The Technological Challenge Facing Higher Education Professors: Perceptions of ICT Tools for Developing 21st Century Skills

Liesa-Orús, Marta; Latorre-Cosculluela, Cecilia; Vázquez-Toledo, Sandra; Sierra-Sánchez, Verónica

doi:10.3390/su12135339

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The Technological Challenge Facing Higher Education Professors: Perceptions of ICT Tools for Developing 21st Century Skills

Marta Liesa-Orús

Cecilia Latorre-Cosculluela

Sandra Vázquez-Toledo

and

Verónica Sierra-Sánchez

Faculty of Human Sciences and Education, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Sustainability 2020, 12(13), 5339; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135339

Received: 1 June 2020 / Revised: 22 June 2020 / Accepted: 23 June 2020 / Published: 1 July 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): The Challenges of the 2020-2030s for Quality Education)

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Abstract

To consider that some quality teaching-learning processes in the Higher Education is practically unthinkable without the use of technology, especially because of its impact in developing the necessary skills and abilities for the 21st century. (1) Background: One of the initial steps to successfully approach this challenge is to analyze how university professors consider that ICTs can contribute to developing skills and abilities in their students. In this regard, their perceptions are one of the factors that will limit the use they make of these tools. (2) Method: For this reason, a quantitative research has been designed in which 345 university professors have participated for different branches of knowledge of one Spanish university. (3) Results: Among the most relevant results, we can highlight that the professors recognize the potentials of the ICTs and consider they have a positive effect on learning and development of 21st century skills in their students. These benefits are seen in different fields like communication, collaboration, and critical thinking, among others. Likewise, the importance of the technology culture teaching role is outstanding. (4) Conclusions: Finally, the need for integration of ICTs in a pedagogical model in which professor training in digital skills acquires relevance is shown. View Full-Text

Keywords: Higher Education; ICT; 21st century skills; technology; university professors

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

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MDPI and ACS Style

Liesa-Orús, M.; Latorre-Cosculluela, C.; Vázquez-Toledo, S.; Sierra-Sánchez, V. The Technological Challenge Facing Higher Education Professors: Perceptions of ICT Tools for Developing 21st Century Skills. Sustainability 2020, 12, 5339. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135339

AMA Style

Liesa-Orús M, Latorre-Cosculluela C, Vázquez-Toledo S, Sierra-Sánchez V. The Technological Challenge Facing Higher Education Professors: Perceptions of ICT Tools for Developing 21st Century Skills. Sustainability. 2020; 12(13):5339. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135339

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liesa-Orús, Marta, Cecilia Latorre-Cosculluela, Sandra Vázquez-Toledo, and Verónica Sierra-Sánchez. 2020. "The Technological Challenge Facing Higher Education Professors: Perceptions of ICT Tools for Developing 21st Century Skills" Sustainability 12, no. 13: 5339. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135339

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