The use of mobile devices as an educational strategy at university

Abstract

Information and Communication Technologies have made a great impact in all human activities. The arrival of smartphones has sped up the process of profound transformation in knowledge availability and accessibility. Education, higher education in particular, is highlighting the issue of new technologies which both students and teachers frequently use in their personal lives. However, are they successfully incorporated in educational practice? The current research has been conducted using a qualitative methodology of a descriptive character, which gathers the testimony of the use of mobile devices in the university and the contexts that determine this behavior. The study supplies relevant information about the use that teachers and students make of their mobile devices related to the teaching and learning processes, and supplies significant information about the impact and potential use of ICT in higher education in order to pursue policies related to technological and digital development in universities as well as contribute to the decisions made in technological development and investment. From the perspective of the debate and a further interpretative and critical analysis of the data gathered in the study, some of the identified findings are provided. These are proposed improvements that allow for the optimization of virtualization plans and the use of mobile devices, as well as new questions which arise from the investigation.