Learning technological innovation on mobile applications by means of a spiral of projects

Abstract

Teaching information and communication technologies (ICT) is a challenging task, especially when we focus on technological innovation. This work presents a learning experience for students with different backgrounds, such as Advertising, Audiovisual Communication, Journalism, Engineering, and Documentation. They are pursuing a Master’s degree on Mobile Communications and Digital Contents, an interdisciplinary course combining subjects from Communication Science and Computer Science. Due to the lack of knowledge about the details of several information technologies, especially those related to the mobile ecosystem, it was decided to follow a student-driven approach. Project-Based Learning (PBL), refined using a methodology called spiral of projects, would help to develop their own interests, which would be mainly based on their previous education. This paper describes the main features of the different stages composing the methodology and also the results of this successfully implemented experience, as well as a discussion about the suitability of this approach for other areas.