ABSTRACT
New learning environments and social media have taken a step forward with their use in the classroom, even becoming an important reinforcement for education during the unprecedented situation caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Teacher's actions and perceptions in this regard have been essential for a quick response in a global lockdown, in which mobile technologies played an essential role. This study presents a descriptive and correlational study with two main objectives: firstly, to discover the accessibility and self-directed use of social networks, and secondly, to describe the perceived utility of SMD (smart mobile devices) and SNS (social network sites) for Spanish teachers. With a quantitative and qualitative methodological approach, correlations between established variables were analysed in a sample of 2,048 Spanish teachers. The results, firstly, highlight the absence of differences in terms of age and gender, thus demonstrating their maximum penetration among teachers;and secondly, demonstrate the relationship between frequency of use and positive perception towards relevance in pedagogical activity. The conclusions, addressed from the qualitative approach, show interesting issues pointing to a lack of knowledge, sense of responsibility, and risks associated, when teachers express their perceptions regarding the use of SMD and SNS in pedagogical integration. © 2023 Universidad de Sevilla. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The global crisis in the flow of information and communications due to COVID-19, infodemia, largely caused by social networks, has left a global concern about the impact of fake news on societies. The increase in the consumption of networks and the presence of the population in these spaces impose the need to know how to adequately address this social problem, which involves the management of digital identity and network consumption habits. In this sense, the study presented here, of an exploratory nature and with the philosophy of exploration-action, has the dual objective of exploring the perceptions, uses and consumption of digital identity, social networks, and fake news in order, secondly, to propose specific actions. The research is approached with a quantitative, descriptive, and correlational methodology in a sample of 248 master's and bachelor's degree students from 17 different autonomous communities. The results indicate a significant lack of knowledge despite the degree of use and consumption, revealing the need for specific actions that require specific digital literacy. In the conclusions, the training axes are provided as a proposal for innovative intervention to be taught in the university environment in a crosscutting manner.
ABSTRACT
Networked society before pandemic situation had become the context of a technology-supported environment for learning and teaching. Since COVID-19 pandemic occurred learning happened essentially mediated through connected smart devices that demand digital skills and reinforced Smart learning. This study aims to present a descriptive and comparative analysis focusing on digital competences in three different areas: Use, Learning and Critical thinking, justified in a global situation of intensive use of technology. Each area was analyzed considering the five subareas of digital competence: information management, communication, content creation, safety and problem solving. The study was designed under a non-experimental quantitative methodology in which higher education students from Spain, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico participated (N=926). Results show significant differences among countries that could help to improve not only formal education in Higher Education, but the digital skills needed for lifelong learning among citizenship in next future conditioned by recent global situation of pandemic.
ABSTRACT
The explosion of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a major transformation in media consumption and the use of social networks. New habits and extensive exposure to connected devices coupled with unmanageable amounts of information warn of a worrying reality, especially among the younger population. The aim of this research is to discover the degree of trustworthiness of Generation Z towards the media, their media consumption preferences and the association they make between media consumption and fake news. Using a descriptive and exploratory quantitative methodology, a study is presented with a sample of 225 young people belonging to this population niche. The study addresses three dimensions: media consumption, social networks and perception of fake news. The results show that generation Z is an intensive consumer of the media they trust the least and perceive traditional media as the most trustworthy. The findings indicate that social networks are the main source of information consumption for this generation, among other content, despite also being the least trustworthy and the most likely to distribute fake news according to their perceptions. There is a lack of media literacy from a critical rather than a formative perspective.
ABSTRACT
Current societies are based on huge flows of information and knowledge circulating on the Internet, created not only by traditional means but by all kinds of users becoming producers, which leads to fake news and misinformation. This situation has been exacerbated by the pandemic to an unprecedented extent through social media, with special concern among young people. This study aims to provide significant data about the youngest generation in Spain (Generation Z) regarding their media and information consumption, their social network use, and their relationship with fake news, all in relation to the feeling of reliability/trust. Focusing on a convenience sample of 408 young Spanish students from Generation Z aged 18 to 22, a descriptive exploratory study is presented. Data collection was performed with an adapted questionnaire. Results show that young Spanish people use networks for information, showing a surprising lack of trust in social networks as the media they consume the most. The content they consume the most since the occurrence of COVID-19 is related to politics, entertainment, humor, and music. On the other hand, distrust of politicians, media, and journalists is evident. The conclusion is that media literacy is still more necessary than ever, but with the added challenge of mistrust: maybe it is time to rethink media literacy. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
ABSTRACT
The unprecedented lockdown recently occurred due the COVID-19 pandemic has irrupted globally exposing entire population and affecting all areas in our living: politics, economy, entertainment, work, markets, education. According to OECD data young people felt lonelier and sadder during this period increasing their exposure to technology and the consumption of digital media. In this regard the aim of the research presented is study and describe the usage of digital media among university students during the COVID-19 lockdown. A comparative study between Spain, Italy and Ecuador focuses on the usage of smartphones and content consumption during March-May 2020. Data gathering was made with the design of a questionnaire applied to a sample of 3oo undergraduate students of Journalism, Communication and Education from three public universities. Quantitative methodology was used for this descriptive-comparative study among three different countries. Results obtained show high access to technological equipment in general, with specific increase in smartphones and laptops usage being the two devices that have experienced a greater increase in use. Regarding the consumption of information, informative contents on the COVID-19, news data about the virus, as well as the statistics of progress of the contagions occupy first place. It is worth mentioning that, in the opinion of the young people surveyed, they have been able to recognize fake news and have avoided its spread, thus understanding the notion of Infodemic, established by the World Health Organization. Conclusions allow us saying that online news channels and media were the most consumed, as were social networks, which grew among youngest as channels of communication, and verified consumption of news on official channels and government spokespersons. © 2020 ACM.
ABSTRACT
Digital literacy constitutes the basis for citizenship in order to be effective and efficient in the 21st Century in professional and personal lives. The set of skills and competences integrating digital literacy are expected to be guaranteed in higher education. During the lockdown globally imposed for the COVID-19 pandemic, educational systems worldwide had to face many disruptive changes. The aim of this research is to present a comparative study of three countries' higher education institutions (Spain, Italy, and Ecuador), analyzing how they have faced the global lockdown situation, focusing on the development of digital literacy. The methodological approach followed in this study was quantitative with an exploratory-correlational scope using a questionnaire designed ad hoc and applied in a sample of 376 students. Results point the necessity of enhancing the main aspects such as the teacher's digital skills, sources for learning that may be adapted, communication between universities and students, and teaching methodologies that should be appropriate to the current context. Conclusions may suggest rethinking higher education learning and reinforcing main issues for this transformation, mainly: communication, teaching, and digital competences. Otherwise, digital literacy is not being guaranteed, which means higher education is not accomplishing one of its main objectives.