TECHNOLOGICAL TENDENCIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION

New technologies are changing our society very fast, and sometimes in unexpected ways. The application of new technologies to higher education has the potential to revolutionize the way academic institutions are organized and the processes of teaching and learning, producing professionals that are well prepared for the demands of the labor market. Social networks are widely used in everyday life by almost 40 % of the world's population, and their use in the academic context is increasing all the time. Although some issues like privacy or cyber bullying remain a concern, these tools have a bright future in higher education. Online learning has developed to a point in which some of its tools and practices have become very efficient, and they have been incorporated as additional methodologies to more traditional face to face courses. In this way, hybrid or blended learning has been born as a balanced mixture of traditional and online education, hoping to combine the best of both worlds. Traditionally, students have been considered as information consumers, but many universities are exploring the learning potential of inviting students to also be information producers. The processes of researching, designing, manufacturing, communicating, etc. can facilitate learning and develop other important abilities along the way. In this paper, social networks, blended learning and students as producer will be discussed in the context of higher education.