Surveying digital competencies of university students and professors in Ukraine for fully online collaborative learning |
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| Authors: | Todd J B Blayone Olena Mykhailenko Roland vanOostveen Oleksiy Grebeshkov Olena Hrebeshkova Oleksandr Vostryakov |
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| Institution: | 1. Collaboritsi.com and Educational Informatics Laboratory (EILAB), University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, Canada;2. University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, Canada;3. Faculty of Economics and Management, Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadim Hetman, Kyiv, Ukraine |
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| Abstract: | Collaborative-constructivist online learning appears well aligned with Ukraine’s post-revolutionary aspirations for globalised and transformed higher education. This study explores digital competencies of students and professors at Kyiv National Economic University, Ukraine, to probe readiness for fully online collaborative learning. The General Technology Competency and Use profile tool was completed by 244 participants to measure digital experience and confidence across four categories of human–computer activity. To assess readiness, reported levels of competencies were related to the three dimensions of successful collaborative learning described by the Community of Inquiry model. Despite some key differences between students and teachers, general findings include moderate-to-low levels of self-reported technical, social and informational competency, accompanied by consistently low levels of epistemological competency. These findings suggest that neither students nor teachers are adequately prepared for achieving high levels of social, cognitive and teaching presence in a fully online learning environment. It is recommended that digital-competency development become an educational priority. |
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| Keywords: | Digital competence fully online learning educational transformation Ukraine higher education |
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