Analysis of the didactic use of tablets in the European Higher Education Area

Esteban Vázquez Cano,M Luisa Sevillano

doi:10.7238/rusc.v11i3.1808

Esteban Vázquez Cano, M Luisa Sevillano

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.7238/rusc.v11i3.1808

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Abstract

This article presents a study in which we analyse the didactic use of tablets in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The competential and didactic use of mobile devices is a challenge for lecturers, students and universities alike. In the current university system, mobile devices play a key role that requires rigorous analysis to open up new channels of participation and didactic design in accordance with the EHEA. The research is contextualised in a sample of 419 students from three Spanish public universities: Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), University of Oviedo and National University of Distance Education (UNED), Spain. Through a quantitative and qualitative methodological approach, we proceeded to analyse the life stories of students who are familiar with tablets and use them in both their personal lives and for their university studies. The results show that this mobile device can be a useful resource in information processing, content access and creation, and generic competency development in line with the Dublin Descriptors and the main recommendations of the Tuning, Reflex and EUConverge European projects.

Highlights

We present an analysis of the didactic potential of using tablets in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), contextualised in three Spanish universities: Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), University of Oviedo and National University of Distance Education (UNED), Spain
This dictionary of concepts of components and subcomponents of the competency map of tablets contains a total of four macro-categories: didactic activities, programs and apps, benefits and generic competencies developed, for which 24 sub-components were coded as shown in Table 4 below
Tablets, which have burst onto the social and academic scene in the last two years, represent a powerful resource – because of their small size and high-performance technologies – for coping with the development of various sub-components of the generic competencies proposed in the EHEA

Summary

Introduction

We present an analysis of the didactic potential of using tablets in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), contextualised in three Spanish universities: Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), University of Oviedo and National University of Distance Education (UNED), Spain This device has burst onto the scene in Spain, a country where the number of tablets per user is twice that of the European average; 14% in Spain compared to 7% in Europe according to the Mobile Life report (2012). The key concept adopted within this university action framework is the use of methodologies and instruments that foster the transferability of skills to personal, social, academic and professional contexts, laying the foundations for lifelong learning (Villa & Poblete, 2007; Cedefop, 2010; Murphy, 2011; Allen & Van der Velden, 2012). We should add that all experts have highlighted the fact that one of the paths that needs to be explored in order to overcome the current economic crisis is that of intelligently adopting digital technologies that enable efficient and productive economic models to be developed, in which technological innovation serves as a driver of growth and increased productivity (La sociedad en red, 2011).

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