ESTIMATING THE USEFULNESS OF ICT TOOLS FOR IMPLEMENTING CRITICAL THINKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the higher education improvement and highlighted the maintenance of public health as an essential priority. Due to this unexpected situation, the educational system moved from face-to-face to distance learning without prior preparations. This contingency made it possible to study the benefits of ICT tools in the educational process. Starting from the primary function of the educational process and through the forecast of future trends in education, this paper presents the guidelines for improvement of the teaching and learning processes and some opportunities for their implementation. A survey was conducted among the Faculty of Economics, Business, and Tourism students in Split, Croatia, who evaluated the acceptance of various ICT tools. Based on the obtained research results, generic strategic guidelines for the effective use of IT tools in teaching are presented, including their potential impact on accreditation criteria.