Digital Technologies In Higher Education Research Articles

From Pen to Pixel

The use of digital technologies in higher education is continually increasing, leading to changes in language use and presumably altering the language skills needed for academic studies. However, scores from high-stakes English language proficiency (ELP) tests used in postsecondary admissions only ensure the prerequisite level of traditional English skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking). Such tests generally do not directly assess technology-mediated language skills (e.g., using online dictionaries and communicating via text message) that likely facilitate successful degree completion for international students. We present results from a needs analysis survey to re-evaluate the English-medium postsecondary linguistic landscape (i.e., update the target language use domain description), to inform ELP admissions tests. We specifically investigate international student (n = 379) and disciplinary instructor (n = 427) perceptions of the importance and frequency of technology-mediated language skills. Results show that student and instructor responses differ on certain technology-mediated skills, such as typing on a smartphone, underscoring the need to consider diverse perspectives in domain analysis research. Findings may inform how digital ELP admissions tests are developed, and how English for academic purposes curricula are designed, in order to better align test/classroom tasks with the academic language skills postsecondary students need.

ВИКОРИСТАННЯ В ОСВІТНЬОМУ ПРОЦЕСІ ТЕХНОЛОГІЙДИСТАНЦІЙНОГО НАВЧАННЯ

The integration of Ukraine into the European educational space involves strengthening the requirements for the quality of professional training of future specialists. The main task is to create all the conditions for learning, personal and professional development of students, to ensure the effective formation of their professional competence, regardless of the modern challenges and dangers faced by society in the 21st century. Currently, higher education institutions have a dilemma: are they able to move away from the traditional academic style of teaching to innovations, to focus not on knowledge and skills, but to ensure the process of forming the competence of the future specialist. Considering the circumstances, digital technologies are becoming more and more widespread, and in scientific publications there is a debate about the effectiveness of their use in the educational process of higher education. The integration of digital technologies in higher education creates new opportunities for both students and teachers, making learning more interesting, dynamic, visual, etc. The advantages and features of the use of remote technologies to improve the quality of professional training of future specialists in the conditions of a mixed form of organization of the educational process in institutions of higher education, which creates new conditions of learning and cooperation for all participants of the educational process, are considered. The most promising technologies of distance learning are characterized, which have important advantages, taking into account the peculiarities of the professional training of future specialists in the conditions of mixed learning in institutions of higher education. Such technologies include: gamification of the process of professional training of future specialists, quest technologies, cloud-based learning technologies, intelligent information systems in education, mobile learning technologies, immersive technologies. Currently, in the conditions of modern existence and development of society, innovative technologies are offered to higher education seekers, which gradually replace traditional methods of learning and ensure flexibility and quality of the educational process. We see the prospects for further research in the improvement of the educational process by determining the optimal ratio of classroom and remote components in the conditions of a mixed form of education in the process of developing the professional competence of future specialists and developing appropriate educational and methodological support.

Developing A Conceptual Framework for Sustainable Development Education Through Digital Tools: Qualitative Insights from Southwest China

This research delves into the intricate utilization of digital technology in higher education, aiming to construct a nuanced conceptual framework to interpret the digitalization of teaching sustainable development. A qualitative research design was employed, utilizing semi-structured in-depth interviews with 25 higher education teachers representing diverse experiences, backgrounds, and expertise from southwest China. The study also incorporated word frequency analysis and sentiment analysis to provide a comprehensive understanding of the emphasized themes and emotional tones in the discussions. NVivo 12.0 software facilitated meticulous coding and analytical abstraction, allowing the identification of core concepts and relationships among them. The results unveiled prominent themes such as Institutional Support and Policy Integration, Faculty Competence and Training, and Integration of Sustainable Development in Curricula. The sentiment analysis depicted a predominantly positive outlook on the integration of sustainability and digital tools in education, highlighting the perceived advancements and benefits in the field. The word frequency analysis further reinforced the focus on education, sustainability, and digital tools within the research discourse. The study contributes significantly to the academic discourse on digital sustainability education, providing intricate insights and a conceptual framework that can guide future research and practice in the field. It paves the way for refined educational methodologies, curriculum designs, and institutional policies, emphasizing the critical role of digital technology in education for sustainable development.

