Use of Instagram as an Educational Tool with Pre-Service Teachers and the Impact on Digital Competence in Communication and Collaboration

The rise of social media is transforming education by replacing traditional materials and promoting digital competence, a key area of focus in current training. Platforms like Instagram facilitate collaboration, access to learning, and content creation, becoming essential tools for the development o...

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Main Authors: José Antonio Martínez-Domingo, Inmaculada Aznar-Díaz, José María Romero-Rodríguez, Juan José Victoria-Maldonado
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Education Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/2/149
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author José Antonio Martínez-Domingo
Inmaculada Aznar-Díaz
José María Romero-Rodríguez
Juan José Victoria-Maldonado
author_facet José Antonio Martínez-Domingo
Inmaculada Aznar-Díaz
José María Romero-Rodríguez
Juan José Victoria-Maldonado
author_sort José Antonio Martínez-Domingo
collection DOAJ
description The rise of social media is transforming education by replacing traditional materials and promoting digital competence, a key area of focus in current training. Platforms like Instagram facilitate collaboration, access to learning, and content creation, becoming essential tools for the development of students and future educators in digital environments. This study aimed to enhance the digital competence of pre-service teachers, particularly in communication and collaboration, through Instagram as an educational tool. A quasi-experimental study with pretest and post-test measures was conducted, involving 391 students from the University of Granada. The results indicated an intermediate level of digital competence with improvements in both groups, though no significant differences were found between them. However, significant effects were observed in the intragroup analysis. The experimental group, which used Instagram as an educational tool for 11 weeks, showed improvements in communication and collaboration, digital content creation, and security. The control group also demonstrated progress, mainly in information search and problem-solving. These improvements align with previous studies, though the progress in the control group may be attributed to factors such as content focused on educational technology, student motivation, and engagement. This study confirms that social media can enhance digital competence as a learning tool.
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spelling doaj-art-256fcd45f3c9484aa29ab5336d5491162025-08-20T03:12:02ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022025-01-0115214910.3390/educsci15020149Use of Instagram as an Educational Tool with Pre-Service Teachers and the Impact on Digital Competence in Communication and CollaborationJosé Antonio Martínez-Domingo0Inmaculada Aznar-Díaz1José María Romero-Rodríguez2Juan José Victoria-Maldonado3Department of Didactics and School Organization, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Didactics and School Organization, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Didactics and School Organization, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Didactics and School Organization, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainThe rise of social media is transforming education by replacing traditional materials and promoting digital competence, a key area of focus in current training. Platforms like Instagram facilitate collaboration, access to learning, and content creation, becoming essential tools for the development of students and future educators in digital environments. This study aimed to enhance the digital competence of pre-service teachers, particularly in communication and collaboration, through Instagram as an educational tool. A quasi-experimental study with pretest and post-test measures was conducted, involving 391 students from the University of Granada. The results indicated an intermediate level of digital competence with improvements in both groups, though no significant differences were found between them. However, significant effects were observed in the intragroup analysis. The experimental group, which used Instagram as an educational tool for 11 weeks, showed improvements in communication and collaboration, digital content creation, and security. The control group also demonstrated progress, mainly in information search and problem-solving. These improvements align with previous studies, though the progress in the control group may be attributed to factors such as content focused on educational technology, student motivation, and engagement. This study confirms that social media can enhance digital competence as a learning tool.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/2/149Instagramsocial mediadigital competencehigher education
spellingShingle José Antonio Martínez-Domingo
Inmaculada Aznar-Díaz
José María Romero-Rodríguez
Juan José Victoria-Maldonado
Use of Instagram as an Educational Tool with Pre-Service Teachers and the Impact on Digital Competence in Communication and Collaboration
Education Sciences
Instagram
social media
digital competence
higher education
title Use of Instagram as an Educational Tool with Pre-Service Teachers and the Impact on Digital Competence in Communication and Collaboration
title_full Use of Instagram as an Educational Tool with Pre-Service Teachers and the Impact on Digital Competence in Communication and Collaboration
title_fullStr Use of Instagram as an Educational Tool with Pre-Service Teachers and the Impact on Digital Competence in Communication and Collaboration
title_full_unstemmed Use of Instagram as an Educational Tool with Pre-Service Teachers and the Impact on Digital Competence in Communication and Collaboration
title_short Use of Instagram as an Educational Tool with Pre-Service Teachers and the Impact on Digital Competence in Communication and Collaboration
title_sort use of instagram as an educational tool with pre service teachers and the impact on digital competence in communication and collaboration
topic Instagram
social media
digital competence
higher education
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/2/149
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