Purpose

The research purpose 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. 178 students completed the questionnaire in the pre-test, after five months 38 students completed the questionnaire in the post-test.

Findings

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%)

Originality/value

The rapid advance of technology and the results of various investigations make evident the need for 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.

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.