Integrating ICT in a didactic unit: lights, camera, action!

Abstract

In Spain, the educational system is focused on traditional teacher-centred methods. Nevertheless, this traditional approach does not engage students anymore. Prensky (2001) claims that students have changed and our educational system was not designed to teach today's students. Today's students are digital natives, they were born into the digital world and they have spent their entire lives using technology. Therefore, taking this into account is paramount to capture the students’ interest in class. This work has been designed to integrate the use of ICT in a Spanish high school where traditional approach is the predominant methodology amongst teachers. The didactic unit designed and described in this paper has been implemented in a third year of Compulsory Secondary Education with the objective of combining a traditional approach with a task-based approach. This didactic unit includes the use of ICT in a wide variety of activities in order to deal with diversity awareness and to cope with the different learning styles students may have. Results indicate that the use of ICT is highly motivating for the students, that students perform better on the tasks which imply the use of computers opposed to the use of traditional materials and that they are willing to work in collaborative groups.