COVID-19 and the Promotion of Digital Competences in Education

Abstract

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has profound consequences on social, economic and cultural life worldwide, and is affecting, throughout the world, the regular functioning of educational institutions at all levels, with their temporary shutdown and the impossibility of face-to-face classes. This study aims to add to the analysis of the implications of this context in the reformulation of education shaped by the digital. To fulfill this goal, the authors carried out a document collection, and also mobilized their experience in the research and teaching of this topic. It is concluded that these unforeseen circumstances may be a key moment of opportunity for reformulating teaching, with the implementation, development and dissemination among teachers and students of digital technologies in shaping a society that is, itself, increasingly digital, notably Society 5.0. To this end, and as main implications, the agents of the educational process, teachers and students, due to their traits and various reasons, will have to prepare for student-centered learning through the intentional and sensible mobilization of digital technologies in a complex process, in which each agent will be, ultimately, a critical content creator with enhanced digital literacy. In the contemporary digital society, the school needs to reinvent itself, which is even more pressing with the Covid-19 pandemic. Aspects such as training, internet access infrastructure, hardware and software, digital literacy, and students and academics' teaching and learning strategies are essential. The school offers, thus, a critical contribution to social cohesion and social equity through digital inclusion in education for sustainable development.

COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption on university teaching and learning and competence cultivation: Student evaluation of online learning experiences in Hong Kong

“…The issue of digital competence—or digital literacy—may hinder the cultivation of student competence. Sá and Serpa (2020) argued that promoting digital competence in the pandemic has been a challenge, specifically for students who have a lower level of skills and lack access to the Internet and digital devices. Ensuring student whole person development, including being digitally competent, will allow students to be employed as this is vital in the 21st century.…”

COVID-19: The Disproportionate Impact on Underserved K-12 Students

“…However, since implementing additional technology and applications, students have increasingly struggled in the virtual environment by not submitting assignments and being held liable (Kavrayıcı & Kesim, 2021). Although facilitating instruction through technology is significant for many K-12 institutions, they will need to confirm that teachers and students can access and understand how to use the technology and applications (Sá & Serpa, 2020). Consequently, it will be imperative for both teachers and students to learn how to participate effectively in the virtual environment and other hybrid learning models (Darling-Hammond & Hyler, 2020).…”

The Relationship between Basic Education and Higher Education in a Pandemic Context: The Portuguese Situation

“…Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic and its multiple social, economic and educational effects is an unavoidable and worrying issue (Carmo et al, 2020;Martins et al, 2021;Sá & Serpa, 2020a;, as well as their many and profound implications for the relationship between basic education and higher education (Sá & Serpa, 2020b, 2020c. At the time of the writing of this commentary, the number of deaths caused by COVID-19 in Portugal, on March 12, 2021, and according to official data, was 16,650 individuals (General-Directorate for Health, 2021a).…”

“…In this regard, Costa (2020) These measures motivated by the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic fostered the critical digitalization in higher education already in the near future (Carmo et al, 2020;Santos & Serpa, 2017;. As Lopes (2020) sustains, "In terms of technological fetishism and euphoria and the glorification of the 'internet of things', it is important to take into account people's internet, that is, the way they access it and how they appropriate it" (pp78), at least temporarily (Gaebel et al, 2021;Sá & Serpa, 2020c). It would be interesting to consider this issue also in basic education (Costa et al, 2021).…”