The book ‘Technology and innovation in Higher Education: post-pandemic scenarios’ invites us to reflect on how technology can be a key tool to face the challenges that the pandemic imposed on education and improve learning and innovation processes in the classroom.
compiled by John Jairo Briceño Martínez, Martha Castellanos Saavedra and José Leonardo Valencia Molanothe book brings together fourteen investigations carried out by higher education professors from the University Foundation of the Andean Areaand some collaborations from other universities in Colombia and Mexico, in which the reader will find a series of studies that respond to the challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, all of them associated with technology.
In addition, “it raises the challenges of this educational transformation in the development of skills and competencies by teachers and students, and the challenges that still need to be faced in terms of training and those that derive from working with technology, with the objective of improving learning and innovating inside and outside the classroom”, summarizes Carlos Patricio Eastman Baronapresident of the Superior Council of the Andean Area University Foundation, in the Introduction of the book.
Specifically, ‘Technology and innovation in Higher Education: post-pandemic scenarios’ fulfills the objective of analyzing in depth the strategies, experiences or models of technology applied to higher education that show that, with them, it is affecting the teaching-learning processes . For this reason, the book received works that address what happened during the first confinement caused by Covid-19, as well as in education after the health crisis.
A contribution of unquestionable value to the university sector
Interesting analyzes and conclusions derived from the academic exercise of the investigation are delivered to the readers, turning the book into an updated overview of the role of technology in universities today.
He chapter 1 offers a bibliographical review of experiences of successful educational innovations around the world, from new teaching methodologies to virtual education. He Episode 2 presents a problem-based classroom project that seeks to improve lifestyle habits in families and promote health. chapter 3 shows the difficulties of many teachers to handle digital tools in the classroom, which shows the need for digital training to enhance learning modalities.
In addition, the book highlights the importance of students’ emotions in their learning process, as discussed in the chapter 4. Also, the Chapter 5 highlights the strengthening of cognitive skills such as critical thinking in Systems Engineering students through the virtual modality. He Chapter 6 presents a study on an efficient scientific information search tool to find articles and patents on specific topics.
The chapters 7, 8 and 9 They present three experiences about the transformations experienced in classrooms due to the health emergency, and how the use of innovative technology-based tools has been key to adapting to the new reality. These experiences value the use of digital strategies, social networks and online education platforms and services, and show that this modality has advantages for students. However, in the chapter 10 It is evident that this paradigm shift has brought social and psychological repercussions in the lives of students, so it is essential that teachers acquire new skills to teach humanistic subjects supported by new information and communication technologies.
The chapters 11 and 12 They present experiences in the implementation of hybrid modalities and the promotion of well-being and happiness of students in the virtual modality, respectively. These experiences show how technology has made it possible to optimize access to knowledge, boost learning and strengthen proximity and links between students from different contexts and territories.
The book also highlights the importance of the role of the teacher in the integration of technologies and the need for training and training in digital and technological resources to innovate in teaching practices and effective communication with students, as exposed in the chapters 13 and 14.
Recommended reading on the lessons that the health crisis left in Education
The research that makes up the book demonstrates how technology promotes an effective education in which the student is the center of the dynamics. In addition, it highlights how higher education institutions responded to the crisis in a creative way, transforming face-to-face curricula into virtual formats and taking advantage of digital platforms.
In summary, the experiences presented in the book -whose reading we recommend- are an example of how higher education institutions can continue to innovate in the future, taking advantage of the benefits of technologies to optimize learning and the well-being of students.
