Definition of a self-reflection tool named Aurora for the assessment of university professors’ digital competence - Abstract and introduction

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

Educational practices are being transformed by technology, creating a responsibility for higher education to assess the Digital Competence of University Professors (DCUP). The study develops and evaluates Aurora, a self-assessment tool grounded in the DigCompEdu model, then applies it to university professors. Quantitative analysis uses an online survey of 154 professors from the University of Deusto, combining descriptive and inferential results about objectivity, demographic differences, and correlation patterns.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Abstract

Introduction

Digital competence frameworks and tools

Need for self-reflection and continuous training

Definition of a self-reflection tool named Aurora for the assessment of university professors ‘digital competence Eider Bilbao-Aiastui1,* , Arantza Arruti Gómez2 , Roberto Carballedo Morillo3 1 Universidad de Deusto, Spain, [eiderbilbao@opendeusto.es](eiderbilbao@opendeusto.es) , [https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7928-4303](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7928-4303) 2 Universidad de Deusto, Spain, [aarruti@deusto.es](aarruti@deusto.es) , [https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8334-3831](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8334-3831) 3 Universidad de Deusto, Spain, [roberto.carballedo@deusto.es](roberto.carballedo@deusto.es) , [https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6709-1865](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6709-1865) ABSTRACT We are currently facing a historical moment in which educational practices are being transformed using technology. In this scenario, higher education institutions have a great responsibility towards the Digital Competence of University Professor (DCUP) . The main objective of the study is to contribute to the improvement of the self-reflection of the DCUP. Therefore, a self-assessment tool called Aurora, based on the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu) model, is defined. Subsequently, the tool is applied, and the results are analysed. The methodology used is quantitative by means of an online survey. The sample consisted of 154 university professors from the University of Deusto (UD) . On the one hand, through descriptive analysis it is highlighted that the Aurora questionnaire is an objective tool to measure the self-reflection of the DCUP. On the other hand, through the inferential analysis it is underlined that significant differences are found in the demographic data of professional category and age. It is also stressed that there are significant differences in the correlations. These results show that it is necessary to create a questionnaire that measures all the competences of the DigCompEdu model to be considering the DigCompEdu model. KEYWORDS: DigCompEdu; Digital Competence; higher education; university professor; questionnaire 1 INTRODUCTION In the 21st century, there has been an accelerated growth in the population with access to the Internet. Therefore, Barroso et al.(2007), indicate that the information and communication society puts an end to the industrial era and ushers in the digital era. Furthermore, Williamson et al. (2019) and Brugia & Zukersteinova (2019) point out that today's society is heading towards the fourth industrial revolution where future citizens will need DC. Likewise, the European Parliament & the Council of the European Union (2006) point out eight basic competences that any citizen should have for lifelong learning, one of them being the Digital Compentence (DC) . According to the National Institute of Educational Technologies and Teacher Training (INTEF, 2017), the DC can be defined as the creative, critical, and confident use of information and communication technologies. To respond to the need to assess the Digital Competence of Professor (DCP) and DCUP, several global reference organisms define models and tools to assess them (Butcher, 2019; Department of Education, 2017; ETF, 2019a; INTEF, 2017; ISTE, 2021; Prendes et al. , 2018) . With the need for a digitally competent European society, Ferrari leads the DigComp project of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. This project defines the DC for Citizenship Framework (Ferrari, 2012, 2013) . This framework, published in 2013 and revised in 2016 and 2017 (Caena & Redecker, 2019), gives rise to the European DC Framework for teachers, commonly known as DigCompEdu (Redecker & Punie, 2017) . It aims is to promote the development of DCP and foster innovation in European education. Subsequently, the European Commission (2022) presents a self-reflection tool called DigCompEdu Check-In, which is based on the DigCompEdu model. The tool aims to encourage teachers' self-reflection on DC to poin

FAQs

What is the purpose of the Aurora tool in this study?

Aurora is a self-assessment tool defined to improve self-reflection regarding the Digital Competence of University Professors (DCUP).

What framework underpins Aurora?

Aurora is based on the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu) model.

How was the Aurora tool evaluated and what sample was used?

The study used a quantitative online survey with 154 university professors from the University of Deusto, combining descriptive and inferential analyses.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk