Analysis of Spanish commercial digital educational platforms for Primary Education

Como consecuencia del avance tecnológico y la llegada masiva de las TIC a las aulas, hoy día vivimos un proceso de transición en las escuelas que afecta a los medios y materiales didácticos empleados en los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje. La utilización pedagógica en las aulas de contenidos digitales o materiales didácticos online es ya una realidad palpable que evidencia un proceso de cambio paulatino de los libros de texto tradicionales a nuevos recursos digitales para el aprendizaje. Este artículo analiza las características pedagógicas, socio-comunicacionales y tecnológicas de una muestra de plataformas comerciales de contenidos educativos digitales actualmente existentes en España destinadas a la Educación Primaria y en dos comunidades autónomas: Galicia y Valencia. Los resultados que se presentan forman parte del proyecto de investigación «La escuela de la sociedad digital: Análisis y propuestas para la producción y uso de los contenidos digitales educativos» (EDU2015-64593-R) que llevan a cabo varios grupos de investigación competitivos de diversas universidades, coordinados por el ‘Laboratorio de Investigación y Nuevas Tecnologías’ (EDULLAB) de la Universidad de La Laguna. Para ello se elaboró un instrumento ad hoc que fue validado y administrado a 13 plataformas comerciales. Los resultados apuntan a que existe un amplio abanico de oferta online de materiales didácticos con una variedad de formatos, aunque el estudio realizado ha encontrado que la mayoría reproducen el formato del libro tradicional, enriquecido con recursos online. Abstract As a consequence of the technological advance and the massive arrival of ICT in the classroom, today we are experiencing a process of transition in schools that affects the teaching media and materials used in the teaching and learning processes. The pedagogical use in classrooms of digital content or online teaching materials is already a tangible reality that evidences a process of gradual change from traditional textbooks to new digital resources for learning. This article analyzes the pedagogical, socio-communicational and technological characteristics of a sample of commercial platforms of digital educational contents currently existing in Spain destined for Primary Education and in two autonomous communities: Galicia and Valencia. The results presented are part of the research project «The school of digital society: Analysis and proposals for the production and use of educational digital content» (EDU2015-64593-R) carried out by several competitive research groups of various universities, coordinated by the 'Laboratory of Research and New Technologies' (EDULLAB) of the University of La Laguna. To this end, an ad hoc instrument was developed and validated and administered to 13 commercial platforms. The results suggest that there is a wide range of online offer of teaching materials with a variety of formats, although the study has found that most reproduce the format of the traditional book, enriched with online resources..As a consequence of the technological advance and the massive arrival of ICT in the classroom, today we are experiencing a process of transition in schools that affects the teaching media and materials used in the teaching and learning processes. The pedagogical use in classrooms of digital content or online teaching materials is already a tangible reality that evidences a process of gradual change from traditional textbooks to new digital resources for learning. This article analyzes the pedagogical, socio-communicational and technological characteristics of a sample of commercial platforms of digital educational contents currently existing in Spain destined for Primary Education and in two autonomous communities: Galicia and Valencia. The results presented are part of the research project «The school of digital society: Analysis and proposals for the production and use of educational digital content» (EDU2015-64593-R) carried out by several competitive research groups of various universities, coordinated by the 'Laboratory of Research and New Technologies' (EDULLAB) of the University of La Laguna. To this end, an ad hoc instrument was developed and validated and administered to 13 commercial platforms. The results suggest that there is a wide range of online offer of teaching materials with a variety of formats, although the study has found that most reproduce the format of the traditional book, enriched with online resources.