New technologies in the university academic development

Abstract

The university education faces the changes propitiated by the new technologies which should be seen as an opportunity to take a leap into the world of digital communication and thus favor a direct interaction between students and teachers. This topic has been raised to analyze the role of new technologies in the university academic development of the city of Quito. In this study, several mechanisms were used for the analysis: participant observation and the survey to students and teachers from private and public universities in the city. The selection to make the sample was random so it is representative of the different economic and urban levels of the city. The results reflect that students from public and private universities use «smartphones» and social networks for the exchange of information, teachers from private institutions use virtual platforms more frequently while their peers from public institutions do not use them. Resources such as books in digital format are preferred by younger teachers. These technologies are an active part of everyday life, even educational, but its influence is not yet as expected. In this environment the university teacher becomes a facilitator of learning, teachers and students interact in a new educational space that adapts according to their interests and personal possibilities.