Beyond Digital Competence: Technology Use Patterns and Teaching Practices among Engineering Faculty

Introduction: Digital technologies have become central to teaching and learning processes in engineering higher education, supporting communication, content delivery, assessment, and student engagement. Understanding how faculty adopt and evaluate these technologies is essential for designing effective institutional digitalization strategies. However, how digital competence translates into actual technology use remains underexplored. This study analyzes engineering professors’ digital competence, their assessment of technology-supported teaching practices, and their technology use patterns across four core academic activities, providing a more comprehensive perspective on technology integration in engineering education.

Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, and correlational research design was implemented with 539 engineering faculty members who participated in specialized training on educational technologies. A structured questionnaire measured perceived digital competence, didactic valuation of digital tools, and frequency of technology use in four domains: interaction, communication, content distribution, and academic administration. Gender, university tenure, and teaching experience were examined as independent variables through nonparametric and correlational statistical analyses.

Results: Participants reported intermediate digital competence but highly valued digital technologies for teaching. Technology use was highest in communication and content distribution and lowest in administration and assessment. Distinct use patterns emerged across teaching functions, with greater technology integration among female faculty and professors from private universities. Although digital competence was positively associated with technology valuation, higher competence did not always translate into broader technology use.

Conclusions: Digital technology integration in engineering education is advancing but remains uneven across institutional and demographic contexts. This study identifies technology use patterns that go beyond digital competence, revealing how engineering faculty integrate digital tools across different teaching functions. These findings support the development of targeted training programs and evidence-based digitalization strategies in engineering education.