Abstract
The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has generated a transformation in students’ competences and university education, especially in the use of digital tools. This study aims to analyze the use of digital tools and social networks of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the collection of information, a validated Likert questionnaire (10-point scale) was adopted. The instrument consisted of a total of 66 items comprising a total of seven dimensions. The sample contained 581 students pursuing degrees in Childhood Education and Primary Education. The analysis of the available information was carried out in two different stages. First, we started by performing an exploratory factorial analysis (EFA) to determine the underlying structure of the Digital Competence of Higher Education Students (DCHES) scale factor. In the second phase, we used SEM (structural equation modeling), a statistical approach to test the relationships between observed and latent variables. More specifically, we estimated a multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model. The results showed the importance of two of the considered covariates in explaining the variability of the different dimensions of the scale analyzed (DCHES) considering the use of social networks and digital tools of university students. In this sense, both the degree to which virtual tools are used to develop teamwork and the degree of use of YouTube when communicating most fully explained the level of digital skills among the university students studied.
Highlights
The pandemic caused by COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) has had a major impact in all contexts, forcing university education to undergo great changes in a very short period of time, both for teachers and for students, in order to adapt itself to the new situation using the digital tools at its disposal
Every dimension of Digital Competence of Higher Education Students (DCHES) is measured through the indicators that were determined by the previous exploratory factorial analysis (EFA)
0 = woman and 1 = man), information and communication technologies (ICTs) training, ICThours, SocNetwUse, VirToolsUse, and YoutubeUse (YouTube’s degree of use to communicate; Likert-type scale from 1 to 10)
Summary
The pandemic caused by COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) has had a major impact in all contexts, forcing university education to undergo great changes in a very short period of time, both for teachers and for students, in order to adapt itself to the new situation using the digital tools at its disposal. In this context, it is necessary to consider the competences that affect students, such as effective, emotional, and social competences, as students have been forced to work in unknown contexts featuring the exclusive use of digital platforms. Cabero [1,2] argues that the wellbeing of students includes five areas: material, social, physical, psychological, and cognitive wellbeing, educational sociologists consider economic and social wellbeing to be an influencing factor for the rest
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