The Teaching-Learning Process in the Classroom Using Smartphones: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

[EN] The TASCA (Tools and Strategies for Competencies Assessment) group of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) is working towards integrating currently existing technological resources into the teaching-learning process, more specifically, into the immediate evaluation feedback in the classroom. There exist commercially available systems known as Audience Response Systems (ARS) that can be used with this purpose by maintaining interactivity between presenter and audience. However the most practical solution, financially speaking, would be to use connectivity devices that students themselves already own and usually have with them in the classroom (smartphones, tablets, and netbooks, among others), and taking advantage of the university's existing infrastructure providing secure and free internet connectivity. The goal of the group's current project is the development and utilization of a computer support that would make it possible for students to respond via their mobile devices to surveys or multiple-choice questions the professor presents in on-campus classes. The proposed approach benefits from the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend, which refers to employees using their own mobile devices to access company resources. The BYOD phenomenon is currently infiltrating various sectors of society and, not surprisingly, education is one of them.