Teachers’ Digital Competencies in the Improvement of Educational Practice

Abstract

In education, continuous innovation is indispensable for teachers, who serve as classroom guides and must possess social-emotional, pedagogical, and digital competencies. This is particularly crucial given today's technological advancements, where the majority of the educational community has access to cell phones, computers, smart watches, or other electronic devices. This reality presents a challenge for educators, who must innovate their methodologies and strategies to adapt and leverage the technological resources available to students. Consequently, a critical area for improvement is identified, as some teachers resist change and attempt to ban technological devices in educational institutions. From this perspective, this study aims to enhance teachers' digital competencies through microlearning to improve educational practice. Using a qualitative approach with flexible research methods such as interviews, participant observation, and digital focus groups, the study was conducted with eight teachers from the Santiago de Méndez canton. The findings led to the conclusion that the theoretical and methodological foundations support the contributions of microlearning when implemented through learning capsules in short, concise modules. This approach successfully enhanced the teachers' digital competencies; furthermore, in the satisfaction survey, participants described microlearning as an excellent strategy for dynamic and autonomous learning regarding responsibility, planning, execution, and evaluation of classes using technological resources.