Appropriateness of e-learning resources for the development of transversal skills in the new European Higher Education Area

Abstract

The new European Higher Education Area (EHEA) implies not only a change in the content, length and name of the university degrees, but also a change in the pedagogical methodology. In this study, e-learning possibilities in the new scenario, where the main actor is the student, have been analyzed. Students must acquire specific knowledge of their profession, but also transversal skills for the work they will develop in their jobs. So, interpersonal, teamwork, learning, communication or computing skills must be essential pieces of the instructional designs of the university degrees. The paper is focused on the analysis of the technological tools most frequently used in the Learning Management Systems (LMS's), and of how these tools facilitate the development of the transversal skills mentioned in the Tuning Project. Tools are divided into contents tools (text, videos, simulators, e-labs, etc) and communication tools (forums, e-mail, virtual classrooms, etc.). Opinion polls to professors from engineering and humanities degrees from different Spanish Universities, most of them with experience in distance education, have been used in the analysis.