Title:	FROM COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS TO DIGITAL COMPETENCE, EXPERIENCES FROM TRANSFORMING A COURSE
Author(s):	Bengt Nykvist
ISBN:	978-989-8704-03-0
Editors:	Piet Kommers and Pedro Isaías
Year:	2014
Edition:	Single
Keywords:	Digital competence, digital literacy, course evaluation, digital inclusion
Type:	Short Paper
First Page:	234
Last Page:	238
Language:	English
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Paper Abstract:	The expectations on the individual to be digitally competent in the workplace and in everyday life are ever-increasing. However, it is not apparent what is included in the concept of digital competence. This present study explores an alternative approach to address this issue. Courses on basic computer use are often centred on how computer systems work and/or are focused on “button pressing knowledge”, often focusing on “office programs”. This study describes how a course of this type was modified in order to meet the needs for broader spectrums of competences which arise when information technology penetrates into most parts of our lives. The course, which runs three times each year and has about 200-300 participants each semester, was modified in steps. Course evaluations were continuously used to collect comments from the course participants, this in order to get feedback on different parts of the course and especially to get suggestions on inclusions of new material. The research question of this study is: “In what aspects are course evaluations useful in adaptation of courses to meet changing needs in the information society? To answer this question, analyses were made of course evaluations collected over the last three years. Comments and suggestions from the course participants were categorized and frequencies of different types of comments and suggestions were calculated. Comments made by the students on the content of the course usually were of the type “would have liked more about xxx” or “less about yyy”. Another common type of comments related to the form of the course, e.g. how the material was presented and what type of learning activities that were used. Suggestions on new content/new topics/new themes related to digital competence to include in the course were very rare. The conclusion is that course evaluations were useful when collecting feedback related to the form of the course and the relative emphasize on different topics, but less useful when trying to obtain suggestions for inclusion of new material. This study is relevant reading for digital competence course organizers but also for course organizers in general.
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