Abstract:

The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has recently become popular in the daily lives of students. As a result, teachers and lectures have begun to explore their use in official education. The aim of this paper is to present evaluation findings from a case study of e-learning methodology in Spanish higher education. For this, the research developed here shows the results of a survey questionnaire conducted in the first year discipline “Introduction to Construction” of the Building Engineering School at the Technical University of Madrid (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid). The students were asked their opinion and experience on the e-learning methodology implemented in their class. This paper provides an overview of the study developed, describes the methodology used, summarizes the implementation experiences of the students involved and presents the main findings.

Results show that over 71% of the students prefer practical lessons rather than traditional teaching. In addition, 57% of respondents agree in studying the theory by their own. Therefore, summarizing lectures, highlighting the key points and answering the major questions asked by the students, are essential factors to be implemented in future teaching lessons. In addition, solving practical exercises during the class has been the main measure chosen by students, as their questions and doubts can be immediately solved by the lecturer.

In short, e-learning teaching should be commonly used and enhanced, as 74% of the students agree in implementing this method and 54% of them consider e-learning a high valued measure (4 on a 5 point scale).

Keywords:

e-learning, traditional teaching, Higher Education, Information and Communication Technology.