Abstract:

The rapid transition from distance learning to the Covid-19 pandemic, the high level of uncertainty about the development and duration of the crisis, and the specificities of this type of training pose immediate risks to the effective functioning of the education system and its short- and medium-term goals. This emphasises the need to find appropriate solutions to ensure the adaptability, coherence and efficiency of the educational process in order to ensure equal opportunities for quality education and sustainability of acquired knowledge and skills.

The present study aims to give answers to the following research questions:
1) What is the accessibility of students to electronic devices for distance learning?;
2) How do students deal with electronic platforms and applications used by teachers?;
3) What is their self-assessment in terms of knowledge acquisition, solving problems and do their homework in natural sciences?

The target group of the research includes 10-14 years old students (lower secondary school), who filled in a questionnaire in electronic format. The survey was conducted in the period May-June 2021, which for Bulgaria is the end of the 2020/2021 school year. The study involved more than 1,300 students from schools with different profiles (primary, secondary, specialized) and from different sized settlements (village, small town, big city).

The individual feedback from the students is collected through a questionnaire, which follows the framework of the research and contains questions providing data on:
1) the resource provision of the students, incl. access to digital devices, the Internet and appropriate educational e-resources;
2) self-assessment of students for their success in distance learning;
3) digital skills of students;
4) satisfaction of the students from the distance learning in natural sciences.

The obtained results show a relatively high level of students' access to electronic devices. Despite the good resource provision of students in general, a significant part of them use a smartphone, which is not a prerequisite and condition for conducting a quality and effective learning process in an electronic environment. The data show that two thirds of students (61.7%) have access to a computer, laptop or tablet, but students who rely only on their smartphones are more than one third (38.3%).

To understand how effective the students' work with electronic devices and resources has been in the distance learning, we rely on their self-assessment of their digital skills. Technology is part of every young person's daily life today. They will increasingly enter as an integral part of the learning process, which puts the issue of digital literacy of students on the agenda with particular urgency.

Keywords:

Motivation, engagement, satisfaction, troubles, digital technologies, skills.