Teacher digital competence, attitude and use of digital technologies by university professors

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of possible correlations among three variables of interest related to the integration of digital technologies in university education: teacher digital competence, the university lecturers’ attitudes regarding the use of these technologies in education, and specific activities that take advantage of these technologies in an educational context. The research was conducted at the University of Nariño in the city of Pasto, Colombia. The sample consisted of 162 university lecturers who responded to two questionnaires. The first questionnaire is called COMDID-A and was designed to determine the level of digital competence of the participating lecturers. The second questionnaire aimed to identify the attitudes held by those lecturers regarding the use of technology in education, and the primary activities they use to take advantage of digital technologies in their classes. In general, the results show a significant correlation between the lecturers’ assessment of their own levels of digital competence, their attitudes towards the use of digital technologies, and the frequency with which they make use of digital technologies in their teaching activities. The article concludes with a discussion of the novelty, relevance, and importance of research of this type for the integration of digital technologies in university education.