Abstract:

The revolution of information and technology along with the profound consequences of online platforms like Moodle, has provoked traditional teaching methods and urged for more enhancement of educators’ pedagogical digital competencies and literacy to foster learner-centered online teaching and learning, engage students and promote collaboration. Hence, this study aimed to explore the online teaching practices of language educators in higher education using the Moodle platform in addition to analyzing the alignment of these practices with the European Digital Competence Framework ((DigCompEduc). Data collection has been conducted in two phases to achieve this objective. Initially, twenty-five English language instructors in Palestinian universities participated in semi-structured interviews to analyze their online teaching practices using Moodle. Subsequently, these practices were evaluated based on a checklist prepared in accordance with the European Digital Competence Framework for educators. The findings revealed a significant disparity in educators’ usage of Moodle resources and activity tools. While some tools, such as Quizzes and Assignments, were utilized excessively others, like Forums, Workshop, and Glossary, were completely ignored. In terms of the alignment of such online teaching practices with DigCompEduc competencies, the outcomes demonstrated a mixed alignment with the framework across different domains. Although teaching practices partially aligned with some domains such as Assessment, there was a lack of harmonious alignment with other competencies, especially Professional Engagement; Digital Resources, Teaching and Learning, Empowering learners, and Facilitating learners’ digital competence. Accordingly, some conclusions were drawn.

Keywords:

Moodle, DigCompEduc, Language Educators, Higher Education.