Abstract:

Collaborative learning includes a set of methodological strategies that emerge from the new approach to higher education. Group work is a key element to be developed in teaching-learning activities. To achieve this, emphasis should be placed on the active participation of students in the process.

In the case of the university, there are several educational platforms that constitute an ideal means of integrating collaborative work. Given the importance of performance improvement strategies, comparative effective analysis of training and innovative actions are of interest.

The project that we present focuses on the design of voluntary activities for students. The theoretical framework corresponds to the collaborative work literature. In order to develop the study, a course of the Degree in Tourism has been selected Through the alF platform the teacher presents the basic contents that the students have to work on, and complement to the traditional printed materials.

The main objective of the study has been the organization of evaluating the activities, separated from the conventional modes, in the framework of collaborative work. To this end, students are involved in an active learning process, through the elaboration of supervised practical contents for the subject. The main results are presented relating to the performance achieved by the students who participated in the project. Results related to the dynamization of the virtual course are also presented.

The main conclusion is related to the impact that the design of activities in the framework of collaborative work contributes to the dynamization of virtual courses. In particular using tools that are related to the communication in the virtual course.

The use of the virtual platform based on strategies with pre-designed activities and the use of other resources allows us to achieve improvements in the teaching process. There is also a positive impact on the academic performance of the activities designed in the framework of collaborative work. The result is more generally favorable for students who have participated in the control group. In a dynamic context, it would be interesting to expand the analysis that allows us to make longitudinal comparisons. Future extensions will try to expand the number of participants based on increasing the motivating actions.

Keywords:

Innovation, technology, research projects, higher education, distance learning.