STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL LITERACY IN PRIMARY EDUCATION CONTEXTS: DIAGNOSIS AND EVALUATION
Universidad del Bío Bío (CHILE)
About this paper:
Conference name: 12th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies
Dates: 6-7 July, 2020
Location: Online Conference
Abstract:
The rise of technologies has marked the difference in many contexts of society, being education one of the most important ones, where many strategies and improvements have been applied, its a context that can’t and shouldn’t be detached from Information Technologies (IT) with educational purposes, namely, it should give students digital tools that allow them to learn to code and to use instruments that contribute to developing computational thinking. There are evident signs that there are schools that are actually in disadvantage regarding digital tools, mainly rural and low socioeconomic level schools that lack of connectivity, which acts as a barrier for digital learning and reduces opportunities. The proposed study, contemplates the valorization of educators regarding if the use and application of this technologies is successful and beneficial inside the classroom in the context of a significant learning in the digital education syllabus. To develop this study a field research in public educational establishments is done aiming to elaborate a diagnostic and evaluation about the technological gaps present in public education, which is interpreted as an inequality of opportunities to access information, knowledge and education through technology. Observing if the infrastructure and digital resources are available for students and counting on implementation and formation of digital competences and abilities in the quality of learning and the safe use and handling of Information Technologies (IT). For data collection, two poll-like instruments are designed, one aiming to specify the digital technologies available, considering infrastructure, digital resources, equipment availability, internet connectivity, digital spaces among others. The second one inquires about the benefits of practical skill training, the application of digital resources in learning and the use and handling of IT’s. The results of this diagnostical research confirm that the presence of digital gaps prove the existence of disadvantages and lack of opportunities for students in establishments where digital matter has not been incorporated. Additionally the lack of training of teachers is perceived, which inhibits the learning process of students, concluding that the digital irruption generates languages, expression ways and unusual scenarios that require new skills by the new generations, forced to learn communication ways and to decipher multimedia codes as media users for their future integration in this interconnected society.Keywords:
Digital literacy, Technologic education, Technological gaps, Technological skills.