Influence of active methodologies: projects and cases in the development of digital competences with mobile devices

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of two active methodologies on digital competences development using mobile devices. The first methodology is project-oriented learning (POL); the second one is case-based learning (CBL). The analyzed digital competences belong to the communication and collaboration area of framework DIGCOMP. Design/methodology/approach This article shows the results of the quantitative stage with a design pre-experimental pre-test–post-test. A questionnaire was designed and applied to an intentional sample from two different courses. In total, 178 students completed the questionnaire in the pre-test, and after five months, 38 students completed the questionnaire in the post-test. Findings The results show that students to whom POL was applied increase by 7% competence of interaction with mobile technology. The results also show that the students to whom CBL was applied to increase all four competencies (interaction +8%, share +6%, collaboration +5%, netiquette +4%). Research limitations/implications Self-perception for the evaluation of digital competence and the short study time are limitations to generalize the results, so a longitudinal study is necessary and complemented with qualitative analysis, to present a better validation of the contribution of active methodologies to the development of digital competences. Originality/value The rapid advance of technology and the results of various investigations make evident the need of digital competences development. The most common process is digital literacy through techno-functional training. However, these research results confirm that it is possible to promote these digital competences from a practical view and implicitly in active methodologies educational practices.