Digital education in Kazakhstani teacher training system

This article discloses the technology acceptance model (TAM - Technology acceptance model) in the aspect of digital technologies in higher education. The authors present a study of the motivational sphere of technology application by the educators of the higher institutions. The article presents the intermediate and final results of the participation of teachers in the motivational courses of the Coursera platform. The main results obtained in the course of the study indicate an insufficient level of motivation for the use of digital educational technologies in higher education. The application of technology is fragmented. Active participation in international courses increases certain aspects of the motivation for using digital educational technologies due to direct participation in them. The key findings of the research included the following aspects: Coursera platform could serve as a catalyst for transitioning from traditional education to a blended teaching format in higher education institutions; modifying syllabi to incorporate new digital topics has yielded tangible outcomes in the research; the technology acceptance model (TAM) effectively evaluates the level of motivation among higher education educators to utilize digital tools.

Exploring the relationship between digital competence proficiency and student learning performance

AbstractThe increased use of digital technology in higher education requires university students to be digitally proficient. The main objective of this study is to examine the extent to which university students' proficiency in various digital competences could be helpful towards their learning performance. This study adopted DigComp 2.2 to design a data collection instrument for an online questionnaire survey and conducted data analysis on the valid 314 responses using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS‐SEM). The findings indicate that, with the exception of safety, the digital competence areas of information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, and problem solving were significant to student learning performance. The findings also revealed that students' current semester had no significant moderating effect on the relationships between their proficiency in digital competence areas and learning performance, with the exception of a relationship between information and data literacy and learning performance, as well as a relationship between problem solving and learning performance, between respondents in semesters 3 and 4, and between respondents in semesters 5 and 6, respectively. The findings contribute to a better understanding of DigComp 2.2's applicability in higher education and can be used by educational institutions and educators to design learning activities and formative assessments that can help students improve their digital competence proficiency.

Literature Review on Emerging Educational Practices Mediated by Digital Technologies in Higher Education, Based on Academic Papers

Compared to the abundant generic research on technologies and education, few studies focus on the scope of whether the technologies used meet the expectations set forth in international reports and to what extent technology contributes to transforming educational practice. Our objective was to identify and analyze the characteristics of educational practices that are being developed in higher education and to assess the value that technology brings to educational practice. We conducted a systematic review of academic papers published in scientific journals: a corpus of 1,207 articles from six journals included in indexed databases (JCR and SJR), selected using Google Scholar Metrics. According to the various records screened, the study we present is based on 49 articles, published between 2018 and 2019. We conclude that beyond their reproducible, enriching, or transformative nature, most of the articles analyzed address the improvement of students’ performance, engagement, or self-perception, in which they positively value the experience of learning mediated by digital technology, although they do not have an impact on the transformative value.

Evaluate and identify the competencies of the future workforce for digital technologies implementation in higher education

