Information and communication technologies and teacher education in the new paradigms of higher education

Media use in the teaching process occurs in several forms. Information and communication technologies can be used as work equipment and teaching aids, as well as tools or curriculum units, particularly in higher education. Technological changes and new information technologies, in addition to substantive knowledge of the material, require from teachers creativity, knowledge, and the skills of the didactic design of teaching using modern multimedia tools. In Croatia, there is a lack of research aimed at assessing the initial state of computer literacy within the higher education institutions. The aim of this study was to determine the level of knowledge and digital competence of (non) teachers of higher education institutions in the Republic of Croatia, to determine the frequency of application of modern technologies in teaching, and to explain the necessity of implementation of the programme Multimedia training and e-learning at teaching faculties, which leads to the application of new educational paradigms. The study was conducted on a representative sample (N=1800) of (non) teachers of higher education institutions in the Republic of Croatia among various faculties and departments in Osijek, Split and Zagreb. The results show that (non) teachers of higher education institutions of engineering and information sciences have the best digital competences, and apply modern technology in research and scientific work significantly more than (non) teachers of social sciences and humanities