Digital competence for emergency remote teaching in higher education: understanding the present and anticipating the future

Abstract

Higher education has increasingly adopted online and blended models of teaching. Guided by institutional policy and digital competence frameworks, the integration of digital tools and competences is perceived as essential. The pivot to emergency remote teaching (ERT) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic increased the use of digital technologies and the need to deploy and support digital competences. Researchers captured a range of remote teaching practices in higher education across this period that highlight the adaptability of teachers despite a lack of preparation for such an event. This study reviewed empirical studies of ERT from the past 2 years to derive a conceptual frame for ERT digital competence, which was then applied as a lens to analyse teaching or digital competency frameworks from Australian universities. The findings of this paper demonstrate the pre-pandemic teaching and digital competency frameworks captured digital competencies relevant to ERT in varied ways. Practically, the findings provide a starting point for understanding digital competences needed for ERT to ensure future preparedness in responding to a crisis that disrupts educational provision. We also suggest universities can better support the development of teachers’ digital competence through practical operationalisations that connect technical and pedagogical knowledge, make digital possibilities across modes of delivery explicit, and acknowledge the need to protect wellbeing of educators.

Digital literacies, social media, and undergraduate learning: what do students think they need to know?

“…This example and others like it show possibilities for beneficially integrating disciplinary and transdisciplinary DL approaches, ideally in ways that reach across years of study, to allow for both breadth and depth of coverage. As Cook et. al.…”

Online Teacher Professional Development (oTPD) for Digital Competencies in Higher Education: A Systematic Review of the Literature

“…Educator commitments, flexibility, and perceived relevance of TPD (1.1) Addressing the specifics of providing TPD for educators in HE is crucial, as emphasised in the literature. This involves considering their available time for professional development, the perceived relevance of TPD programmes, and the complex teaching situations and syllabi (Alsofyani et al, 2012;Cook et al, 2023;Wu et al, 2016). In general, research shows that TPD is most effective with a duration of one semester or more (Desimone, 2009;Garet et al, 2001); however, often, educators have little time to participate in professional development or work on improving their teaching (Laurillard et al, 2011;Wu et al, 2016).…”

New challenges in mitigating climate change: Digital teaching for the sustainable development and innovation

“…This is achieved by providing students with integrated learning approaches that combine content acquisition, interactive methods, and non-specific learning environments [ 52 ]; At the same time, teachers optimize the teaching process and methodology through digital teaching. This involves integrating digitalisation into the profession, feeding back to students, and improving student learning efficiency and quality of teaching [ 53 ]. Furthermore, the high-quality development of education is the due meaning and inevitable requirement of the top-quality development of the economy and society, and the teaching quality of digital teaching is an extremely important performance in the digital transformation of education to promote the sustainable development of education, and the quality of teaching determines the quality of innovative talents, while high-quality talents are the promotional force for the modernization and sustainable development of education [ 54 ].…”