In recent years, both information technology (IT) labor demand and IT job characteristics have been significantly influenced by the advent of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and the digital age. The higher education sector is expected to upgrade itself with such progress and train graduates capable of meeting the new industry requirements. However, due to the present demand gap, universities are seeking to identify the skills new digital workers are expected to have. As we live in the digital age, the literature has failed to address the questions of the consequences for individual workers adequately. Considerable scientific efforts should be made to design certain curricula and training programs that could nurture digital competencies (DC). There is a need to construct an inclusive framework of the term. In addition, different options exist for studying the DC of the workforce in relation to human resources management (HRM). The current paper attempts to fill the gap by developing an integrated decision-making framework. The paper aims to introduce an innovative discrimination measure and discuss its elegant properties. A Measurement of Alternatives and Ranking according to the COmpromise Solution (MARCOS) framework for evaluating the MCDM problem on a fuzzy set has been developed based on it. On the other hand, the new methodology of the PF-entropy-RS weight technique is used to compute the criteria weights or significance degrees of criteria. Then, the MARCOS method is a new elegant approach to handle the MCDM problems. Thus, in this study, we have developed a new approach to the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method using the PF-entropy-RS and PF-MARCOS methods and further implemented for the evaluation of the competencies of the future workforce for digital technologies implementation in higher education. It helps to calculate the objective/subjective weights of criteria to evaluate the competencies of the future workforce for digital technologies implementation in higher education; then, the approach is used to assess the preferences of higher education institutes over different competencies of the future workforce for digital technologies implementation in higher education. An empirical case study is carried out in this paper for the evaluation of the most important competencies of the future workforce for digital technologies implementation in higher education. In addition, to evaluate the performance quality of the proposed framework, this study also involves some comparison and sensitivity analyses. This study found that data and information processing has emerged as the most important competencies of the future workforce for digital technologies implementation in higher education. The ability to interact with modern interfaces is the second most important competency of the future workforce for digital technologies implementation in higher education. In conclusion, the workforce responsible for implementing digital technologies in higher education will significantly impact students’ learning experiences. As technological advancements continue, higher education institutions will require skilled professionals with diverse digital expertise to manage and integrate these technologies successfully.

Effective Strategies using Digital Literacy for Empowering Critical Thinking in Higher Education

In the digital era, digital literacy skills have become important in equipping students with the skills to participate actively in an increasingly connected and complex society. Likewise, critical thinking skills are essential in helping students develop deep understanding, good analysis, and evaluation of the information they encounter. This study aims to investigate effective strategies for using digital literacy to empower critical thinking skills in higher education. This research will adopt a qualitative approach using the case study method in several higher education institutions. Data will be collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and document analysis related to digital literacy strategies in the learning environment. Next, the data will be analyzed using a content analysis approach to identify which strategies most effectively empower students' critical thinking skills. It is hoped that the results of this study will provide in-depth insight into how digital literacy can be properly integrated into the higher education curriculum to stimulate students' critical thinking skills. The implication of this research is to provide practical guidance to educators, lecturers, and decision-makers in higher education institutions to design learning strategies that support the development of digital literacy and critical thinking. In addition, this research can also contribute to further research in the field of digital literacy and higher education. With a stronger focus on incorporating digital technologies in higher education, it is hoped that this research will provide valuable directions for the development of relevant and innovative curricula, which in turn will help produce graduates who are not only technically proficient but also able to think critically in facing complex modern world challenges.

Psychological Factors in Students’ Attitudes towards the Digital Educational Environment (Case of Russian and Belarusian Universities)

Introduction. The common educational space of Russia and Belarus is a condition for deepening integration processes underpinned by common historical roots, long experience of common development, goals and principles of cooperation. However, many aspects, including the prerequisites and factors of studentsʼ acceptance of digital technologies in higher education, are not sufficiently studied. The aim of the article is to present the results of research into the psychological factors of digital educational environment acceptance by students of Russian and Belarusian universities. Materials and Methods. The study involved 1 582 students from universities in Russia and Belarus aged 21,3 ± 6,3 years. To identify personality traits, Big Five Inventory-2 was used. The resources of self-regulation were determined using Personal Self-Activation Inventory and Self-Regulation Style Questionnaire. To determine the attitude to learning in the digital educational environment, AUDEE Scale was used, and to determine the attitude to learning activities – Activity-Related Experiences Assessment Technique. Results. The most important factors of digital educational environment acceptance for both samplings (Russia and Belarus) are not personality traits but activity-related experiences: the experience of pleasure in the absence of experiences of effort and void leads to acceptance of the digital educational environment. Modeling of significant conditions for achieving goals, evaluation of results and programming of actions, and insistency for the Belarusian sampling were also noted as important elements of digital educational environment acceptance. Therefore, the main factors are not the personality traits of the student, but the experiences that s/he experiences during the learning activity and some structural components of self-regulation. Similarity in models’ quality and structure for two different countries supports the reliability of the results and serves a basis for practical recommendations for digital educational environment development and preparing students for work in it. Discussion and Conclusions. The conclusions made by the authors contribute to the problem of studentsʼ attitude to the university’s digital educational environment. The materials of the article can be useful for university administration and teaching staff to improve both the university’s digital educational environment and the methods of teaching using digital educational environment.

