Performance and educational training in digital competences in non-presential classes during the covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The spread of COVID 19 has caused an unprecedented impact on multidimensional development in the population in all nations. This resulted in governments speaking out in favor of adopting and implementing sanitary emergency and social isolation measures to prevent the spread of the virus. In Paraguay, the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Education and Science decreed suspension of face-to-face educational activities at all levels. This brought as an alternative solution the implementation of the distance modality involving the adaptation of approaches oriented to the use of New Information Communication Technologies (NTIC), raising questions from the perspective of the teacher about the preparation and prior knowledge in the use of digital tools and the ways in which the teaching-learning activity is being developed under the non-contact modality. The objective of the study was to evaluate the competence performance of teachers in schools in the city of Piribebuy in Paraguay during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a non-experimental descriptive transectional study with a sample of teachers from 7 schools in the city of Piribebuy, Paraguay. A non-probability sampling for convenience was used using a predesigned questionnaire through the Google Forms platform. Most of the teachers described the fact of suddenly assuming the non-contact classes as an inescapable professional commitment, partially adapting the regular plan to the current needs, finding the collapse of the platform as the most difficult. Texting first and social media second were the means of communication. They considered that they frequently tried to replicate the experience of the face-to-face class. Regarding the support of the parents in the development of the activities, they thought that it was regularly active. The role of teachers has been essential in the development of the distance learning experience in the midst of the health crisis. It is imperative to facilitate collaborative training and career guidance work for teachers, and to provide stable digital media access so that they can overcome technological and connectivity barriers.