Digital skills critical for education: Video analysis of students' technology use in Norwegian secondary English classrooms.

Background: Globally, digital skills are a crucial aspect of education that schools should develop systematically. Research on digital skills tends to be measured using self‐reports, performance tests or interventions. There is less knowledge about student and teacher uptake of technology in school, making it important to investigate the actual use of technology and digital skills in authentic classroom settings. Objectives: This study contributes unique baseline data concerning students' use of technology and digital skills across mandatory English courses in real classroom settings in secondary schools in Norway over time. Methods: The study adapted a national framework for digital skills into an observation protocol. With it, this study analysed videos from 60 naturally occurring English lessons in 13 English classes at seven lower secondary schools over two school years (grades 9 and 10), following 186 students (aged 13–15) and 10 teachers. Results and Conclusions: Students used digital skills critical for education in half of the video‐recorded English lessons, with more digital skill use at some schools over time. The main finding across classrooms and school years regards students' use of basic, not advanced, digital skills. Takeaways: Although teachers provide opportunities for students to use digital skills in school, more advanced skills are needed. This work calls for continued use of video recordings to provide systematic comparisons of potential shifts in students' digital skills in real English secondary classroom settings over time. Lay Description: What is currently known: Digital skills is a crucial aspect of education globallyStudent and teacher uptake of technology varies extensivelyMost studies on the use of digital technology concern self‐reports and interventionsFew studies exist concerning the actual use of digital skills in the classroom What this paper adds: Video recordings from seven English classrooms across two school years are analysed.A framework for digital skills is adopted and used as observation protocolAttention is given to the difference between basic and advanced digital skillsHow technology is actually used matters more than how much technology is available Implications of study findings for practitioners: Teachers should offer opportunities for students' use of digital skills in the classroomSubject‐specific use of digital skills should be prioritizedThere is a need for more emphasis on reflection and digital judgementWe need to encourage the use of advanced digital skills and not only basic skills [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]