Abstract:

In recent years, the relevant implementation of new technologies has influenced different social areas. In this sense, educational field is one of those that has been affected for this social phenomena. The smartphones appearance and the emergence of different applications of instant messaging (IMapps), the use of short message service (SMS), and to some extent, voice calls, have shifted to the background in the communication field. Nowadays, instant messaging applications are the most used communication system into the population, allowing people to send text messages, pictures, audio and video files, or even to perform a videoconference. This fact has mostly affected the last generations. Among the most important IMapps, but not the only ones, are the well-known applications such as WhatsApp, Viber, Hangouts, Telegram or Skype. All of them have many similarities, but also present significant differences that can be crucial to determine which one might be the most suitable to be applied for academic purposes. Despite IMapps can be used by web, they have been thought for use in smartphones. In this sense, different advantages take place. For instance, people usually carry their phone with them, this allows the students to be in contact with professors, even when they are in different places. Moreover, these IMapps enable the professors solve any doubt immediately from their students in real time. This quickness promotes interactivity, not only between the student and the professor, but with different students at the same time, thanks to the possibility of creating groups, strengthening the collaborative learning. Besides geographical freedom, IMapps offer time freedom, which although can be an important advantage, also might become a serious drawback. Thus, the 24 hours availability of the professors not only exceeds their professional competences but undermines the concept and functionality of mentoring, losing the direct relationship professor-student since the IMapps should not be used as substitute of in-person tutoring. Furthermore, in some cases, the quality on the communications might be lower than in-person, not being appropriate for a complete direction of an academic work. In addition, the requirements for the registration in such IMapps use (mobile number or an e-mail usually not institutional) might involve an important loss of the professor privacy. For all of these reasons, the use of Imapps can be a suitable complementary educational tool whenever its use is regulated by the selection of the most appropriate one within an academic area and the previous establishment of rules of use agreed between professors and students

Keywords:

Advantages, communication, disadvantages, instant messaging App.