The effectiveness of the digital competency training program in improving the digital competence of elementary school teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the design of a digital competency training program to improve the digital competence of teachers at the elementary school level. This study used a quasi-experimental method with a pretest and posttest design. The participants in this study were elementary school teachers from Yogyakarta. There were 800 teachers involved with the composition of 400 experimental class teachers and 400 control class teachers. This digital literacy program is carried out through several stages, namely the pre-test, intervention, and post-test stages. This digital literacy program lasts for one semester or 6 months with the main objective of improving the digital competence of teachers from three aspects, namely conceptual, procedural, and attitudes towards digital competence of teachers. The results showed that the intervention of this program was able to significantly improve the digital skills of teachers. The increase in digital skills of teachers in the experimental group is marked by increasing digital skills in three aspects, namely conceptual, procedural, and attitudinal digital competencies. The implication of this research is that digital competency training programs can be an alternative for stakeholders in order to improve teacher competencies while improving school quality.

Keywords: Digital competence of teachers, digital competence training program, Internet, digital literacy.