Mapping Assessment of Pro-Digital Behaviors in Higher Education

𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗻𝗮𝗺
This study tested a multi-criteria assessment model designed to evaluate digital competence in a more structured and comparable way.
Beyond methodological robustness, the strategic value lies in its outcomes: 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐬, and the possibility to design 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲-𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 — moving beyond generic “digital skills” training towards evidence-based interventions.

𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮
This study analysed students’ self-assessment of online learning experiences across two universities, focusing on perceived digital competence in different domains.
The findings reveal a consistent pattern: 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 for content creation, contrasted by significant 𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲.

𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: tool use is not the same as digital competence.
Strengthening digital readiness in higher education requires 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 that go beyond surface-level proficiency, making competence gaps visible, comparable, and actionable.

The study nalysed the attitude of engineering students towards the use of AI-based ITS: some of them expressed their intention not to use it despite its effectiveness in problem-solving, highlighting the 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

A second study in Mechanical Engineering Education highlighted that 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐬.

𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: AI-based tutoring offers tangible benefits, but its 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.