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...onents of a computer, their characteristics, their performance and their interactions. This understanding is based on computer architecture and organization, which is closely related with technology (=-=Hennessy & Patterson, 2011-=-). Students must be provided with knowledge of the technology of each of the main components of a computer, such as the processor, buses, memory, and storage system. These topics are included in the c...

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...lop critical skills, and the potential for a social atmosphere where all students are afforded an opportunity to share, consider, and challenge the ideas of other students to construct new knowledge (=-=Bruffee, 1999-=-). Secondary goals of the scaled-down conference model involve teamwork, critical thinking, decision-making, time management, and communication skills. Several collaborative activities are designed to...

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...reasoning and higher order thinking skills, which in turn promote shared knowledge construction (MacKnight, 2000). Furthermore, these asynchronous discussion resources facilitate student interaction (=-=Pena-Shaff & Nicholls, 2004-=-). The discussion forum is intended to provide a fast and easy communication and discussion channel between all the members of the team as well as with the teacher. The written contributions in the di...

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...rrett & Fleur, 2002). Therefore, active student participation is required. Several models that require active student participation and knowledge building instead of memorization have been developed (=-=Cole, 2009-=-; Sigala, 2007). Some of them are centered on the ability of the student to acquire research and communication skills. Online platforms can be used to make it easier to implement constructivist approa...

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...ions in the discussion forum make the process of collaboration more transparent for the teacher and can be used to judge both the group’s collaborative process and the contribution of the individual (=-=Macdonald, 2003-=-). The discussion forum should be a private resource available only to the members of the team and the teachers of the course. A wiki is a website that allows one or more people to build up a corpus o...

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... should be used to encourage each member of the team to coordinate different points of view, enhancing reasoning and higher order thinking skills, which in turn promote shared knowledge construction (=-=MacKnight, 2000-=-). Furthermore, these asynchronous discussion resources facilitate student interaction (Pena-Shaff & Nicholls, 2004). The discussion forum is intended to provide a fast and easy communication and disc...

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...t engagement in subjects based on teacher-led lessons has declined in recent years, as education undergoes a paradigm shift moving away from teaching-as-instruction towards student-centered learning (=-=Jonassen, 1993-=-). In this shifting process, Web 2.0 technologies, also known as social software technologies, are very useful. Social software inJULIO MOLLEDA, RUBÉN USAMENTIAGA, JUAN CARLOS GRANDA Y JOAQUÍN ENTRIAL...

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...m is a learning theory focused on the role of experience in student education, i.e. it explains the accumulation of human knowledge as an active construction of meaning based on personal experiences (=-=Duit, 1995-=-). This learning theory encourages students to work in groups, which leads to a more effective educational approach (Johnson, Suriya, Yoon, Berrett & Fleur, 2002). Therefore, active student participat...

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...r, 2002). Therefore, active student participation is required. Several models that require active student participation and knowledge building instead of memorization have been developed (Cole, 2009; =-=Sigala, 2007-=-). Some of them are centered on the ability of the student to acquire research and communication skills. Online platforms can be used to make it easier to implement constructivist approaches (Khalifa ...

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...em are centered on the ability of the student to acquire research and communication skills. Online platforms can be used to make it easier to implement constructivist approaches (Khalifa & Lam, 2002; =-=Knuth & Cunnigham, 1993-=-). In this paper a scaled-down conference model is proposed. The conference model is a constructivist approach aimed to teach research, collaborative and communication skills. In the full-scale confer...

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...veral blocks, covering the technologies involved in the development of the main functional components of a computer system, as seen in many texts about technology of computers (Morley & Parker, 2010; =-=Mueller, 2011-=-). After a brief introduction to the history of technology in computing, the first block covers the functional units and the technologies related to the brain of a computer: the central processing uni...

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...amental Oeste. C. P. 33204, Gijón (España) Correo electrónico: jmolleda@uniovi.es base acquired in the degree program remains valid, adaptability is one of the most essential qualities for graduates (=-=Sutherland & Crowther, 2006-=-). Graduates have to be able to command the latest improvements in technology as soon as they become available. Therefore, skills on how to keep up to date in fast-evolving fields of knowledge must be...