Application of digital technologies in the geography teaching process from the teachers' perspective

This survey focused on the analysis of opinions and attitudes expressed by Geography teachers participating in the national project called "Modernization of the Educational Process in Elementary and Secondary School", in selected training centres in Slovakia during 2008-2013. The main objective of the course was innovation and modernization of teaching procedures, methods, and forms of teaching Geography with the assistance of digital technologies. 6,527 qualified teachers of elementary and secondary schools completed the course, 353 of them specialized in Geography. The course (100-106 lessons) consisted of three modules, partially in the form of distance education. The introduction describes the course and the individual modules. First two modules were focused on the development and acquisition of general technical skills and common educational software (e.g. Interactive Whiteboard). The key role in the methodical preparation of teachers was in the 3rd module. It aimed to create and demonstrate an efficient application of digital technologies, particularly for the current educational contents of Geography. The core of the study evaluates the overall satisfaction of course participants with the level of expertise, difficulty level, and content, as well as their own assessment of the acquired skills and knowledge. We also analysed teachers´ attitudes towards the real usability of the available model methods, their opinions on the quality of the created teaching aids and digital technologies incorporated in the education process. Finally, we present suggestions to improve the quality of Geography teaching in schools, in order to reflect the real needs of people's lives in a scientific society.