Educational Technology Training: A Mixed Methods Study of Complex Thinking Development

Digital education has transformed teaching practices and the entire educational ecosystem over the past decade. After the rapid evolution of e-learning environments since the year 2020, an urgent need to upskill teachers in educational technology has emerged. A myriad of platforms, tools and technologies have been applied in different combinations to address the needs and requirements of teachers and students, so it becomes relevant to analyze the use of these resources for educational technology training of teachers. At the same time, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of developing complex thinking as a high-level competence that facilitates the transformation of individuals and institutions to build accessible, equitable and quality education. In this paper, we present a mixed-methods analysis of the impact of the Open Educational Model for Complex Thinking and the 4.0 educational platform OpenEdR4C as promoters of complex thinking competence development among teachers in higher education. The results showed that (a) the OEM4C and the OpenEdR4C platform have contributed to the development of complex thinking competences, (b) there is a need to emphasize training for the acquisition of competences for the development of complex thinking mediated by educational technologies in higher education institutions, and (c) that this training supposes the holistic construction of diverse accessible, equitable and quality scenarios. This study provides an opportunity to reflect on the appropriate practices when institutions introduce educational technologies as teacher training programs and the benefits, they can bring to the development of complex thinking competence in teachers and, consequently, in students.