Abstract:

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and social networks have generated an impact on society in recent years especially in the educational field, transforming both informal and formal contexts. In informal contexts, the technologies are defined by the imminence and availability of most of the information, allowing the development of digital search, creation and literacy skills. In formal contexts, these have transformed the teaching-learning processes (TL), letting the insertion of new methodologies in the classroom, in addition to the use of tools for creating interactive and attractive content for students. In addition, these tools have facilitated the communication among students and teachers. The objective of this paper was to carry out a comparative study of the aspects that teachers’ value most in the inclusion and use of ICTs and social networks in the classroom in higher education institutions in Ecuador and Spain. This was done using the comparative method in the descriptive and interpretative phases, using a questionnaire as a data collection tool.The questionnaire used was base on qualitative qduestionswith a range of answer from (0=strongly disagree to 6=strongly agreed). Posterior the data was analysis using the SPSS version 22, in which the qualitative variables were studied using frequencies, mean, U de MannWhitney and the quantitative as age were studied using Kruskal-Wallis.

It was found that one of the aspects most valued by teachers is the incorporation of active methodologies in the TL process, and the motivation it awakens in students. One of the main constraints in Ecuador is the lack of teacher training in ICT, which is a challenge to its performance as opposed to Spain, where the implementation of these new methodologies is well established.

Keywords:

ICTs, Social Networks, Higher Education, active methodologies, Ecuador, Spain.