SIGNIFICATIVE EXPERIENCES TO DEVELOP TEACHERS' DIGITAL COMPETENCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

For more than 25 years, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have been integrated in Higher Education in order to implement new methodologies and assessment models, develop virtual programs, and support research, knowledge transfer and education management. Therefore, the academic staff have experienced the need to develop their teachers' digital competence. Several studies of the Ibero-American context identified a general basic to medium level of teacher's digital competence; the training needs were mainly focused on the pedagogical, communication and professional development areas. Moreover, the trend of this research field is mainly characterized by a quantitative approach for diagnostic and evaluation purposes. Thus, the challenge of a complementary understanding of the dynamic and qualitative nature of this competence is recognized, based on a critical perspective about education and ICT and the framework of teacher professional development. The ongoing research aims to characterize the development in practice of the teacher's digital competence in Higher Education. From a qualitative perspective, the biographical method has oriented the approach to the professional life stories of university teachers in Mexico and Spain. In the preliminary phase of analysis, relevant experiences that have helped teachers to foster this competence have been identified. These were: the development of digital content and tools for student's learning, the participation and design of blended and virtual courses, digital identity and the production of content about academic projects in open platforms, the coordination of inter-institutional and mixed networks, the guidance or tutorship of students in social projects, and the design and assessment of educational projects with ICT. Also, some emergent categories arose: meanings of the use of technology, continuous learning strategies and difficulties in the process, as well as some issues about the interpretation of the data. Finally, the need to consider the complex nature of this competence is pointed out. The development of this competence not only implies the teachers' practice, but also requires institutional support and a general commitment about the opportunities and challenges for the transformation of the university and the dialogue with digital cultures.