Teacher Digital Literacy: The Indisputable Challenge after COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak opened a new scenario where teachers must have adequate digital literacy to teach online and to implement a current and innovative educational model. This paper provides the most relevant results obtained from a quantitative study in which 4883 Spanish teachers of all education levels participated to measure their digital skills, during the last school years. It also proposes a digital skills teacher training plan, taking the joint framework of digital skills of INTEF (Spanish acronym for National Institute of Educational Technologies and Teacher Training) as its reference point. The tool ACDC (Analysis of Common Digital Competences) was used for data collection. The results of descriptive analysis show, overall, the low self-perception that teachers have of their digital skills. In addition, this paper studies the relationship existing between the characteristics that define the population and the teachers’ digital skills level. This relationship is obtained through a multiple linear regression model. The study reveals that digital literacy is not a reality that has favored the teaching–learning process and that a training program is urgently required for teachers to reach optimal levels of digital skills, so as to undergo a true paradigm shift, ultimately combining methodology and educational strategies.