THE USE OF WHATSAPP FOR IMPROVING THE STUDENT ATTENTION FROM THE TUTORIAL ACTION PLAN

The Tutorial Action Plans at University offer, among other services, a direct contact with students allowing their personalized guidance. The college student receives a more complete integral formation with the help of those plans. These plans cover aspects ranging from personal academic counseling or the approach to the labor market to training emotional intelligence and transferable skills, aspects that are increasingly demanded by society.

Moreover, the importance of ICT at the University of the 21st Century sets undoubtedly, a constant renewal of the teaching-learning methodologies. This renewal is applied both to the purely academic knowledge, through virtual classrooms for each subject, as well as to other university aspects such as the student orientation programs.

In order to improve the Student Guidance Plan at the Degree of Forest Engineering and Natural Environment at the University of Extremadura, with the help of a teaching innovation project, a counseling of the type coaching and mentoring has been set. Such advice included a pilot test about the use of whatsapp technology for establishing a direct relation with students. It allows introducing a new way to supplement the integral formation received by the student since he can be warned with great immediacy of various events which can be of interest for their training.

Therefore, the main goal of this work is to evaluate the utility of the information offered to the student of the Degree of Forest Engineering and Natural Environment of the University of Extremadura by using Whatsapp. Within this pilot experience developed at the Student Guidance Plan, a reflection about strengths and weaknesses of such experience is set. Specifically, the objective of collecting a greater amount of information about the interest of college students for receiving supplementary training, by carrying out surveys, is planned. This information is intended for improving this direct and permanent attention to the student from the Student Guidance Plan. Therefore, it would be to adapt the available resources to the objectives trying to establish a new improved communication plan, not only for the course but possibly for the summer.

The relationship established via Whatsap between the professor and the student through a survey system, has been assessed. It could be determined that students positively value the information received in this way with the immediacy that characterizes it. The results obtained show that students have great interest in receiving information via Whatsapp. In fact, a wide majority of them manifest their wish for continuing receiving information even during summer despite of not being within the school’s year.