A conceptual research framework for sustainable digital learning in higher education

The integration of digital technologies in Higher Education (HE) has dramatically changed the way students learn, however it has also raised critical concerns about the sustainability aspects of digital learning. Although a considerable amount of literature has been published on digital learning and Sustainable Development (SD) in HE, further research is needed to establish a comprehensive research framework which synthesises and organises the knowledge in this area. This paper draws on a critical review of the literature to develop a conceptual research framework on sustainable digital learning in HE from an Information Systems’ lens. The proposed framework is the outcome of a thorough integrative review, followed by a thematic analysis of relevant sources which outlines common research themes in the literature and identifies major areas for future research. The proposed framework provides researchers and educators with valuable insights on the use of digital technologies to promote SD in HE and highlights the importance of sustainability awareness. It further defines focus areas and future research directions which can guide their research, thereby assisting in building a coherent body of knowledge in this research area.

EdVee: A Visual Diagnostic and Course Design Tool for Constructive Alignment

The adoption of digital technologies in higher education offers new opportunities for student learning but also adds complexity to course design and development processes. Although practice varies across institutions and nations, a common response is that teams of people are now involved in the development and creation of blended and online courses. Members of such teams typically include instructional designers, academics, learning designers and technologists, and production teams, and courses are developed over time, often across separate locations and organisations. These factors are creating a need for tools that support the sharing of design information in distributed course design teams. This paper introduces such a course design tool, EdVee, which supports pedagogical innovation through the sharing and visualisation of constructive alignment of learning outcomes, content, learning, and teaching activities and assessment. Key concepts that underpin EdVee are drawn from systems engineering and product development. We demonstrate its value to course design through two case studies: the design of a new course and the evaluation of an existing course.

ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕ ОНЛАЙН-ПЛАТФОРМ И ЦИФРОВЫХ ТЕХНОЛОГИЙ В СИСТЕМЕ ВЫСШЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ РК

The article "The use of online platforms and digital technologies in the system of higher education of the Republic of Kazakhstan" considers the topical issue of using online platforms and digital technologies in the educational process in Kazakhstan. This paper provides an overview of existing national and international projects aimed at developing online education in Kazakhstan. Also shown are the results of a study on students' perception of the possibilities of online education and the level of their readiness to use digital technologies in the educational process, the advantages and disadvantages of online education and digital technologies are considered, recommendations for improving the quality of education when using these technologies in higher education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The purpose of this article is to study the use of online platforms and digital technologies in the higher education system of the Republic of Kazakhstan. To achieve the purpose, an analysis of scientific publications was carried out, a review of world research, also conducted a survey and interviews among students, teachers and ICT experts of Baishev University and Aktobe Regional University named after K. Zhubanov. The results of the study show that the use of online platforms and digital technologies in higher education of the Republic of Kazakhstan has great potential to improve the quality of education and expand the accessibility of education. However, to use these technologies effectively, barriers must be removed and problems that may limit their effectiveness must be addressed. In general, the article presents scientific findings that can help improve the use of online platforms and digital technologies in higher education in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Digitalizing Nursing Education Amid Covid-19

The incorporation of digital technologies in higher education has become a research topic actualized by the Covid-19 pandemic, including the re-thinking of theories and ontological assumptions supporting the role of these technologies in blended learning. Using nursing education in urban Sweden as an example, I present a reflexive and postphenomenological analysis of critical incidents during the use of an online assessment software for high stakes exams during the Covid-19 outbreak. Based on the analysis, I argue that the rapid digitalization prompted by the Covid-19 outbreak illuminates the importance of articulating digital technologies in higher education as human-technology relations in light of the philosophy of technology, notably postphenomenology. I conclude that postphenomenology can be helpful to clarify the non-neutrality and multistability of digital technologies and to articulate nuances of the human-technology relation, in blended learning.

