Abstract:

Since the 2016-17 academic year, a group of professors from the University of Zaragoza has been working to improve the teaching-learning process under the Flipped Learning approach. In turn, this methodology is supported and enhanced by the latest information and communication technologies (ICT). In this way, several ICT tools and technological applications have been implemented in different faculties and university degrees. Likewise, the so-called "digital competencies for citizenship" among students and their correlation with respect to ease or difficulty in their use have been evaluated. The purpose has been to know the acceptance, by the students, of these resources, ICT applications, and methodologies used in the different degrees in higher education.
In this study, 11 subjects from 9 degrees and 2 subjects from 2 master's degrees were involved, covering studies associated with Health Sciences, Social and Legal Sciences, Physics and Chemistry, and Engineering and students of all university courses. To analyze the so-called "digital skills", a descriptive and retrospective survey was developed through Google Forms. In total, 446 surveys carried out between the academic years 2020-2022 were analyzed.
As a summary of the results obtained, the majority of students (73%) believe that it is easy to learn and use ICT, considering that the majority (65%) are skilled in its use. In this case, some differences appear depending on the university degree of the students. Likewise, 75% of the students believe that it is a good idea to use ICT tools in the classroom, 73% like to use them and 78% have a positive attitude towards their use. Only a very small percentage of students, 1.5-5%, think that they feel bad, stressed, or uncomfortable when using these technological applications. Regarding the perception that students have about their learning when using ICT, approximately 35% think that its use during the study of a subject facilitates learning, is more efficient and allows them to learn faster. In this way, learning adapts to the pace of students and their needs. Furthermore, along the same lines, 35% of students believe that ICTs improve their performance and make them much more productive. Thus, 50% of students believe that the use of these tools inside and outside the classroom is useful in the learning process.
When students were asked their opinion on whether ICT makes learning more fun and increases communication with both the teacher and their peers, almost 50% of the students surveyed answered yes. Most of the students think that ICTs are necessary for their training (43%), and they consider them important in their future (50%). However, students do not believe that its use increases the difficulty of the subjects to a greater or lesser extent. Meanwhile, there is an improvement in their satisfaction factor with respect to those subjects that incorporate technological tools. Thus, only 10% of students believe that those subjects that use ICT are more complicated than those that do not, and 30% are more satisfied with those subjects in which they are implemented.
In conclusion, ICT tools, in all their variants, are a very valuable instrument for teaching, providing advantages and benefits in university education. The introduction of technology in the classroom allows us to change the way in which the student interacts with information and content.

Keywords:

Knowledge Integration, Motivation, Projects and Experiences, Educational Innovation, Learning and Teaching Methodologies, Higher Education.