Digital technologies in successful academic itineraries of Higher Education non-traditional students

Abstract

Digital technologies have been recognised as important mediators in teaching and learning processes in Higher Education. Taking this as a reference, this article presents a research that studied the use of digital Technologies, at this level of learning and by non-traditional students, as a support to the construction of learning and the development of skills for autonomy in the organisation of itineraries oriented towards academic success. Students from History and Computer Engineering courses at University of Porto were the target group of the study, because these courses may have students with distinct digital competences. The data, collected through interviews, were interpreted by content analysis. This analysis allowed the identification of two types of technologies: the unofficial technologies, used by the students on their own initiative; and the official technologies, offered by the institution or suggested by professors. The unofficial technologies are used among students, mainly in the creation and management of virtual spaces for communication and cooperation, for sharing study materials in various multimedia formats. On the other hand, the use of official technologies focuses mainly on the access to study materials made available by the professor and to communicate with the lecturer. Regarding the relationship between the use of technologies and the academic success of non-traditional students, the study has shown that it supports student autonomy, management of the time and place where they study, the communication between peers and with professors, and the ubiquitous access to study materials which they search and share.