Student interactions in online discussion forums: their perception on learning with business simulation games

Digital technology offers new teaching methods with controversial results over learning. They allow students to develop a more active participation in their learning process although it does not always drive to unequivocal better learning outcomes. This study aims to offer additional evidence on the contribution of business simulation games to students' learning outcomes, considering student interactions in online discussion forums. We conducted a qualitative research with the online discussion forums of 5 different courses at bachelor and master levels, which involves 41 students' teams. The final sample was composed of 3681 messages posted by the students. The results reveal that some generic and specific managerial skills exert a positive influence on learning outcomes. Students mostly highlighted teamwork, decision-making, information processing, reaching agreements, and dealing with uncertainty as the most relevant contributions of the game towards their learning. These results have instructional and pedagogical implications for determining the best way to enhance students' motivation and learning outcomes when using digital technology methods, which involves recommendations that affect their design and monitoring

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Confidence-Based Learning in Investment Analysis

The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of using multiple choice tests in subjects related to the administration and business management. To this end we used a multiple-choice test with specific questions to verify the extent of knowledge gained and the confidence and trust in the answers. The tests were performed in a group of 200 students at the bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Management. The analysis made have been implemented in one subject of the scope of investment analysis and measured the level of knowledge gained and the degree of trust and security in the responses at two different times of the course. The measurements have been taken into account different levels of difficulty in the questions asked and the time spent by students to complete the test. The results confirm that students are generally able to obtain more knowledge along the way and get increases in the degree of trust and confidence in the answers. It is confirmed as the difficulty level of the questions set a priori by the heads of the subjects are related to levels of security and confidence in the answers. It is estimated that the improvement in the skills learned is viewed favourably by businesses and are especially important for job placement of students

Las competencias del emprendimiento y su papel en los planes de negocio: una revisión literaria sistemática

En este artículo se presentan los resultados de una revisión sistemática de la literatura sobre la incorporación de las competencias emprendedoras en la educación superior, específicamente a través de la evaluación de la adquisición de este tipo de competencias al realizar un plan de empresa. Como resultado de la gran cantidad de literatura sobre competencias emprende- doras, pensamos que una revisión sistemática de la literatura sobre este tema será útil para aclarar, sistematizar y determinar lo que ya se conoce y las lagunas que aún que- dan en este campo académico. Una revisión sistemática de la literatura nos permitirá determinar la importancia de la relevancia dada por la investigación a este tema y su trayectoria. Por lo tanto, en este artículo vamos a elaborar un estado del arte sobre la incorpo- ración de las competencias emprendedoras a distintos niveles: en la educación, en la educación superior, y más específicamente en los planes de empresa. El estudio de las competencias ha sido ampliamente analizado en las últimas dé- cadas debido a su incorporación en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje. La abundancia de literatura sobre este tema justifica la idoneidad de realizar una revisión sistemática de la literatura, además de la revisión clásica de los contenidos. La revisión sistemática de la literatura la llevamos a cabo a partir de la base de da- tos Web of Science desde el primer trabajo sobre esta materia hasta el momento actual. El procedimiento ha consistido en restringir la búsqueda determinando los conceptos clave y combinándolos adecuadamente. Con el objetivo de identificar aquellos estudios que, de una u otra manera, están relacionados con el tema del emprendimiento y la educación, las palabras clave genéricas consideradas fueron emprendimiento y com- petencias emprendedoras, mientras que las palabras clave específicas fueron planes de empresa, educación, enseñanza, aprendizaje, evaluación y universidad. A continua- ción, hemos identificado los artículos, y los hemos exportado a un software de gestión de referencias, y finalmente hemos revisado los artículos seleccionados resultantes y descartado los que no se adecuan al tema de la investigación. Los resultados muestran que en los últimos años, con las reformas del Proceso de Bolonia, se han incrementado considerablemente los estudios sobre competencias emprendedoras y su relación con el proceso de enseñanza/aprendizaje. Así, hemos observado que en la literatura científica existen muchas experiencias que incluyen el estudio de las competencias o de las competencias emprendedoras en general y su relación con la educación. Sin embargo, no conocemos ningún estudio que analice el grado de adquisición de las competencias emprendedoras por parte de los estudiantes al desarrollar un plan de empresa

