Abstract:

Introduction:
Class attendance of university students and evaluation of their learning process are two of the most common concerns among lecturers. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influence of new information and communication technologies (ITCs) on student attendance, as well as on their self-learning process and obtain feed-back that serves to modify, if necessary, the teaching methodology used in theoretical classes. Moreover, the correlation between attendance and academic achievement was analyzed.

Methods:
The study was conducted in a reduced group of students enrolled in the high academic performance group (bilingual teaching). The chosen subject was Pharmaceutical Technology I, a compulsory subject worth 12 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) that is taught in the 4th year of the degree in Pharmacy at the University of Valencia. The subject includes 6 hours of tutorials. The innovative teaching-learning methodology was based on two open sources and free programs: "Educaplay" and "Kahoot!". Anonymous surveys were used at the end of the sessions in order to assess student satisfaction. In addition, attendance was checked by a signature sheet.

Results:
No differences were observed in class attendance when ICTs were used or not. However, a correlation between attendance and the number of ‘pass’ students was established (63.6% of ‘pass’ students who attended tutorials vs 36.4% of ‘pass’ students who did not attend). According to the survey, 100% of students perceive the use of these innovative tools in class as attractive, interesting, appropriate and useful for their learning process and, therefore, 100% recommend them for tutorial sessions of other subjects. Among the tools employed, 33.3% of students recommend "Kahoot!" vs 8.3% "Educaplay", although the results obtained with this program do not correlate with the mark obtained in the exam of the subject. However, this tool reveals the knowledge of students immediately. "Educaplay" has the advantage of enabling students to repeat the activities proposed at home several times, promoting self-learning. In fact, 58.3% of students confirm having used them more than once. No correlation was found between the results obtained with this tool and the academic achievement.

Conclusion:
New ICTs back up the self-learning process of students and allow the teacher to obtain direct and fast information. According to our results, it seems that ITCs do not promote class attendance. However, students perceive these innovative programs as adequate and useful for their learning and study. It would be necessary to carry out more studies with larger groups in order to reach more precise conclusions.

Keywords:

Attendance, academic achievement, pharmacy students, information and communication technologies.