THE POTENTIAL OF GENETICS MOBILE APPS TO BE USED IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ARGENTINA

ALEJANDRA MALBRÁN BARROS; CAROLINA RODRÍGUEZ; LETICIA GARCIA

Bolonia

Congreso; 13th Conference of the European Science Education Research Association; 2019

ESERA (European Science Education Research Association)

Genetics is a science of significant relevance for society, as it can be used to explain different phenomena, and its knowledge contributes to scientific progress in different fields (Medicine, Criminology, Agribusiness). And yet, Genetics teaching and learning are complicated due to the fact that the events that this science explains are intangible and typical of the microscopic world. ICT offer teaching resources that can be enriching to develop Genetics contents. In this paper, the potential of mobile applications (apps) to be used in secondary school classrooms has been analysed. To such end, a mixed methodology focused on the following three analysis dimensions has been used: multimedia characteristics, pedagogical-didactic aspects, and the strengths and weaknesses of each app. The results enable to identify three large groups of apps: encyclopaedia apps, interactive apps (gaming or translation apps) and quiz-type apps. It is pointed out that ? beyond the interactivity offered by apps ? priority should be given to the quality of their content and to the possibility of developing meaningful learning.