The use of digital technologies in the preparation of accountants in agricultural universities

All interested parties, including universities, employers’ organizations, their officials associated with the management of the organization, accounting or financial departments and recruiting young specialists in the field of accounting, as well as professional associations, should take part in the formation of “digital” competencies for students and beginner accountants. As part of the study, the regulatory framework for the use of digital technologies in higher education will be studied; materials from Russian and world studies on the practice of introducing and using digital technologies in the training of domestic accountants will be summarized. A significant part of the study is focused on summarizing the concrete experience of training accountants in agricultural universities, leading the ranking of universities “National Vocation”, compiled annually within the framework of the project “Univer-Expert and Academic Critic”.

Digital Pandemic Stress in Higher Education in Venezuela.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a great impact on the process of integrating digital technologies in higher education and caused digital stress among professors, mainly in countries with a lower level of digitalization. In this work, quantitative research was carried out on the stress of professors in Venezuela due to the digitalization of their teaching activities caused by the pandemic, and gender gaps were identified in this regard. This digital stress was compared with that of professors in other countries with a low level of digitalization. For this purpose, a questionnaire designed by the authors was used. The questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 129 Venezuelan professors and 132 professors from countries with low digitalization levels. As a result, it was found that Venezuelan professors have lower digital competence and lower digital stress than their colleagues in weakly digitized countries, and that digital stress decreases as digital competence increases. Moreover, among Venezuelan professors, there was a strong gender gap in digital stress, which was higher among females in all subject areas, except for Health Sciences. This gender gap is specific to Venezuela since it differs from that in countries with low digital levels. According to the results, we urgently recommend investing resources in the digital training of faculty members, especially in regards to the integration of female professors.

Learning behavior, digital platforms for learning and its impact on university student's motivations and knowledge development.

Learning digital technologies in higher education is a process of knowledge generation, and the rapid growth of technology in education has a significant impact on students' learning behaviors, motivation, and knowledge development. Pakistan's remarkable technological breakthrough has increased in the education field. The study focuses on estimating students' learning behaviors, identifying the positive influence of educational apps on digital learning platforms, and analyzing their impact on students' motivation and knowledge development. According to the study's objectives, a questionnaire survey was conducted to gather the primary data. The participants were students of universities in Lahore city of Pakistan. For this study, the sample size was N = 300, carefully chosen using the purposive sampling technique. Of the respondents, there were 146 male and 154 female students, and the sample consisted of individuals aged 25-35 years. Smart-PLS-Bootstrapping, T-Values (PLS) 3.2.9 and the structural equation model (SEM) were applied to get the appropriate outcomes from the proposed study framework. SEM analysis results shows that all proposed hypotheses [Animated Movies (AM) -> Student Motivation (SM), Educational Apps (EA) -> Knowledge Development (KD), Learning Behavior (LB) -> Animated Movies, Learning Behavior -> Educational Apps, Learning Behavior -> Knowledge Development, Learning Behavior -> Virtual Classrooms (VCr), Virtual Classrooms -> Knowledge Development, Virtual Classrooms -> Student Motivation] are confirmed while Learning Behavior -> Student Motivation is not confirmed. This study found that digital learning platforms significantly impact students' learning and what motivates them to learn. The study also found that using educational apps and virtual classrooms more often helps students learn more and be more motivated to learn.

