Abstract:

Confronted with the ongoing transformations in society, many of which stem from the widespread use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), educators presently grapple with a significant challenge in higher education: establishing meaningful connections between students and teaching staff. Academic institutions must not remain indifferent to these increasingly impactful changes; rather, they must seek avenues to align their curricula with this new reality—a reality characterized by students' adeptness with ICT tools. In response to this evolving landscape, it becomes imperative for teaching staff to recognize and instigate a process that fosters a two-way transmission of information (from students to teaching and vice versa), departing from the traditional unidirectional approach of teaching to students. Essentially, the task at hand involves adapting current teaching methodologies to a more interactive context wherein students play a pivotal role in lecture sessions. A principal approach facilitating this transition is the utilization of "active learning methodologies." These methodologies represent a pathway to engaged learning, encompassing a series of steps designed to encourage active student participation and thereby achieve meaningful learning outcomes. In this context, gamification stands out as an exemplar of an active methodology that promotes student engagement in the learning process. Tools like Mentimeter serve to streamline the incorporation of these dynamic and participatory methodologies due to their multifaceted capabilities. Functions such as creating word clouds, implementing electronic voting systems, facilitating dialogues, and crafting PowerPoint presentations are just a few examples of what this application offers. Successfully employed with postgraduate students in university teaching at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Valencia, particularly in the subjects of Corporate Communication and Commercial Research Techniques within the Master's Degree in Marketing and Market Research, Mentimeter demonstrated its efficacy. The positive outcomes of its integration into teaching can be assessed from dual perspectives. From the student standpoint, there was a noticeable increase in participation, attention, and motivation in the classroom. From the teacher's viewpoint, there was an enhancement in presentation quality, coupled with immediate feedback from the class attendees. The advantages realized through the use of such tools in the educational setting underscore the significance of active methodologies, such as gamification, in steering the shift from unidirectional to bidirectional teaching.

Keywords:

ICT, active methodologies, higher education, gamification.