Degree of Acceptance of Virtual Reality by Health Sciences Students.

Virtual Reality (VR) is an emerging technology with educational benefits demonstrated in numerous studies. Its integration into the curriculum implies the use of cognitive resources by students and the training of digital skills by teachers. The objective of this study is to determine the degree of acceptance of students with learning objects produced in VR and in 360°, as well as to analyze their evaluation and the established relationships. A sample of 136 medical students who completed questionnaires on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the quality of the training activity was used. The results show high levels of acceptance, both in VR and 360° objects. The students perceived the usefulness of the training activity as high, with significant correlations between the different dimensions. This study demonstrates the potential of VR as an educational technology and offers new perspectives for future research.

Knowledge of university teachers on the use of digital resources to assist people with disabilities. The case of Spain.

The integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the context of higher education and in the framework of an education in equality and equity requires a competent teaching staff both from a technological and pedagogical point of view. In this context, and with the aim of going deeper into one of these theoretical premises, this study aimed to identify the degree of training and technological knowledge of university teaching staff in the faculties of education in Spain with regard to the use of ICT to support people with disabilities. A cross-sectional research design with a descriptive and predictive approach was used, in which the sample consisted of 2072 university teachers. An ad-hoc questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument. The results revealed the low level of competences of teachers regarding the use of ICT with students with disabilities, where gender and age variables are not relevant to predict the level of digital competence. In this sense, the establishment of specific plans for teacher training and advice on the use of technologies that can help people with disabilities is discussed.

The Teaching Digital Competence of Health Sciences Teachers. A Study at Andalusian Universities (Spain).

The impact and benefit that information and communication technologies (ICT) have in the educational field require new teaching skills. This fact has been increased by the recent crisis caused by COVID-19. This study tries to investigate the level of digital teaching competence (DTC) of Higher Education teachers of Health Sciences, and its relationship with several variables. For this, it has the participation of 300 teachers from the 9 universities of Andalusia (Spain). The research is structured through a descriptive (RQ1) and inferential (RQ2) design. The answers given to the DigCompEdu Check-In questionnaire adapted to the Spanish context are analyzed. The results, which show high levels of reliability of the questionnaire (Cronbach and McDonald) and validity (CFA), indicate that the level of competence is basic-intermediate. In addition, the area in which teachers excel is digital resources. For this reason, it is proposed to structure personalized training plans and continue expanding the characteristics of this study at an international level.

Digital competence of higher education professor according to DigCompEdu. Statistical research methods with ANOVA between fields of knowledge in different age ranges.

The tasks of the university educators must be linked to the digital demands posed by the more sophisticated professions of the twenty-first century. Faced with this panorama, the objective of this study is to examine and compare the degree of digital competence of Higher Education educators from different fields of knowledge and different age ranges according to the DigCompEdu framework. A non-probabilistic ex post facto sampling was utilized with 2180 university professors from Andalusia (Spain). The main results of the study provide evidence of an intermediate level of digital competence, for men and women. More specifically, the male professors in Architecture and Judicial & Social Sciences, younger and older than 40, possessed a higher level, as compared to the other fields. For the female professors, the highest level was found once again in Judicial and Social Sciences, in this case for both age ranges, without a clear trend found for the rest of the fields. For each dimension of the DigCompEdu instrument, the level of competence follows the same trend with respect to the overall level. More research is recommended to validate these preliminary results, as well as the development of training lines of action that are specific and adapted to each field of knowledge.