Teaching strategy for the development of digital skills in the university classroom: From recreational use to training use

Abstract

This paper examines the initial phase of an investigation into a teaching strategy whose aim is to develop the digital skills of first-year engineering students. The research is framed within the qualitative paradigm and a multimodal approach to the use of instruments. Action research methodology was used to perform the research. The study focuses on two learning strategies: one which is more conceptual in nature and targeted at the professional use of the Internet and social networks, and the other which is of an applied and practical nature that culminates in the creation of a personal blog by students. We believe this work is of interest due to the methodology used and the positive results regarding the course objectives. The effectiveness of these strategies is supported by the results of surveys conducted on the training scheme, the large number of students who created a personal blog, the quality of their work and the satisfactory results of the students’ evaluations. We conclude that the use of action research methodology proved suitable for conducting further research into technological and digital competence in higher level university courses and other degree programs.