The Digital Leap in March 2020 – Teachers Assessing Their Digital Competence After the Distance Learning Period

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic and the emergency remote teaching (ERT) that it brought along in spring 2020, forced educators and educational institutions worldwide to quickly adapt to the technology needed for teaching and learning. This was situation in Finland too. Now, three years after the pandemic, when the extensive school closings and emergency remote teaching at least now are behind us, we wanted to find out how do the teachers assess their digital competence after the ERT period compared to the time before it.  Based on the self-assessment questionnaire, teachers’ competence and their confidence in their own skills has increased, but in moderation.  When looking at competence assessments compared to age, confidence and competence seem to decrease with age, teachers under age 30 being the most competent. In the period under review, competence has grown the most among people between the ages of 30 and 60. Although teachers' activity in the use of information and communication technology in most of the lessons has somewhat increased, no remarkable change can be seen in students' use of ICT in most of their lessons. Teachers are still the most active part in the use of technology in learning.