Implementation of Web 2.0 technological tools in vocational education and training in Spain

Abstract

In todayʼs information and knowledge society, information and knowledge technologies (IKT) reach all sectors of society. Their use in business activities has greatly expanded, with most company administrative processes now performed using technological tools. This makes it necessary to acquire new vocational skills (information literacy, decision-making, problem-solving and learning to learn, for example) and methods of working (collaborative and team work). Educational innovation consists of those changes introduced into educational practices, changes introduced through the incorporation of technological media, which are giving rise to the use of new teaching and learning strategies, and new roles for teachers and students. For this study, we are using a mixed methodology, as some authors affirm, also called multimethod: qualitative and quantitative. In this educational innovation, we are implementing the following tools: Learning Management System with Moodle, a free virtual platform hosted in an external server; and Google Apps, a set of applications that allow communication, collaboration and state-of-the-art infrastructures. All these resources are currently free-of-charge and within the reach of any educational institution.