Digital Educational Space in the Opinion of Secondary School Students and Teachers

Contemporary education increasingly relies on digital technologies, which influence the organisation of teaching and learning. The study aimed to explore the opinions of secondary school students and teachers on the functioning of the digital learning space and to identify factors influencing its effectiveness. The study was conducted among 380 teachers and 600 secondary school students from the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The results showed that the surveyed students had a comparable level of digital competence to their teachers and were more likely to positively assess the effectiveness of teaching using digital tools. The most frequently used solutions were presentation software, educational websites, and communication applications. The main advantages of the digital learning space included easy access to educational materials and the ability to learn at any time, while the most significant threats included information chaos and the lack of direct teacher-student contact. Both students and teachers positively assessed the impact of technology on the attractiveness of classes, access to knowledge, and communication. A statistical correlation was also demonstrated between the assessment of the functioning of the digital learning space and the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. The results confirmed the need to increase the quantity and quality of teacher training, expand technical and IT infrastructure in schools, and more systematically use digital tools. The digital educational space has enormous development potential, but its effective use requires maintaining a balance between technology and traditional teaching methods, so as to support, rather than replace, teacher-student contact.