Problem solving and simulations

El objetivo de este trabajo es reflexionar sobre la resolución de problemas como una competencia esencial para los profesionales del siglo XXI. Las metodologías activas de aprendizaje se presentan como una herramienta adecuada para atender los cambios complejos de la sociedad actual. En este escenario los simuladores proporcionan un marco ideal para atender la complejidad y la transferibilidad del aprendizaje, preparando a los estudiantes para la toma de decisiones en ambientes de incertidumbre y falta de información. En el presente trabajo los autores han pretendido realizar un análisis de los principales elementos a tener en cuenta para la utilización de los simuladores y su especial vínculo con la metodología de resolución de problemas. Se establece un marco de trabajo basado en tres categorías: las personas, la simulación y el proceso de aprendizaje. Esta combinación se muestra como un elemento clave en la evaluación de determinados tipos de problemas, especialmente los relacionados con el desempeño estratégico.The aim of this work is to reflect on problem solving as an essential competence for professionals in the 21st century. Active learning methodologies are presented as an appropriate tool to attend the complex changes of today's society. In this scenario, simulators provide an ideal framework to address the complexity and transferability of learning, preparing students for decision-making in environments of uncertainty and lack of information. In this paper the authors have tried to carry out an analysis of the main elements to be taken into account for the use of simulators and their special link with the problem solving methodology. A framework is established based on three categories: people, simulation and learning process. This combination is shown to be a key element in the evaluation of certain types of problems, especially those related to strategic performance

Applying learning analytics to students’ interaction in business simulation games. The usefulness of learning analytics to know what students really learn

Nowadays, different ways of communication and interaction among multiple actors are dominating learning processes. However, there are critical opinions that question the contribution of student interaction to real learning. This study applies learning analytics and data mining techniques to explore the online discussion forums of 362 business students at the bachelor and master levels, who participated in business simulation games between 2011 and 2016. The findings revealed that the most frequent contents in the students’ online discussion forums were related, firstly, to the parameters and features of the business simulation game, and, secondly, to elements that fostered the students’ learning process, while small talk or regular conversation did not appear to be relevant. In addition, the contents with predictive power over learning results were related to uncertainty, time, interaction, communication and collaboration, although none of these elements influenced teacher assessment of student learning. This study reveals the usefulness of learning analytics tools to gain a more wide and holistic view of the learning process of students, discovering new aspects that affect students’ learning resultsPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Evolution of documents repositories. The SocialNet case

Some concepts and technology trends such as digital identity, large sets of data (big data) open data and data visualization that can be applied to document repositories are briefly described. In this article it is presented SocialNet repository model as an example of innovative project designed in line with such trends

E-Learning and Labour Market: Wage-premium Analysis

The link between ICT and the demand for high-skilled labour is due to the fact that the introduction of digital technologies alters the skill requirements of occupations in three main ways (Spitz, 2003): 1) ICT capital substitutes repetitive manual and repetitive cognitive activities, 2) ICT capital is complementary to analytic and interactive activities, and 3) ICT capital increases the requirement for computing skills. Within this framework, we have analysed the determinants of labour productivity of individuals that have taken higher education programmes online to test how occupational skill requirements and the degree of ICT adoption by the industry matches skills of online students. In order to do this, we have assumed an implicit relationship between education and ability (Griliches and Mason, 1972), recognizing that online students may acquire specific skills, such as computing skills and abilities related to ICT use. For the empirical analysis we have used a database of degree students from the UOC (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya). The results from our model based on Mincerian equations show three important facts: 1) schooling is not a significant variable to explain wage differentials; 2) experience, understood as previous productivity and production losses avoided, is the most important variable explaining improvement of wages; and 3) ICT skills have a positive and significant effect on wage levels

Collective Social Responsibility: An extended three-dimensional model of Corporate Social Responsibility for contemporary society

The Collective Social Responsibility model (CSRm) arises as a response to questioning the current vision of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). After analysing several authors and sources, this research proposes a vision that is more in line with reality and events in contemporary society and can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The study had three main objectives: (i) to propose a theoretical model to expand the concepts associated with CSR, (ii) to explain the proposed model and its implications for companies, society, and the environment, and, finally, (iii) to establish the relationship between the proposed model and the SDG promoted by the UN. This study used a qualitative methodology based on documentary review and inferential and deductive reasoning. The Collective Social Responsibility model (CSRm) proposed here is an expanded and updated version of CSR, observed from a three-dimensional perspective. The proposed model seeks to transform not only the impact that organizations and businesses have on society, but also the way in which governments, companies, groups, and individuals complement each other in relation to this field