An Analytical Study of Digital Competency Assessment Tools for Higher Education Teachers

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to compare digital competence assessment tools for teachers in higher education. The study answers four questions:(1) What are the types of digital competency assessment tools for teachers? (2) On which frameworks are these tools designed and how do the frameworks differ? (3) What methods are used to promise the reliability and validity of the tools? (4) How can the data collected by these tools be analysed and used? In this study, the systematic review method was used to conduct a subject search for "digital competence assesement tool", and a literature search was conducted in three databases: Web of science, SpringerLink and Google Scholar. The time frame of the search was set from 1 January 2019 to 1 March 2023, with an initial search result of 1648 articles, for which different search criteria were used, resulting in three articles exploring four tools. These tools take the form of questionnaires with items that are primarily self-assessment statements and closed-ended questions. These assessment tools are used to understand the teachers digital technology and to assess their digital competence. The main proposal of this paper is a typology of digital competence assessment tools.