perceptions of digital geomedia teaching. This study suggests that diversity and incoherence regarding teachers’ perceptions of geomedia should be addressed in teaching and teacher education research internationally.
•Geomedia is significant for students' developing critical literacy.•Teachers felt accountable for making students comprehend digital geomedia.•Digital geomedia teaching revealed students' diverse digital competences.•Critical geomedia literacy was more valued than technical management of geomedia.•Teachers' perceptions of digital geomedia teaching focused on the technical skills.
The renewed 2017 EU Higher Education Agenda expresses the intention to “develop and implement a digital readiness model” to assist higher education institutions, their staff, and students in ...implementing digital learning strategies and maximising the potential of cutting‐edge technologies such as learning analytics. The anticipated digital transformation will only be successful if higher education institutions and teachers strengthen their digital competences and skills and “become” digitally competent. Many of the incentives for these processes were prompted by the unexpected Covid‐19 crisis, which highlighted the importance of higher education teachers’ digital skills in the need to digitise the higher education environment. The Covid‐19 crisis experience and the accelerating development of digitalisation are changing both the conditions for education and education itself, which is why higher education teachers face the challenging task of lifelong development of digital competences. To complete this task, they must learn about information and communication technology (ICT)/digital technologies and how they can be integrated into the pedagogical process. The challenge for higher education teachers is to develop ICT‐based teaching. This is not about how higher education teachers (and students) master ICT, but about how to make ICT one of the tools for carrying out pedagogical activities in general.
The article addresses the development of digital competences among higher education teachers as a critical issue in the renovation of higher education didactics. To that end, various digital competence models and concepts are presented. Among other things, the European Digital Competence Framework for Teachers is highlighted. The case study of activities aimed at developing digital competences of higher education teachers at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), and thus higher education teachers working in the field of education for public administration. Based on the analysis of activities, we discover an increased interest in the development of digital competences, which is reflected in various forms of institutional (university) support for educators (e.g. training), as well as an increased interest in the development of digital competences among higher education teachers.
In this digital era, students are required to understand and apply the basic knowledge of digital media because of the transformation in the learning environment. This paper investigates the impact ...of the English language on the students’ achievements in regard to their digital competencies, that is, to what extent university students whose mother tongue is not English feel confident in their ability to learn and practice new digital skills. The findings reveal that most students have positive attitudes towards technologies, however they find English language as a barrier in developing their digital competencies.
The remote work model had been functioning before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the economic space regardless of the size of enterprises, however, its largest intensity was observed in ...large enterprises. Yet, its application scale was incomparably lower than the condition that was necessitated by the introduction of epidemiological isolation. The need for many employees to immediately switch to this model of working increased the likelihood of potential problems related to a proper level of digital competencies in utilising remote work tools. The aim of the article is to identify changes that have taken place in large enterprises as part of the use of tools for remote work at the time of COVID-19 pandemic. The authors refer to digital competencies of the executive staff in the scope of remote work and their experiences with the functioning of tools for this type of work. These issues have been analysed for the time before the pandemic and for the period of its duration. The authors have presented the results of the research conducted in Poland in 2022. They demonstrate that a vast majority of the executive staff in large enterprises worked remotely during the pandemic. A progress in the scope of digital competencies among the survey respondents has been recorded, which was driven by the necessity to move work into the remote space, and organising proper training in the enterprises. A significant group of the respondents indicates willingness to work in a hybrid mode when the pandemic finishes.
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