Social Health and Psychological Safety of Students Involved in Online Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Our paper focuses on the issues of social health and psychological safety of university students involved in digital sustainable education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, modern education is becoming inclusive due to the advancements in information and communication technologies (ICT), and it is important not only to stress the relevance of sustainable development and the use of digital technologies, but also their impact on students at schools and universities worldwide. Digital literacy is a newly emerging feature that results from the attitude of team members in the field of digital technologies. This paper explores the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' learning and well-being and outlines the potential considerations for educational systems as they support students through the recovery period and beyond. Our study is based on the results of our own survey that was administered using a snowball and convenient sample of 1524 respondents (aged 19-26 years; 56.2% females and 43.8% males) from the Czech Republic (N = 804) and Russia (N = 720). We employed the ANOVA and Dirichlet Process mixtures of Generalized Linear Models (DP-GLM) in order to explain the causes of stress and anxiety after grouping variables represented by gender and the study specializations. Our results demonstrate that more than 87% of the students in the sample expressed a medium to high vulnerability to stress, while 58% of the respondents were affected by severe anxiety during their online education engagement. The most important factors that emerged as significant were the fear of getting infected and social distancing, while the best strategy to cope with the stress was self-control. These results allow us to provide practical recommendations for effectively coping with and controlling stress and anxiety among students in the post-pandemic era. In addition, our findings might contribute considerably to the study of the overall long-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the university students, in general, and the use of digital technologies in higher education, as well as on the public health.

Building an In-Between Space for Digital Pedagogy

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, new and existing applications of digital technology in higher education have accelerated. Much recent writing around digital pedagogy conceptualises its affordances as a space rather than a tool. This paper presents a new digital pedagogy project, the Media & Communications Virtual Gallery, and considers how it makes use of those affordances for learning. The project is an online 3D, publicly accessible online gallery that houses a curated selection of student coursework. The objective of the project was to improve student engagement and visibility of student work. The gallery developed as an experiment towards this objective using digital technology in a way that did not simply replicate existing models. This paper elaborates on three key elements of digital space as they play out in the Virtual Gallery: authenticity, provocation, and play. Each element rests on the concept of the virtual as providing an ‘in-between’ zone, acting as both bridge and buffer between student experience inside a higher

Determinants Influencing the Continuous Intention to Use Digital Technologies in Higher Education

There is increasing evidence that the lack of access to digital information and technologies is not widely considered in the educational sectors when focusing on the perceived experience, tutor quality and students’ satisfaction. In this paper, we report on an evaluation of a project aiming to bridge the use of digital information in the educational sector by proposing an integrated model that measures teachers’ quality, uncertainty avoidance effects and students’ satisfaction concerning TAM constructs and the perceived experience of digital information in education (DIE). The model and hypotheses were validated using data collected from a survey of 553 students at a college level. The results revealed that users may perceive the importance of DIE based on several external factors that enhance their learning and teaching experiences. The personal characteristics of the user including his/her readiness to use technology are crucial in correlation with the perceived ease of use. In addition, the high quality of the tutor in some cultures may enhance the perceived usefulness of the technology. Other factors such as flow of information, uncertain avoidance and satisfaction may strongly assess the continuous intention to use the technology.

The Role of Digital Technologies in Higher Education during the Coronavirus Pandemic: Insights from a Ghanaian University

The emergence of the coronavirus disease saw the closure of schools as well as a hitch in the application of the face-to-face approach to classroom interaction. During this period, digital technologies presented a useful alternative. In the present study, we examined the use of digital technologies among students of the University of Cape Coast during the coronavirus pandemic. The study relied on a qualitative research design involving interviews with 10 students. The findings revealed that students used mainly mobile phones and laptops to facilitate learning during the pandemic. It was also found that these devices had essential software such as Moodle, Zoom, WhatsApp, and YouTube installed on them, which enabled interactions between course instructors and students. Again, we found that these technologies were useful in helping students develop information-seeking, typing and research skills. However, the use of these devices came with some challenges, such as the breakdown of the machines, expensive data bundles, and unfamiliarity with the operational procedures of software. Students adopted various coping strategies in dealing with these problems. Based on these findings, the study highlighted some implications for practice.