No abstract

The rapid development of new technologies observed in recent years and the active digital transformation of society impose special requirements for a future specialist and his digital competence. The authors should note that the concept of digital competence has become very popular in recent years, and now there are many studies, which in one way or another reveal its various aspects. However, typically, plenty of different definitions lead to a blurring of boundaries of the concept and the absence of a unified designation of its essential and semantic characteristics. As a result, this concept is considered the ability to use information and communication technologies, a part of social competence, and a way of communication. To identify the initial level of digital competencies, the authors carried out a diagnostic study involving the students of Mari State University (Yoshkar-Ola, Russia) in different training programs. The paper presents a detailed overview of the results of this study and identifies three levels of students’ digital competencies: high, medium, and low. The study shows that students with a high level of digital competence have a positive attitude towards the digital transformation of education emphasizing that it provides new opportunities to use digital technologies in learning and increases the effectiveness of the learning process. These students support digital learning, online consultations, and providing information for lectures and seminars in electronic form, as opposed to the students with a low level of digital competence, who have a negative attitude towards the digital transformation of education, noting only its weaknesses. These students support digital learning, online consultations, and providing information for lectures and seminars in electronic form, as opposed to the students with a low level of digital competence, who have a negative attitude towards the digital transformation of education, noting only its weaknesses.