Naq project, a practical approach to computer aided teaching and learning

Abstract

The introduction and use of new technologies in the e-Learning field is not just about a structural process, scheduled and developed according to the right criteria. We must work on the educative contents, their creation process, features and objectives, because these are an essential part in the process that will lead us to increase the quality of learning. And, an important factor to consider is that these new technologies should be used for something else, like developing tools that help in the teaching-learning processes.Nowadays student profiles are far from what could be found a few years ago in the classrooms. Currently digital natives come to universities. These are students born during or after the introduction of digital technologies, used to interacting with technological devices from an early age. These students show great abilities to handle any digital tool, keyboards devices, digital-electronic pens, or touchscreens.For this reason, amongst others, the use of educative resources in the teaching-learning process can not be the same of past decades. Creation, distribution and use of educative content should make use of new technologies, digital format and internet.Since 1999 through Bologna Accords, the EHEA (European Higher Education Area) was launched. This initiative has been undertaken on 2010, and means a convergence process in the education field in Europe, creating a new reform of European university systems for a total of forty six countries.According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Computer Assisted Teaching is defined as a method of teaching using a personal computer to present material and guide a learner through a lesson, allowing freedom of navigation choice and providing the ability to bypass material already mastered.NAQ (Numerical Analysis Quizzes) is a Computer Aided Teaching and Computer Aided Learning tool. NAQ Project was born with the view to adapting the learning -on the side of students-and the guide process -on the side of teachers-, of the subject Numerical Analysis to the objectives exposed in the EHEA proposal. This facilitates the monitoring of the teaching-learning process.This paper exposes the experience acquired in the creation, distribution and use of these interactive educative learning objects: numerical analysis quizzes. They have been developed for subjects of Numerical Analysis of various official degrees from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.