ABSTRACT
The use of digital platforms by the university communities to produce knowledge, research, teaching, and management has not only intensified but it has also diversified since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a context where higher education and the use of digital technologies are increasingly intertwined, universities can take advantage of this unplanned hiper-digitalization event to explore fundamental questions about learning and researching in a post-digital landscape. This article is the result of an exploratory study based on a co-design and virtual ethnography, analyzing the attributes and foci of 31 "data research center" in universities from 16 countries. Although the centers analyzed have different profiles and approaches, they all investigate the intensive use of data and its political-social implications, with a special interest in the fair and ethical use of data for administrative, research, and pedagogical activities. As result, this work provides 20 proposals, grouped into 4 dimensions of possible institutional areas of development for universities. These proposals aim to contribute to the critical analysis of how higher education institutions can play a central role to face the growing relevance of advanced data systems in our societies. © 2023 Grupo de Investigacion FORCE. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple educational contexts experienced a sudden and accelerated digital transformation. However, this is not a new phenomenon. For years, public and private initiatives have been designed and tested in Spain. In this regard, the role and use of cell phones in the classroom has been a key and, at the same time, controversial aspect. In Barcelona (Catalonia), for example, recent educational policies have promoted the pedagogical use of cell phones. Within this framework, this article analyses whether these initiatives to promote the use of mobile phones are effectively transferred and implemented in the classroom. Using qualitative research, based on co-design, case studies and content analysis, we examined the reality of three educational centres in Barcelona. In these three contexts, field observations, interviews with management teams and ICT coordinators, and discussion groups with teachers were conducted. The information generated was grouped into five main categories of analysis. As a result, it was observed that the mobile phone has been losing prominence in the classroom. Schools tend to prohibit the use of cell phones and prefer computers to give priority to the control of technological tools in order to use the Internet safely. Mobile phones, in this sense, are only used at certain times when there is a pedagogical objective, although there is still a need for more pedagogical and digital training for teachers. © 2022 by the authors.