A Study into the Requirements of Digital Society and Educators' Digital Literacy

The relevance of the research is justified by the digital transformation of public life, which imposes new requirements on educator training. As the Russian educational system is being modernised, much attention is paid to the inclusion of digital technologies and digital-based modes of study in the educational process. It certainly entails new challenges for the educational system, which needs time to adapt in order to integrate with the digital environment. The problem under study is relevant, firstly, due to the urgent need to introduce the tools of the digital learning environment into the established teaching model in the national education system. Secondly, the efficiency and quality of teaching depends on overcoming the existing digital divide in teachers' competences. The main research methods were the analysis of the concepts of digital society and digital literacy, the structuring of the main competences of a modern teacher that are crucial to ensure his/her competitiveness in the digital economy, and identifying existing digital gaps in the design and implementation of digitalisation in teacher education. To assess digital literacy, a questionnaire-based survey of both students – future teachers, and practising teachers, was chosen as the leading research method. The conducted study on the assessment of pedagogical digital literacy identufied the existing digital divide in the design and implementation of the educational process as well as the opportunities for enhancing the interaction of its participants by incorporating technical tools and digital learning technologies. The research made it possible to determine a new vector in the construction of the pedagogical landscape of the modern learning environment in universities, aimed at preparing future teachers' creative and self-developing personalities