(465)IMPROVING THE LEARNING PROCESS IN THE SUBJECT OF BASIC MARITIME TRAINING USING GPS AND GOOGLE EARTH AS USEFUL TOOLS

摘要

The University College of Marine, Nautical and Radioelectronics Engineering (EINAMAR)of theUniversity of Cadiz is in the process of transition to the new educational system according to theEuropean Higher Education Area (EHEA). New technologies can be introduced in some professionalsubjects that are fundamental in the training of the future Merchant Marine Officer. The application ofthese technologies to real cases offers the possibility of improving student learning. Basic MaritimeTraining is a fundamental subject in the three nautical sciences degrees, and once approved it allowsthe professional title of Seaman to be used, issued by the Merchant Marine Directorate. Firstly, we willintroduce an experimental practice having four academic hours which will provide an understanding ofthe fundamental concepts of navigation and pilotage. To do this, we used low cost GPS navigationreceivers and the free tool of Google Earth. This practice is mandatory and will be assessed togetherwith navigation practicals aboard the sail training vessel “Tartessos”, and other practical work of thesubject, with a percentage of 20% of the final exam. The practice improves knowledge in the topics ofnavigation in the subject. Upon completing this course and fulfilling the objectives of the practice, thestudent will be more proficient, with the following providing an improvement in the learning process:a)Introduction to the new technologies and their applications in real and professional cases, whichis fully compatible with the theoretical content of the subject.b)Learning and / or updating basic concepts of navigation and pilotage that have been taughtduring the lectures and applied objectively with the help and use of new technologies.c)Introduction to e-learning educational technology in this subject.d)The learning progress of the students will be checked during the practice.e)New training material and the use of new media will be facilitated in order to improve thelearning and understanding of this subject.At the end of the course, we will assess the success of this initiative by means of survey analysesamong the students, as well as the comparison of grading scales obtained in other years with those ofthe reference year.