Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

The work of Probability from the Compulsory Secondary Education stage and during the Baccalaureate is not generally contextualised and is, mainly, based on the rote learning of formulas. Therefore, when students arrive at university, a significant lack of knowledge related to the calculation of probabilities is evident. Teachers have to advocate for classroom strategies that help students to achieve lasting and contextualized learning and, even more, in areas such as Probability. This paper presents the design of a didactic proposal based on the use of gamified learning itineraries utilizing Deck.Toys digital tool for the learning of Probability in a sample of students of the Primary Education Degree who worked on an online environment. For this analysis, the outcomes obtained in two tests, initial and final, are collected in an experimental group that has used the tool and compared with those of a control group that worked in a traditional way. Moreover, the data of a survey of the evaluation of the user experience was also analysed. The results gained have been very satisfactory, the tests of comparison of means in the post-test shows a significant difference of 2.704 points more in the experimental group, taking into account that both groups were homogeneous. Likewise, the results of the satisfaction survey have been positive in terms of improving the understanding of both the procedures and the concepts involved on time management since students have been able to work at their own rhythm in an efficient way.

The pedagogical strategy of flexible learning itineraries in digital environments aligns with current practices that focus on students’ agency to control their own learning. Flexible learning itineraries allow personalised learning while enhancing self-regulated learning skills such as setting aims and defining strategies. Paramount for successful strategies of flexible learning itineraries is the learning design which has to be defined with precision and responds to a detailed set of needs beyond access at anyplace or anytime. The main aim of flexible learning itineraries is to allow student choice so that they may construct their own pathway by selecting their options based on their own individual needs, motivations and prior knowledge. This research seeks to validate the prototype of a pedagogical strategy based on flexible learning design implemented in a subject of the Teacher Education programme at the University of the Balearic Islands. From a design-based research methodological approach, learning itineraries and sequences were created, and data was collected on student satisfaction via an online survey. Results show, on the one hand, the students' satisfaction with the experience and the pathways built, and on the other hand, in view of the diversity of choices made, that the pathways promoted the personalisation of learning, allowing the teaching-learning process to be adjusted to their personal characteristics. Conclusions suggest that the instructional design supports self-regulated learning strategies. In addition, conclusions reflect on the need to address digital current challenges from equitable and just approaches; and, also, on the value of the teacher's role as designer.

Current educational processes require updating of adolescent learning methods, which demand effective and relevant procedures, especially based on the use of technology. This study tests Blended Learning (hereafter BL) as a means to strengthen learning English as a second language and takes as a reference of application two groups (experimental and control) during an academic semester in public institutions of high school education (EMS), located in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, on the US-Mexico border. The results of the research were obtained as follows: firstly, the application of a survey to identify various sociodemographic factors (sex, socioeconomic level, type of family, number and type of family members who speak English, level of proficiency in English, language, participants who have lived and studied in the United States, average time of use of ICT in their language and English, hobbies in English, and work and study activities); secondly, the verification of the academic effectiveness of the BL (experimental group) and of the traditional method (control group); thirdly, the analysis of results of the experimental group through a pre-test and a post-test; and last and in fourth place, the study of the likely influence of sociodemographic factors on the academic performance of the participants. The research concludes with the identification of benefits of BL and challenges the effects of various elements of the student's social environment on the achievement of English language learning.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is presented as an emerging technology that facilitates the personalization of learning and prepares young people for a changing labour market marked by new social requirements This document describes how a virtual training was designed and developed to broaden the knowledge about the A.I. of the 76 pre-service teachers who were enrolled in the subject: “ICT Applied to Education” of the Early Childhood Education’ Degree in the University of Extremadura. Through a mixed research approach, the responses offered by the participants in the questionnaire designed ad hoc for this study and in their own digital portfolio are analyzed. From the Likert scale closed questions were calculated descriptive statistics and for the open questions the technique of qualitative coding analysis was used. The results reveal that students perceive that the A.I. has a positive impact on learning and they are trained to design their own educational resources if they have the support and accompaniment of their university teachers. Finally, we consider that it is necessary to review the curricula of the subjects of the Degree in Early Childhood Education in order to contemplate the use of A.I. in the design of the teaching process of pre-service teacher training.

Digital competence is one of the key competencies to achieve a digitally literate citizenship. In university education, this competence is relevant in the curriculum, which should be developed based on this specific professional context and also in a way that allows enrichment the academic training and personal development of each student. Digital competence acquires special relevance to develop digital competence among teachers, for which it is necessary to work on it during the first years of initial teacher training. This article presents the results of research developed with first-year Pedagogy students from three Chilean public universities. The purpose of the study was to determine the level of digital competence among students and to make visible the influence of gender on the levels of achievement in this competence through the application of the assessment instrument COMPDIG-PED, based on the European Framework of Digital Competences (DIGCOMP). A quantitative methodology was used to carry out the research with a stratified representative sample of 817 students. The results show that statistically significant differences are identified in the areas of Communication and Collaboration, Creation of Digital Content and Problem Solving, in which men scored higher than women. This issue highlights the digital gender gap in the initial training of future teachers in the context of the study.

