The aim of this study is to determine the level of competence that university students from Spain and Italy have in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for communication and collaboration purposes. We also intend to identify possible differences and similarities between both countries, as well as factors associated with their competence that may lead to a digital gap. In order to fulfil these objectives, we performed a positivist exploratory study based on a quantitative methodology supported by a descriptive method with a survey design. The data collection is performed with a questionnaire, the data from which are analyzed through two statistical studies: a descriptive one and a causal one. The results show good competence from the students in this area, being somewhat higher in Italian students. We identified some of the factors associated with competence, such as Internet access or having a tablet. In conclusion, it is clear that politics on a global, national and local level are essential to the acquisition of digital competence, especially regarding the digital gap caused by access to resources. In this sense, governments must guarantee free and universal access to technology to all their citizens in order to diminish the digital gap between them.

This article presents an experience of university teaching innovation with student electronic portfolios built in blog format. The overall objective of the research is to analyze student blogs according to three dimensions: technical, educational and social aspects. The experience was carried out with 86 students of the Degree of Social Education and Double Degree of Social Education and Social Work at the University Pablo de Olavide, Seville (Spain). The data analysis is performed by an encoding process with a categorical system prepared ad hoc and using the Atlas ti software. The results show, among other issues, the usefulness of the electronic portfolio for the development of new skills and abilities, in relation to the professional skills that students have to acquire.

Creating societies of the future goes hand in hand with promoting sustainable education and, therefore, universities must train educators who, through their own professional development, put into practice methodologies that are active, participative, and focused on the overall development of their students. The use of methodologies like Design Thinking and the use of social networks generate learning dynamics that bring into play key competences in the development of dedicated future educators. In this study, 156 students from Education degrees at the University of Jaen analyze how the use of these methodologies supports the learning process in dimensions such as creativity, motivation, communication, and involvement in learning, among others. The results shows that all dimensions correlate positively, and that the benefits derived from the use of these methodologies are perceived by students as greater than the effort required to put them into practice.

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Innovation in education entails not only the incorporation of technological tools and applications, but also the implementation of methodologies that could break the inertia and incorporate processes of Divergent Thinking. Future teachers must be creative professionals capable of developing professional activities to improve and not only to replicate the social experience in order to create new learning experiences. In this way, the main aim of our work was to explore how the use of Design Thinking Methodology improves learning processes in a group of 75 college students of the Primary Education Degree. This group of students, divided into 21 smaller working groups, created different educational videos and multimedia design projects through Design Thinking methodology. They were also encouraged to use Social Networks (specifically Instagram) to present and publicize the progress they were making on their work, in order to obtain feedback from their classmates. All the projects developed were related to three thematic areas: Art for everyone; Attention to diversity and Making great neighborhoods. At the end of the creation process, we analysed the students’ perception of how the design thinking methodology helps them through their learning process. Based on an ad hoc questionnaire, the impact of the use of Design Thinking in the learning process and its influence on variables such as motivation, communication, creativity, among others, was studied. The results show that the use of this methodology had a positive impact on practically all the variables, facilitating and optimizing the learning process of future teachers.