Influence of Knowledge Area on the Use of Digital Tools during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Latin American Professors
In this paper, quantitative, descriptive, and correlational research is carried out on the impact that the process of digitalization of academic activities in higher education has had on the habits of use of information and communication technologies (ICT) among professors and the influence of the a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/12/9/635 |
| _version_ | 1797489180074311680 |
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| author | Álvaro Antón-Sancho María Sánchez-Calvo |
| author_facet | Álvaro Antón-Sancho María Sánchez-Calvo |
| author_sort | Álvaro Antón-Sancho |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper, quantitative, descriptive, and correlational research is carried out on the impact that the process of digitalization of academic activities in higher education has had on the habits of use of information and communication technologies (ICT) among professors and the influence of the area of knowledge on this impact. For this purpose, responses from 716 professors from different Latin American universities to a survey designed by the authors were statistically analyzed. Following the UNESCO guide on the use of ICT in higher education, the survey distinguishes the following teaching activities to measure the use of ICT: lessons, tutorials, sharing materials, and evaluation. The results show that the use of ICT has increased in all teaching activities, but unevenly, being particularly intense in those in which the use of ICT was less frequent during the pandemic—specifically, tutorials and evaluation, whose frequency of use has increased by around 50%. As a result of this uneven increase, the use of ICTs in different teaching activities has become more homogeneous after the pandemic. This increase was significantly higher among engineering and social sciences professors than in other areas of knowledge, as well as in evaluation and tutorial tools than in other activities. In addition, the ICT tools most used during the pandemic were those with which the professors or students were most familiar before the pandemic. It is recommended that universities increase the specific training of professors in the pedagogical use of ICT and that they should address the specificities of each area of knowledge. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:12:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2948ba9ef44843b0914f7a1fd4099530 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:12:50Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-2948ba9ef44843b0914f7a1fd40995302023-11-23T15:56:19ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022022-09-0112963510.3390/educsci12090635Influence of Knowledge Area on the Use of Digital Tools during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Latin American ProfessorsÁlvaro Antón-Sancho0María Sánchez-Calvo1Technology, Instruction and Design in Engineering and Education Research Group, Catholic University of Ávila, C/Canteros s/n, 05005 Ávila, SpainTechnology, Instruction and Design in Engineering and Education Research Group, Catholic University of Ávila, C/Canteros s/n, 05005 Ávila, SpainIn this paper, quantitative, descriptive, and correlational research is carried out on the impact that the process of digitalization of academic activities in higher education has had on the habits of use of information and communication technologies (ICT) among professors and the influence of the area of knowledge on this impact. For this purpose, responses from 716 professors from different Latin American universities to a survey designed by the authors were statistically analyzed. Following the UNESCO guide on the use of ICT in higher education, the survey distinguishes the following teaching activities to measure the use of ICT: lessons, tutorials, sharing materials, and evaluation. The results show that the use of ICT has increased in all teaching activities, but unevenly, being particularly intense in those in which the use of ICT was less frequent during the pandemic—specifically, tutorials and evaluation, whose frequency of use has increased by around 50%. As a result of this uneven increase, the use of ICTs in different teaching activities has become more homogeneous after the pandemic. This increase was significantly higher among engineering and social sciences professors than in other areas of knowledge, as well as in evaluation and tutorial tools than in other activities. In addition, the ICT tools most used during the pandemic were those with which the professors or students were most familiar before the pandemic. It is recommended that universities increase the specific training of professors in the pedagogical use of ICT and that they should address the specificities of each area of knowledge.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/12/9/635digital resourcehigher educationvirtual learning environmentdigital competenceCOVID-19 pandemictechnical applications |
| spellingShingle | Álvaro Antón-Sancho María Sánchez-Calvo Influence of Knowledge Area on the Use of Digital Tools during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Latin American Professors Education Sciences digital resource higher education virtual learning environment digital competence COVID-19 pandemic technical applications |
| title | Influence of Knowledge Area on the Use of Digital Tools during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Latin American Professors |
| title_full | Influence of Knowledge Area on the Use of Digital Tools during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Latin American Professors |
| title_fullStr | Influence of Knowledge Area on the Use of Digital Tools during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Latin American Professors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of Knowledge Area on the Use of Digital Tools during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Latin American Professors |
| title_short | Influence of Knowledge Area on the Use of Digital Tools during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Latin American Professors |
| title_sort | influence of knowledge area on the use of digital tools during the covid 19 pandemic among latin american professors |
| topic | digital resource higher education virtual learning environment digital competence COVID-19 pandemic technical applications |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/12/9/635 |
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