The development of digital competencies in higher education students is a key task for modern universities in the context of digital transformation of society. An efective means to achieve this goal is the use of an immersive cloud-based educational environment (ICBEE). This paper presents a model for using ICBEE in the formation of digital competencies, defines a system of digital competencies for future IT professionals and engineer-educators, and proposes a methodology for developing digital competencies in pre-service teachers using immersive technologies. The implementation of the proposed approaches will increase the level of digital competencies of higher education graduates and promote their successful professional self-realization in the digital society.
The rapid development of digital technologies necessitates the formation of relevant competencies in
higher education students to ensure their competitiveness in the labor market. An immersive
cloudbased educational environment (ICBEE) opens up new opportunities for the development of digital
skills through the use of virtual and augmented reality, 3D modeling, and cloud services [
This paper aims to substantiate the use of ICBEE for the development of digital competencies in
higher education students. The objectives are: 1) to develop a model for using ICBEE in the formation
of digital competencies; 2) to define the system of digital competencies for future IT professionals and
engineer-educators; 3) to propose a methodology for developing digital competencies in pre-service
teachers using immersive technologies.
2. Model of using ICBEE for development of digital competencies
Based on the analysis of recent studies [
competencies of higher education students
The model reflects the structure and relationships between the key components of ICBEE in the context of developing students’ digital competencies. The central element is the ICBEE itself, which integrates technological, informational, and pedagogical aspects. The environment enables the interaction of the main actors of the educational process - students and teachers.
The technological basis of ICBEE consists of cloud platforms and services, as well as immersive technologies (virtual and augmented reality, 3D modeling, etc.). They create an innovative infrastructure for implementing personalized and practice-based learning.
Based on the synthesis of technological capabilities and modern pedagogical approaches, innovative forms, methods, and tools of students’ learning activities are designed and implemented in ICBEE. This allows for active student participation in the educational process, development of research and project work skills, and organization of efective collaboration.
Studies show that STEM education and project-based learning approaches using ICBEE tools play a
special role in developing digital competencies [
The result of the systematic use of ICBEE is the development of a set of digital competencies in
students, covering technological, information-analytical, communicative, and innovative aspects. The
formation of these competencies is an important prerequisite for successful professional activity and
lifelong learning in the context of the digital transformation of society.
3. System of digital competencies for IT professionals and
engineer-educators
The system of digital competencies for future IT professionals should include both purely technological
skills of working with hardware and software, as well as the ability to efectively communicate,
collaborate, and manage projects using digital tools. Glazunova et al. [
For engineer-educators, it is important to develop both their own digital skills and methodological competencies for the use of digital technologies in the educational process. Among the components of teachers’ digital competence for working in ICBEE, we can distinguish: • ability to use cloud LMS to organize the learning process; • skills to apply cloud tools for creating interactive content, communication, collaboration; • ability to develop and apply VR simulations to build practical skills; • skills to create AR applications to visualize learning material. 4. Methodology for developing digital competencies in pre-service teachers using immersive technologies The use of immersive technologies, such as virtual (VR) and augmented (AR) reality, opens up new opportunities for the formation of digital competencies in pre-service teachers. It allows creating realistic simulations of professional situations, visualizing abstract concepts, and providing interactive interaction with virtual objects.
Vakaliuk et al. [
Nechypurenko et al. [
management
The methodology for developing digital competencies in pre-service teachers using immersive
technologies should be based on the following provisions:
• application of immersive technologies to create interactive learning materials, visualize objects
of study, and conduct virtual experiments [
Based on these provisions, we propose a structural-functional model of the methodology for developing digital competencies in pre-service teachers using immersive technologies (Figure 3).
Immersive technologies have significant potential to improve the content of pre-service teacher training. Their implementation requires updating curricula to take into account the capabilities of VR/AR for visualizing school discipline material, modeling pedagogical situations, conducting psychological and pedagogical research, etc.
The implementation of the methodology involves the systematic use of immersive technology tools in the classroom and extracurricular work of students. These can be virtual reality glasses or helmets, augmented reality applications for mobile devices, specialized 3D object modeling programs, etc. The choice of specific tools is determined by the specifics of academic disciplines, material and technical, and organizational capabilities of the educational institution.
Efective forms and methods of implementing the methodology are: • immersive lectures using VR to demonstrate phenomena, model processes; • laboratory work using AR/VR applications to acquire practical skills; • students’ implementation of individual and group projects to create their own immersive educational resources; Aim: development of digital competencies Approaches: competencebased, person-activity, technological, immersive Principles: systematicity, visualization, accessibility, connection of theory and practice, innovation
School disciplines
Learning content
Teaching methods
Immersive tech
nology tools Virtual reality systems 3D modeling tools
Augmented reality platforms and apps
Pedagogy and psychology
Forms and methods Immersive lectures
VR/AR labs
Teaching practice with immersive elements
The use of an immersive cloud-based educational environment opens up new opportunities for the development of digital competencies in higher education students. The proposed model reflects the conceptual vision of integrating the benefits of cloud and immersive technologies into a single high-tech educational environment to develop students’ digital competencies.
The defined system of digital competencies for future IT professionals and engineer-educators covers technological, communicative, project, methodological, and other aspects, the formation of which should be ensured by means of ICBEE.
The methodology for developing digital competencies in pre-service teachers using immersive technologies involves updating the content of their training, the systematic use of VR/AR tools, and the implementation of innovative forms and teaching methods. This will significantly increase the level of digital competencies of future teachers, promote the formation of innovative thinking and readiness to use immersive technologies in the modern school educational process.
Further research should be aimed at the experimental verification of the efectiveness of the proposed model and methodology, the development of specific methods for using ICBEE tools in the training of specialists in various fields.