Education 4.0 is a model to meet the demands of Industry 4.0. This is achieved by developing competencies during the learning process that will later be used in Industry 4.0. The structural model proposed in this paper has four components: Cloud Computing infrastructures (applied in COVID-19 lockdown period), active hybrid methodologies (applicable in face-to-face, online, and blended learning mode), technologies (through a technological ecosystem), and horizontal 4.0 competences. These competencies have been acquired by integrating the active hybrid methodology with technologies. In the experience carried out, students have cooperatively used 4.0 competencies such as identifying, searching, evaluating, retrieving, creating, and using knowledge during the learning process. Likewise, the students have designed the technological system that classifies and manages all the knowledge created. Measured results show that the proposed Education 4.0 model has led to improvements in learning outcomes and has favoured peer-to-peer learning. The application of the 4.0 competencies has generated a 4.0 product which is the knowledge system to classify, organize, and use all the knowledge produced by the students through their learning experience in an academic subject.

Metacognitive strategies are essential, as they allow the learning process to be self-managed. This is especially important in higher education and blended learning because it requires greater independence. This study aims to determine the importance of metacognitive strategies as regards both study habits and reading comprehension in blended learning. For this purpose, metacognitive strategies are used through a digital tool in a blended learning context. SRSI-SR test was used to assess study habits and ARATEX-R was used to assess text reading before and after a master’s degree course. The study sample included 112 students from various disciplines; half of them used the tool as part of the research group, and the other half did not use it as part of the control group. The results show that the use of the metacognitive strategies has particularly facilitated the organization of the task regarding study habits. In reading comprehension, metacognitive strategies especially promoted motivation management, comprehension assessment, and planning. It is concluded that the use of metacognitive strategies has proven to be significantly effective, so these findings suggest the inclusion of metacognitive strategies in blended learning in order to improve study habits and reading comprehension in students and, thus, improve their learning outcomes. The conclusions obtained allow us to broaden our scientific knowledge about how these strategies influence learning.

Biometric identification technologies have experienced a boom in recent years, with applications being proposed and implemented in a wide array of fields, including education and, in particular, at the university level. However, in light of recent experiences, it is a fact that such trend might impact learning and teaching processes in unexpected ways. In that sense, we summarize some considerations about the use of biometric identification technologies in general and, particularly, about the use of facial recognition technologies in the framework of remote assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic. We provide a general analysis of the limitations of those technologies, with special attention to the technical, legal and ethical dimensions, and we explore potentially negative consequences of the use of such technologies. As an illustration, the experience of UNED, the biggest university in Spain, with a hybrid face-to-face and remote learning and teaching system, is provided. We expose the decisions taken by this institution to face the challenge of remote examination during the imposed lockdowns due to COVID-19. Given the number of evidences pointing to acute flaws in the technology which might have unpredictable consequences, in any case it is recommended to apply extreme caution in making decisions in this field.

This paper analyses the potential of hybrid environments to personalize learning, taking as a starting point some features of educational centres that have managed more quickly, easily, and effectively the difficulties caused by the impact of COVID-19. We focus on two main characteristics. First, the existence of an educational approach presided by the idea of ​​personalization of learning, understood as a set of different organizational, curricular, and didactic strategies aimed at promoting and reinforcing the meaning that students attribute to school learning. And the second one is the use of digital information and communication technologies to shape learning environments that blur the boundaries between the face-to-face and the virtual, and between the school as well as the out-of-school. Within this framework, we explore the possibilities offered by hybrid environments for designing and implementing different strategies for personalizing learning are explored, as well as for the monitoring of students and coordination of teachers. This paper concludes with a reflection on hybrid personal learning environments as an ideal framework for the implementation of learning personalization strategies.

The academic sphere has been particularly affected by Covid-19 due to the limitations of mobility and social distancing facilitated by the increase in contagions during the various waves that have occurred in Spain, which has led to the digitalisation of teaching in most Spanish universities. The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of Covid-19 on the learning of university students in Andalusia, and how psychosocial (fear of Covid-19, life satisfaction, stress, uncertainty), learning (learning strategies, motivation, study time and habits, facilitating conditions, self-regulation) and socio-demographic factors (gender, age, course, address, scholarship, future employment, mobility, dropout) have been influenced. For this purpose, a cross-sectional study design was applied based on the distribution of an online survey. A total of 1873 university students, aged between 17 and 59 years (M = 22.42, SD = 4.45) participated in the study. The results revealed that: 1) the pandemic has affected students differently depending on the population strata to which they belong; 2) there has been an increase in the levels of stress and uncertainty affecting students' mental health; 3) academic dropout is a factor that has been and is present during the incidence of the pandemic; 4) learning has been affected by the pandemic due to fear and uncertainty which has had a significant impact on students' motivation and self-regulation. Finally, the future lines of research of this work are discussed, highlighting the richness of the data obtained to advance knowledge on the impact of Covid-19 on university learning.