The Future of Education

In the last decade, the advances in new technologies have contributed to the design of novel practical-oriented learning methodologies included in current European Space of Higher Education (ESHE) studies. The new ESHE Degrees have shifted from a traditional teacher-centered process to a learner-centered process according to Bologna process [1]. In this paper, we overview new learning methodologies implemented at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Spain, in different Bachelor and Master Degrees of Telecommunication, Building and Civil Engineering.

Within these new methodologies, cross-disciplinary learning techniques have been proposed to create cooperative learning groups comprising students from different disciplines with a common background. The results obtained at the UPV pointed out that both Master and Bachelor level students enhanced their learning process when working in cooperative groups. It was also observed that students’ motivation can be increased if the students take part in the design of the lecture contents. A new methodology tested at UPV involved Master Engineering students in the preparation of a laboratory session which improved the learning outcomes. We found also important to evaluate the effectiveness of feedback and feedforward to provide useful information about the students’ learning progress. A study analysis of the feedback and feedforward in Engineering studies confirmed the benefits obtained in complex learning situations.

As we observed that students’ motivation increases when combining traditional learning with new information and communication technologies (ICTs) [2][3], we investigated the possibility of integrating students’ mobile devices (e.g. smartphones or tablets), new ICT tools such as wearable devices (e.g. smartwatches or Google Glass) and social networking platforms (e.g. Facebook [3]) in the learning process to provide ubiquitous learning [1]. To give some examples, at the UPV we tested a new tool using content distribution networks for data gathering to solve short exercises in the classroom and Google Glass device to provide the professor with real time student's achievements information. The results reported in this work confirm that the combination of ICTs with new learning methodologies improves the learning process effectiveness in a Higher Education framework.

[1] M.C. Rodriguez-Sanchez, et al. “Automatic assessment system for large groups using Information and Communication Technologies”, IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), April 2012.

[2] G. Zurita, M. Nussbaum, “A constructivist mobile learning environment supported by a wireless handheld network”, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, vol. 20, pp. 235-243. 2004.

[3] N. Leelathakul, K. Chaipah, “Quantitative effects of using facebook as a learning tool on students' performance”, International Joint Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering (JCSSE), pp. 87-92, 2013.