Tracing the Use of Communication Technology in Higher Education: a literature review

Abstract

Communication Technologies are used in Higher Education Institutions worldwide, producing changes in the design of teaching and learning practices, giving rise to learning paradigms such as e-learning, b-learning, m-learning and cloud learning. Research embraces different perspectives, emphasizing that Internet and Communication Technologies use is not potentiating innovation or disruptiveness of more traditional forms of education, while another perspective argues that there is disruptiveness that is becoming ever more powerful, promoting changes in the roles and way teachers and students work. The present review suggests that web 2.0 technologies has promoted new forms of communication, interaction and sharing between users and content in formal education settings. Furthermore, the realization of how vast and disperse the body of literature is, concerning the use of Communication Technologies in HE, revealed as significant the main goals of the project “Portuguese Public Higher Education Use of Communication Technologies”, that aims to characterize Portuguese higher education institutions according to their use and best practices, disseminating the information obtained through an online visualization information tool. The ultimate goal of the project is to contribute towards making valuable and up-to-date information available to Higher Education Institutions and users, facilitating and potentiating research in the area.