Open AccessDigital literacy practices of Turkish pre-service EFL teachers
Author(s) -
Sedat Akayoğlu,
Müge Satar,
Kenan Dikilitaş,
Nazlı Ceren Cirit,
Sibel Korkmazgil
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
australasian journal of educational technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1449-5554
pISSN - 1449-3098
DOI - 10.14742/ajet.4711
Subject(s) - turkish , digital literacy , literacy , pedagogy , professional development , mathematics education , information literacy , technology integration , teacher education , service (business) , medical education , psychology , sociology , computer science , teaching method , medicine , business , philosophy , linguistics , marketing
With rapid changes in information and communication technologies, it is no longer sufficient for language teachers and pre-service teachers (PTs) to know how to use existing digital tools. They also need to be digitally literate in order to critically evaluate such tools and platforms for safe, wise, and productive use. Within a qualitative approach, this study investigated Turkish PTs’ conceptualisation of digital literacy. This included an exploration of how PTs defined this concept, what kind of tools they used, and for which purposes they preferred to use digital tools. First, we found that PTs concept of digital literacy consist of many levels from knowledge to use, and to critical, creative, and collaborative use. Second, we observed that university professors play an important role in the development of digital literacy levels of PTs. Third, it was found that PTs use social media platforms heavily for various purposes, however, we identified a need for further guidance in supporting PTs' use of these platforms for their professional development. The findings of this study shed light on the current digital literacy skills of PTs in Turkey and will be beneficial for educational policy makers and teacher trainers in teacher education for the twenty-first century.