Digital collaboration in higher education: A study of digital skills and collaborative attitudes in students from diverse universities

Abstract

The current study examines the relationship between digital competencies and collaboration attitudes among higher education students. To do so, data from 1316 students from 10 Spanish universities were analyzed and collected through a questionnaire named “Basic Digital Skills 2.0 of University Students” (COBADI®—Registered Trademark: 2970648). To provide context for the sample involved in this study, it is noteworthy that 50.5% of participants typically prefer to access the internet from home. Furthermore, it was observed that most of the respondents engage with the internet for over nine hours daily. The analysis of the results was conducted by calculating correlations between digital competencies and students’ collaboration attitudes. These correlations were computed using the Python programming language, with the libraries employed being pandas, numpy, and matplotlib. Students who perceive themselves as more competent in using digital tools tend to have a slightly higher disposition to collaborate with their professors in virtual environments. Some competencies are more closely associated with collaboration than others, with those that exhibit a stronger connection being key focus areas in teaching and curriculum development.