Eva Mestre

Use of synchronous e-learning at university degrees

Different types of Course Management Systems (CMS) are fully integrated in conventional and online courses in many Universities degrees. Although they are suitable for lecturer‐student information sharing, their asynchronous nature prevents an efficient interaction, which may hamper the learning process. As an alternative, synchronous virtual learning platforms can help fill the gaps in traditional CMS. However, there is very little feedback regarding its use in higher education. The Universitat Politècnica de València introduced in 2010 a synchronous e‐learning platform, named Poli[ReunióN], an Adobe Connect‐based online service. Poli[ReunióN] provides virtual sessions where interaction between lecturers and students is enabled by means of audio/video‐conferences and software application sharing. By following this path, Poli[ReunióN] provides an opportunity for planning new educational experiences where technology may help to achieve new learning objectives. However, the implementation of this tool still needs to be explored. In order to check its usefulness, we have performed a multidisciplinary learning experience involving a wide range of subjects over several degrees: Private Telecommunication Systems (degree in Telecommunications Engineering), Algorithms and Data Structure (degree in Computer Sciences), English for International Tourism (degree in Tourism Management), Genetics and Plant Breeding (degree in Agricultural Engineering), and a specific course for teachers’ training. The advantages and disadvantages of the use of Poli[ReunióN] in tutoring and in different learning activities proposed in the aforementioned degrees are discussed from both perspectives—lecturers and students. These experiences may help lecturers and other education professionals to adopt similar e‐learning tools.

On the introduction of Flipped teaching across multi-disciplinary fields

In this article, several Flipped Classroom experiences developed at the Universitat Politècnica de València are shown. The experiences have been developed in different fields: Computer Science, Physics, Plant Breeding and Telecommunication Engineering. This wide range and variety of knowledge areas provides multidisciplinary data, which allows for comparison and contrast. Indeed, this paper offers a general approach to Flipped Teaching and a broad view on how to implement this kind of teaching, which can be useful for other University professors. We address the technological and pedagogical concerns regarding Flipped Teaching and introduce different scenarios in which this approach can introduce benefits both for students and professors.

La política lingüística en les eleccions valencianes de 2011

This article analyzes the proposals having to do with language policy put forward by the political groups that won seats in the Valencian Parliament in the May 2011 elections. Most of these proposals originated in a document entitled Propostes dEscola Valenciana per als programes electorals (Valencian School Proposals for Electoral Platforms). The article examines the scope of the proposals within the framework of the Valencian language policy of recent decades, and does so from a sociolinguistic perspective. In the case of those coalitions that have not been represented in the Valencian government, a comparison is made both with respect to the proposals of the majority parties and to current language policy. In this way, the article maps out the language policy that is possible in Valencia in the medium term.