Digital Competence Level: An Evaluation of Area Coordinators and Emergency Response (ACER) Team ICT Proficiency
Jovelin M. Lapates, Rozanne Tuesday G. Flores · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2019
Digital competence is a modern concept that describes technology-related skills which include media and communication, information and communications technology (ICT) literacy, technology and computing, and information science. To be digitally literate is essential for the involvement in the modern and knowledge-based society. One of the mandates of Bukidnon State University (BukSU) is to promote extension services and community outreach programs in the fields of Education, Arts and Sciences, Industrial and Business Information Technology. A training-workshop on ICT literacy to members of Area Coordinators and Emergency Response (ACER) of Malaybalay City is a response to the increasing use of ICT in the modern society to develop relevant skills to participate effectively in the digital age. This paper evaluates the digital competency level of the ACER members in Malaybalay City. The main purpose of an evaluation is to assess if the competences they acquire from the training-workshop contributes significantly to individual’s personal development, the productivity of organizations, and to the economic growth of the agency, the local government unit (LGU) and the nation in general. The study is a combination of qualitative and quantitative research to evaluate the ICT proficiency level of ACER team in which descriptive data is generated using specific methods such as questionnaires, unstructured interviews, and observations from the participants. Open-ended questions were employed to capture judgments and observation on actual hands-on in the workplace were also conducted to probe and explain the relationships and contextual differences. General findings revealed that most of the ACER members are proficient in using wordprocessing, the internet and social network, multimedia presentation, electronic spreadsheet and photo editing. As a result, some members are promoted to other agencies while others are retained in the ACER office. Through the BukSU extension project, the members of the ACER significantly contributes to the welfare of the agency and the locality as a whole.