Contours of modern education: assessing students’ digital skills

In today’s information society, digital skills are becoming an increasingly important element in the successful adaptation of young people to a rapidly changing world. Assessing the level of digital literacy of students is a key aspect of developing effective educational programs and strategies aimed at preparing specialists for the challenges of the digital era. The purpose of the study is a comprehensive assessment of students’ digital literacy. The main areas of work include the analysis of existing methods for assessing digital literacy and the application of these methods to obtain specific data on a selected group of respondents. The scientific significance of this study lies in the development of an integrated approach to assess various aspects of digital literacy, as well as in identifying key areas for improving educational programs in the context of the digitalization of society. The practical significance of the study is expressed in the possibility of using the data obtained to improve educational programs and courses aimed at developing students’ digital skills. The study was conducted by anonymously surveying students using the cloud service SurveyMonkey. The survey used questions aimed at assessing the level of information, computer, communication literacy, media literacy, and attitudes toward technological innovation. The results of the study show that the average digital literacy level of students is 79.7%, with some differences between language departments. Data analysis allows us to formulate recommendations for improving the effectiveness of training in the field of digital technologies. This study makes an important contribution to the field by providing information on the current level of digital literacy among students and identifying key areas for improving educational programs in the era of digitalization. The results obtained can be used to develop and improve educational programs and courses aimed at developing digital skills, which contributes to the successful adaptation of young people to modern challenges and increases their competitiveness in the labor market.

1. Bajmuratova L.R., Dolgova O.A., Imaeva G.R., Gricenko V.I., Smirnov K.V., Ajmaletdinov T.A. (2018) Cifrovaja gramotnost' dlja jekonomiki budushhego. Analiticheskij centr NAFI. M.: Izdatel'stvo NAFI, 86 p. (In Russian).

2. Trudnosti i perspektivy cifrovoj transformacii obrazovanija / Pod red. A.Ju. Uvarova, I.D. Frumina. – M.: Izd. Dom VShJe, 2019. URL: https://ioe.hse.ru/data/2019/07/01/1492988034/Cifra_text.pdf. (In Russian).

3. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The definition and selection of key competences: Executive Summary. OCDE. 2005. URL: https://www.oecd.org/pisa/35070367.pdf. (In English).

4. International Society for Technology in Education. ISTE standards for students (1st ed.). ISTE. 2016. (In English).

5. International Society for Technology in Education. ISTE Standards for Educators. 2020, January 15. URL: https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators. (In English).

6. Redecker C. European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators: DigCompEdu. In Y. Punie (Ed.), Joint Research Centre (JRC) Science for Policy report. Publications Office of the European Union. 2017. URL: https://doi.org/10.2760/159770. (In English).

7. European Parliament & Council of the European Union. Recommendation of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union: On essential competences for lifelong learning: Official Journal of the European Union. 2006. URL: https://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/PT/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32006H0962. (In English).

8. Council of the European Union. Recommendation of the Council of the European Union: On key competences for lifelong learning: Official Journal of the European Union. 2018. URL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/PT/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018H0604(01). (In English).

9. Chetty K., Wenwei L., Josie J., Shenglin B. Bridging The Digital Divide: Measuring Digital Literacy. 2017. URL: https://repository.hsrc.ac.za/handle/20.500.11910/10840. (In English).

10. G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Conference, Dusseldorf. April 2017. URL: http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/2017/170407-digitalization.html. (In English).

11. Ajmaletdinov T.A., Bajmuratova L.R., Zajceva O.A., Imaeva G.R., Spiridonova L.V. (2019) Cifrovaja gramotnost' rossijskih pedagogov. Gotovnost' k ispol'zovaniju cifrovyh tehnologij v uchebnom processe. Analiticheskij centr NAFI. M.: Izdatel'stvo NAFI, 84 p. (In Russian).

12. Overview of Information Literacy Resources Worldwide, UNESCO. 2013. URL: https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/information-literacy/publications/unesco_composite_document_-_final_-_2.pdf. (In English).

13. Ob ispol'zovanii domashnimi hozjajstvami informacionno-kommunikacionnyh tehnologij v Respublike Kazahstan // Bjuro nacional'noj statistiki Agentstva po strategicheskomu planirovaniju i reformam Respubliki Kazahstan. 2021. URL: https://stat.gov.kz/official/industry/29/statistic/7. (In Russian).

14. Ob ispol'zovanii domashnimi hozjajstvami informacionno-kommunikacionnyh tehnologij v Respublike Kazahstan // Bjuro nacional'noj statistiki Agentstva po strategicheskomu planirovaniju i reformam Respubliki Kazahstan. 2022. URL: https://stat.gov.kz/ru/industries/business-statistics/stat-it/spreadsheets/. (In Russian).

15. Doklad o celjah v oblasti ustojchivogo razvitija. Special'nyj vypusk. 2023 g. URL: https://www.un-ilibrary.org/content/books/9789210024969. (In Russian).