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Digital technologies have brought changes to the nature and scope of education and led education systems worldwide to adopt strategies and policies for ICT integration. The latter brought about issues regarding the quality of teaching and learning with ICTs, especially concerning the understanding, adaptation, and design of the education systems in accordance with current technological trends. These issues were emphasized during the recent COVID-19 pandemic that accelerated the use of digital technologies in education, generating questions regarding digitalization in schools. Specifically, many schools demonstrated a lack of experience and low digital capacity, which resulted in widening gaps, inequalities, and learning losses. Such results have engendered the need for schools to learn and build upon the experience to enhance their digital capacity and preparedness, increase their digitalization levels, and achieve a successful digital transformation. Given that the integration of digital technologies is a complex and continuous process that impacts different actors within the school ecosystem, there is a need to show how these impacts are interconnected and identify the factors that can encourage an effective and efficient change in the school environments. For this purpose, we conducted a non-systematic literature review. The results of the literature review were organized thematically based on the evidence presented about the impact of digital technology on education and the factors that affect the schools’ digital capacity and digital transformation. The findings suggest that ICT integration in schools impacts more than just students’ performance; it affects several other school-related aspects and stakeholders, too. Furthermore, various factors affect the impact of digital technologies on education. These factors are interconnected and play a vital role in the digital transformation process. The study results shed light on how ICTs can positively contribute to the digital transformation of schools and which factors should be considered for schools to achieve effective and efficient change.

Internet technologies have infiltrated higher education institutions around the world. At the same time, the latest generation of students, the so-called Generation Z (Gen Z), are entering higher education. Gen Z is the first generation born in an Internet-connected world, and digital devices are a seamless part of its life. As a result, Gen Z students have already been engaged with informal digital learning via internet-based technologies outside of formalized education settings. However, previous research has shown that their engagement with these technologies is limited and might not sufficiently cover the knowledge and skills needed to perform internet activities effectively in higher education. Additionally, their familiarity with digital devices and tools varies. Consequently, there is a need for higher education institutions to close the skills gap by applying assessment processes that will assist them in forming policies and training resources for undergraduate students. To achieve the above, research efforts need to focus on developing theoretically informed and valid instruments that measure internet skills. This study has contributed to the validation of a self-assessment questionnaire, the Internet Skills Scale, that can be used in university settings. The questionnaire measures five types of internet skills: operational, information-navigation, social, creative, and critical. The results presented herein provide directions for future research in the field. Keywords: Internet Skills; Internet Skills Scale; Validation; Generation Z; Higher Education

The current generation of students lives in a globally connected world where Internet technologies are ubiquitous. As a result, they learn how to use various digital tools from a very young age, although, for the most part, the skills they develop are not adequate to use internet technologies in academic settings effectively. Additionally, while digital skills are essential in Higher Education (HE), developing programs for the effective use of internet technologies is still an issue in question. Research lacks empirical investigations regarding the design of such programs. To address this gap, the authors applied a design-based research (DBR) methodology to empirically explore an instructional intervention that aimed to enhance undergraduate students’ digital skills for the effective use of the Internet during their studies. Specifically, the authors drew from multiple sources and utilized a triangulation approach to interpreting the findings emphasizing the aspects of digital skills development and assessment and learning design. The results clearly show that the project-based learning intervention and the proposed design principles can positively impact digital skills development and support learning in academic settings. The authors conclude with implications for further research in the field focusing on digital skills frameworks, assessment instruments, instructional approaches, and learning content. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43545-022-00428-2.

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