Abstract:

A modern school requires the use of modern information and communication technology (ICT) solutions. Incorporating hardware, software, and websites (e-services) into teaching practice has become a matter of course. The technical layer of the digitization of school is becoming as essential as teachers' attitudes to new media and the digital skills of both pedagogues and students. It is therefore important to reflect on the types of solutions that can be used in education today. This area in particular is crucial in understanding the technical determinants of the digitisation of schooling.

This text is part of an attempt to show the multifaceted development of media pedagogy, as well as the practical sphere related to the integration of hardware and software in the daily activities of educators. The aim of the text is to draw attention to the technical layer, which is the everyday background of the activities of all teachers using ICTs as teaching resources. Given the intensity of the development of e-services and hardware, the article shows the needs, expectations, and concrete solutions available to facilitate the achievement of teaching goals using ICT. The paper addresses rarely discussed issues that are crucial for every teacher.

The article is anchored in a qualitative pedagogical research methodology. For the study, 250 students from two universities in southern Poland were invited to provide answers to the question In your opinion, what digital technologies, in terms of devices (computer, tablet, smartphone, etc.) and platforms and/or applications (online environments/services) could be fruitfully used in the teaching/learning process? The qualitative data collected was analysed and categorised. Based on the categorisations made, the set of ICT activities and solutions that are deemed necessary for the work of the contemporary teacher was presented. The text is not solely a phenomenological attempt to show the complexity of the process of the digitization of the school, but it can also be useful in the praxeological layer as a set of guidelines for the modernization of school facilities.

Keywords:

Software, hardware, teachers, school, information society, modernization.