Surveying digital competencies of university students and professors in Ukraine for fully online collaborative learning

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.

KEYWORDS:

• Digital competence
• fully online learning
• educational transformation
• Ukraine
• higher education

Acknowledgements

The researchers thank students and professors at the Department of Enterprise Strategy, Kyiv National Economic University for their enthusiastic support for this project. We also thank researchers around the world who provided feedback on the instrument.

Notes on contributors

Todd Blayone is a professional researcher, educator and technologist, exploring digital readiness and post-industrial learning across cultures for individual development and social progress. Living in Kyiv, Ukraine and Toronto, Canada, he is co-founder of Collaboritsi.com, a collaborative-learning and digital-readiness consultancy, and an associate researcher at the Educational Informatics Laboratory (EILAB), University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada.

Olena Mykhailenko is a trilingual educator, economist, former government advisor and consultant living in Kyiv, Ukraine and Toronto, Canada. As co-founder of Collaboritsi.com and an associate researcher at the Educational Informatics Laboratory (EILAB), University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada, she gives workshops for educators and business professionals on collaborative learning and culture. Her diverse publications span development economics, cross-cultural analysis and post-industrial, educational transformation.

Roland vanOostveen holds a PhD in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. He is director of the Educational Informatics Laboratory (EILAB) and the Educational Studies and Digital Technology programmes at the Faculty of Education, University of Ontario Institute of Technology. His research explores digital competency and technology use in learning, and the development of fully online learning environments.

Oleksiy Grebeshkov is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Management, and Head of Innovation at the Educational Technologies Laboratory (IETLab) at Kyiv National Economic University, named after Vadim Hetman. A cloud solutions architect, he is an online-course author with over 4000 students from around the world. He is a co-organiser of scientific conferences on digital educational innovation.

Olena Hrebeshkova is an associate professor at the Faculty of Economics and Management, at Kyiv National Economic University, named after Vadim Hetman. She is the author of more than 100 scientific and educational works, coordinator of the project for the implementation of Microsoft Office 365 at the Faculty of Economics and Management, and a Udemy Premium Instructor. She is founder and co-organiser of international scientific conferences on digital educational innovation.

Oleksandr Vostryakov is Dean of the Economics and Management Department, at Kyiv National Economic University, named after Vadim Hetman. He is a member of the Scientific and Methodological Council of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.