The Influence of Digital Tools and Social Networks on the Digital Competence of University Students during COVID-19 Pandemic

This research was funded by Institute of Studies of Jaén (IEG) 2019–2021: Digital competence in primary school students in the province of Jaen, grant number 2019/5904.The authors wish to thank the students on whom the success of the research was dependent.Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. Subjects participated voluntarily and their anonymity was guaranteed.The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to this study belongs to an ongoing research project.Request for data may be made to the corresponding author. For the development of this study, a request for permission from the Public Education Administration was not necessary since the research instrument was aimed at persons of legal age. All participants gave their voluntary consent to be a part of the investigation. We informed the participants that their anonymity and confidentiality would be guaranteed and that the data obtained would be used for scientific purposes (in addition to the promised absence of any variables that could lead to the identification of the participant).The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has generated a transformation in students' competences and university education, especially in the use of digital tools. This study aims to analyze the use of digital tools and social networks of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the collection of information, a validated Likert questionnaire (10-point scale) was adopted. The instrument consisted of a total of 66 items comprising a total of seven dimensions. The sample contained 581 students pursuing degrees in Childhood Education and Primary Education. The analysis of the available information was carried out in two different stages. First, we started by performing an exploratory factorial analysis (EFA) to determine the underlying structure of the Digital Competence of Higher Education Students (DCHES) scale factor. In the second phase, we used SEM (structural equation modeling), a statistical approach to test the relationships between observed and latent variables. More specifically, we estimated a multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model. The results showed the importance of two of the considered covariates in explaining the variability of the different dimensions of the scale analyzed (DCHES) considering the use of social networks and digital tools of university students. In this sense, both the degree to which virtual tools are used to develop teamwork and the degree of use of YouTube when communicating most fully explained the level of digital skills among the university students studied.Institute of Studies of Jaen (IEG) 2019-2021: Digital competence in primary school students in the province of Jaen 2019/590