Socio-Educational Interventions to Promote Digital Literacy in Ecuadorian Society

Abstract

This article presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a digital literacy program, with the objective of developing digital skills across different proficiency levels. The training process was delivered by fourth-semester students from the Intelligent Systems Engineering program at the Universidad Bolivariana del Ecuador, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion (MIES). Classes were implemented in a virtual modality, utilizing synchronous and asynchronous sessions with a participatory approach throughout the learning process, which aided in the practical comprehension of the contents. To evaluate the program's effectiveness, a pretest-posttest survey was applied to a group of 200 beneficiaries who completed a total of 120 hours of training. The data obtained were analyzed using the Stuart-Maxwell test, which demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in digital literacy levels: the distribution shifted from 10% low, 64.5% medium, 22% high, and 3.5% with no level in the pretest, to 92% high, 5.5% medium, 2% low, and a minority of 0.5% with no level in the posttest. The results show that the process was notable in the comprehension and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tools, evidencing the positive influence of digital literacy on the personal development and technological inclusion of the beneficiaries.