Abstract:

The development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), together with the changes produced in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and in society in general, has given rise to a set of transformations that directly affect teaching in university centers. Traditionally, the main figure in lectures given in university institutions has been the teaching staff. However, in recent years, the figure of the students is acquiring a greater role in the development of classes, being an active element in the classroom. Currently, the dynamics of academic sessions are moving towards much more dynamic and active environments, where student participation is crucial to improve the quality of teaching. In this sense, the use of interactive tools that encourage student involvement is a necessity and seems to be gradually being implemented in university centers. However, although its application in universities is growing, there are still doubts about its usefulness among university students, especially when it comes to examining its impact on undergraduate and postgraduate students. For this reason, this paper attempts to examine whether or not there are significant differences in the perception of the student body, according to its typology (undergraduate students vs. postgraduate students). Specifically, this study examines whether ICT are a channel that facilitates the learning process among university students. To achieve this objective, during the 2022/23 academic year, an electronic voting system was used in some undergraduate and master's degree courses at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Valencia that allowed students to answer a set of questions related to the content previously taught by the teacher. The results obtained from the evaluation of this tool are clearly positive, especially among undergraduate students, which confirms the importance of the use of ICT in teaching as a mechanism to dynamize the class. In addition, the results confirm the existence of significant differences between undergraduate and postgraduate students in terms of their perception of the use of this type of tool and its role in the learning process. The analyses show that, for undergraduate students, interactive ICT are more decisive in their learning process than for postgraduate students. Therefore, this study calls on higher education institutions to put in place mechanisms to facilitate the implementation of these types of tools in the centers and also to facilitate the learning process of these instruments by university faculty.

Keywords:

ICT, Undergraduate, Postgraduate, gamification, university.