Abstract
Digitalization in Higher Education (HE) institutions is an issue that concerns many educational stakeholders. ICT skills are becoming increasingly relevant in every context, especially in the workplace, therefore one of the prime objectives for universities has become preparing future professionals to be able to deal with problems and search for solutions, including digital competence as a vital skill set. Different policies, initiatives and strategies are currently being proposed in Germany, addressing educational technology innovations in HE. The University of Oldenburg is presented as an example, in an endeavour to gain an understanding of what is being proposed and what is actually happening in teaching and learning in German university classrooms. Two datasets were examined regarding the use and perceptions of students (n = 200) and teachers (n = 381) on the use of digital tools. Findings reveal that both teachers and students use a limited number of digital technology for predominantly assimilative tasks, with the Learning Management System being perceived as the most useful tool. In order to support the broader use of educational technology for teaching and learning purposes, strategies for HE institutions are suggested.
Highlights
With the number of ‘wicked challenges’ growing around the world, the need for university graduates to possess a range of collaborative and interdisciplinary skills is ever increasing (Oliver & Jorre de St Jorre, 2018)
Given the link that higher levels of ICT skills has with higher wages (Falck, Wiederhold, & Heimisch, 2016), and the risk of job losses in the future due to computerisation and automation (Hajkowicz et al, 2016), an onus is on higher education (HE) institutions to implement digitalization strategies that will foster a range of twenty-first century skills, enabling students to use technology in flexible, adaptive and innovative ways (Claro & Ananiadou, 2009; Oliver & Jorre de St Jorre, 2018; Redecker, 2017)
Conclusion and future research Drawing on international literature, this study highlights the situation of face-to-face educational technology use at a mid-sized German university
Summary
With the number of ‘wicked challenges’ growing around the world, the need for university graduates to possess a range of collaborative and interdisciplinary skills is ever increasing (Oliver & Jorre de St Jorre, 2018). Given the link that higher levels of ICT skills has with higher wages (Falck, Wiederhold, & Heimisch, 2016), and the risk of job losses in the future due to computerisation and automation (Hajkowicz et al, 2016), an onus is on HE institutions to implement digitalization strategies that will foster a range of twenty-first century skills, enabling students to use technology in flexible, adaptive and innovative ways (Claro & Ananiadou, 2009; Oliver & Jorre de St Jorre, 2018; Redecker, 2017). Using the affordances of digital technology can make teaching and learning more flexible, and lead to increased student agency and lifelong learning skills (Blaschke & Hase, 2015)
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