Digital competence is an evolving concept related to the development of digital technology and the political aims and expectations of citizenship in a knowledge society. It is regarded as a core competence in policy papers; in educational research it is not yet a standardized concept. We suggest that it is a useful boundary concept, which can be used in various contexts. For this study, we analysed 76 educational research articles in which digital competence, described by different terms, was investigated. As a result, we found that digital competence consists of a variety of skills and competences, and its scope is wide, as is its background: from media studies and computer science to library and literacy studies. In the article review, we found a total of 34 terms that had used to describe the digital technology related skills and competences; the most often used terms were digital literacy, new literacies, multiliteracy and media literacy, each with somewhat different focus. We suggest that digital competence is defined as consisting of (1) technical competence, (2) the ability to use digital technologies in a meaningful way for working, studying and in everyday life, (3) the ability to evaluate digital technologies critically, and (4) motivation to participate and commit in the digital culture.

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The aim of this study was to create a model which describes the main elements for improving schools with digital technology and helps to reveal differences between schools and identify their best practices and challenges. The innovative digital school model (IDI school) offers a framework for research but also a research-based model for schools to examine their own practices with digital technologies. The model combines previous research on school improvement, creation of innovations, and digital technology in education as a special case of innovations and learning as knowledge creation to define six main elements describing an innovative, digital school: visions of the school, leadership, practices of the teaching community, pedagogical practices, school-level knowledge practices and digital resources. The model was applied to investigate three basic education schools. The results indicate that the model worked: we found essential differences between the schools and their best practices and challenges for improvement. It worked particularly well for those elements, which are mainly the responsibility for leadership inside a school. The differences of various elements between schools were not based on socioeconomic background but on the school-level practices. As a conclusion, we suggest that to improve schools with digital technology, all elements of the model should be included in the evaluation and development process.

<p>Higher education institutions should not only aim to educate academic experts who master their own fields, but also give their students generic skills important in contemporary society. New teaching methods are required to support the development of such skills. The study examined how a group of voluntary university lecturers re-designed their courses by applying theory-based pedagogical design principles emphasising object-oriented, collaborative knowledge creation supported by digital technology. The primary data consisted of lecturer interviews and students’ written post-evaluations from three courses. The re-designed courses included broader thematic assignments, more cumulative knowledge production in groups and more diverse use of technology than prior course iterations. Both the lecturers and students addressed the learning outcomes in positive terms, but collaborative knowledge production was more evident in two courses designed according to authentic professional practices. Students generally valued the working methods, although they also pointed out weaknesses in the tasks, course structuring and group work. The lecturers experienced some difficulties in guiding students’ productive group work. The pedagogical design principles worked well as conceptual tools in the intervention process, but they should be complemented with recommendations for teachers on modelling authentic professional practices and methods of scaffolding students’ collaborative knowledge creation efforts.</p>

A collegial practice transfer process between more-and less-experienced teachers was examined in two cases that sought to encourage teachers to use information and communication technology (ICT) in a pedagogically meaningful way. Collegial practice transfer is aimed at offering new models for in-service teacher training. The process included guiding sessions, training materials presenting authentic pedagogical examples, and try-outs in the classroom. The success of practice transfer was examined through comparing the classroom practices of more-and less-experienced teachers applying the Pedagogical Infrastructure Framework, and through analyzing the tutored teachers' self-reported experiences in interviews. The process provided flexible support and gave self-confidence to the less-experienced teachers. Technology use was successful, but the tutored teachers designed less coherent tasks and weaker support for pupils' collaboration, knowledge construction and metacognition than their more-experienced colleagues. In tutoring, underlying educational ideologies and reasons should be explicated in addition to practical issues of classroom orchestration and technology use.