Abstract:

Digitization is an important field of education and research (European Commission 2010). In fact, digital skills have a key role in a knowledge-based society (Ala-Mutka et al. 2008). This makes universities a decisive actor for the education of future managers, innovators and politicians.

Higher education didactics can deliver an important contribution: Among other things, there are approaches to the methodical use of digital media (Vigurs et al. 2018), the modernization of universities with information technologies (Kankevičienė 2012) or the self-management of students in dealing with digital media (Miranda et al. 2018). Hall (2008) asked whether university teaching helps learners on their way to digital autonomy. The various questions illustrate the diversity of research activities in this field. We combine these and develop a framework that approaches the education of digital skills in higher education.

Accordingly, we formulate our research questions: In which didactic elements are digital skills addressed and how? Here we will refer to didactic elements (Breßler et al. 2014) of knowledge content, learning goals, methods and forms of learning (e.g. group work). In addition, we look at the systematics of digital skills in the manner of Deursen et al. (2010, 2014) and the OECD (2011). Therefore we distinguish between six types of digital skills: technical, quality risk & safety, management & entrepreneurship, communication, innovation and emotional intelligence.

We use both systematics, didactics and types of digital skills, as a conceptual framework for the development of a concept for the didactics of digital skills. So we investigate in which didactic elements which types of digital skills are used or promoted.

Main analytic method:
Using a method-mix strategy our sample amounts ~250 current BSc and MSc students of an university in a rural area with an excellence strategy. In a cross-case design we analyze two learning settings of an economic faculty.

Expected outcome:
We expect the formulation of hypotheses for the promotion and use of digital skills in higher education. We also formulate and test hypotheses on the nature of digital skills. This leads to the development of a didactic concept for digital skills in the context of university education.

The aim is to create added value for science and practice. In particular, the topic of digital skills in university didactics will be forced. Furthermore, we will give evidence-based recommendations for the development of digital skills in the university context.

Keywords:

Digital skills, didactic, future learning, method-mix.