Abstract:

The implementation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has introduced a new and standardised way to quantify student study time, the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). This change, normally, reduces the presence of students in class but this should not lead to a lower level of educational efficiency. In order to asses this new way of learning, Universities have been forced to change their way of teaching by introducing methodologies such as e-learning or b-learning reducing the number of theory classes.

The b-learning methodology has been implemented in two new subjects (“General and Organic Chemistry” and “Agricultural Chemistry and Analysis"), which are part of the first year of the Degree in Agricultural Engineering in the Technical University of Madrid. It combines traditional face-to-face classroom methods with other activities using Moodle (interactive platform where information such as activities, problems, questionnaires, etc, are available for the students for each subject). However, to date, laboratory classes have only been performed on-campus because no multimedia material has been available. In order to give the students the necessary supporting materials that favor the autonomous acquisition of knowledge and skills as well as increase their motivation and improve their performance, a total of 11 laboratory practical classes have been recorded by a video camera during the last academic year 2011-12 through an education innovation project.

Each practical class (6 for “General and Organic Chemistry” and 5 for the “Agricultural Chemistry and Analysis") was recorded in a 10 minute video. These videos are divided into different sections such as theory, reagents, materials and equipment as well as the experimental methods and, in some cases, the use of computer applications to obtain results is shown.
During the academic year 2012-2013, teachers will evaluate the effectiveness of this method as a learning tool as well as its acceptance by students. Students must watch the video and fill-out a questionnaire through the Moodle platform before being able to carry out the class in the laboratory. Once in the laboratory, the teacher will assess the students’ performance and the results obtained and then, as a final step, feedback is provided by the students regarding the usefulness of the video, via a questionnaire.