REPRESENTATIONS OF THE DIGITAL SKILLS OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Abstract

With the rise of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) today, digital competencies, for high school students, are necessary skills that must be systematically develop with the awareness of efficient use of ICT. Under this premise, qualitative research was carried out under the interpretative framework of the theory based on the social representations of the students, with the objective of knowing what it represents them to develop these skills in benefit of their formative process. In this sense, an in-depth interview validated by experts, was conduct to eighteen high school students. With this technique, we sought to identify how students recognize their skills in the use of technologies, how they apply them in their learning process, and what they represent for them. Researchers used ISTE Standards as dimensions for the categorization of data about creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, research and information management, critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making, digital citizenship, and operations and ICT concepts. The results indicate that students recognize having skills for the management of technologies, however, these are not channeled in the sense of benefiting their training process since there is little participation in the creation of materials for the construction of knowledge. Likewise, they recognize the applicability of technologies for collaboration and communication, but they do not apply them as such, the use of ICT is direct to social and recreational issues than for the purposes of academic interaction and collaborative learning. They refer to the little formality which they carry out their investigations and manage the information, they do not apply processes of critical analysis, selection and evaluation of the information they consult. The development of critical thinking is limited, and they do not reach the solution of problems and decision-making based on accurate information. About digital citizenship, students are aware of the importance of using ICT in a responsible, ethical and safe way, however, they have fallen into plagiarism, cyberbullying and among other. Students recognize that technologies can support them according to their needs for knowledge acquisition and transfer, although they know that it is essential to use habits that lead them to the productive use of the tools and content provided by ICT. It is necessary to continue carrying out this type of research that provides empirical information about this subject.