Between October 1st and November 2nd, Unicamp participates in a survey that will evaluate the digital skills of teachers from 67 Higher Education institutions in the country. The survey will be carried out using a digital tool composed of 22 questions, in which teachers can reflect on their knowledge about the use of tools and application in academic activities. The research data will help universities promote the digital training of their teachers and plan to incorporate more digital resources into their curricula.
The University is part of the MetaRed, an international network made up of nine countries: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Portugal and Spain. The group aims to promote debates and collaborative work on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in universities. Here in the country, the MetaRed Brazil has the participation of more than 50 higher education institutions, including public and private. Within the Brazilian section, Unicamp is responsible for coordinating the Educational Technologies Working Group.
The research is carried out through DigiComEdu CheckIn, a digital tool created by Joint Research Center, a European Union research body based in Seville, Spain, which allows the assessment of digital skills of Higher Education teachers. In Brazil, Unicamp was one of those responsible for adapting the questions to the reality of Brazilian universities. "It's a global initiative and we are carrying out this survey of digital skills simultaneously in the nine countries. It is a self-assessment in which the teacher reflects, in a guided way, on the use of digital tools to improve and innovate education", explains Marco Antonio Garcia de Carvalho, coordinator of the Educational Technologies Management Group (GGTE) from Unicamp.
When answering the questions, teachers receive an indication of their profile in six groups organized on a progressive scale of digital skills, within levels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2, with A1 being the lowest level (Recent -arrived) and C2 the most advanced (Pioneer). The classification is similar to that adopted to assess language proficiency by the European community. In addition to discovering their classification, teachers also receive tips on how they can advance their knowledge and what resources they can try to incorporate into their routines.
Marco Antonio highlights the importance of teachers participating in the research so that it is possible to use this information for Unicamp's planning to train its teaching staff in relation to digital skills. "This is important for teachers to self-evaluate, but institutions will also have access to the set of responses from all their teachers. It is therefore a very important planning tool, because it is possible to know, for example, what the digital competence of teachers at Unicamp and, thus, promote internal training policies. Of course, that is if we have good participation from teachers", he informs.
To participate in the survey, teachers must access this link
https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/DigCompEdu_CheckIn_H_Brasil
And enter the BR-UNICAMP code to start the questionnaire.
Pandemic made teachers discover new tools
Despite having been prepared before the coronavirus pandemic, Marco Antonio analyzes that carrying out the research in the context of academic activities being carried out remotely makes the opportunity even more beneficial. "It takes on a much more relevant role in this whole context of the pandemic. It is much more important to know the digital skills of Unicamp professors, for example, at this moment than before the pandemic, when digital was used in a very simple and eventual. Now digital has been the complete basis of the disciplines", says Marco.
He also comments that the pandemic scenario and the need to adapt subjects for remote teaching was responsible for a development in teachers' digital skills that is already noticeable. "Our perception today is very qualitative, but it is easy to see a difference between March and now in September. The questions that come to us are completely different, they are already on a second level. We are no longer asked things like 'what is Google Meet ?', 'how do I create a meeting on Google Meet?'. Teachers are already starting to ask how to create specific rooms for group interactions in the same class, or how to do online assessments with digital tools, for example. It's a type question from someone who is already on a second level of digital skills", reports the professor.
At Unicamp, undergraduate and postgraduate teachers have the support of GGTE and the Teaching and Learning Support Space, (EA)2, bodies that develop training projects to expand innovation and the use of educational technologies at the University. Marco Antonio informs that, for the second semester, new courses are planned aimed at skills such as applying assessments in virtual environments and video production. Information and news about the courses can be found on the GGTE e (EA)2.
