2. BIOWAVE: INTERDISCIPLINARY AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN ONLINE ENVIRONMENTS USING WEB 2.0 TECHNOLOGIES A. Aguilar, N. Mach, A. Sánchez, F. Saigí, A. Juan, B. Barrios Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

3. Introduction To solve complex problems it’s necessary: Expertise Interdisciplinary approach Teamwork Critical Thinking Participation Web 2.0 tools are Widely available and accessible Low cost Versatile

4. Hypothesis Can Web 2.0 tools, like Google Wave and Google Apps, encourage interdisciplinary collaboration between different studies at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya?

5. Virtual platform based on Google Sites Google wave Google apps tools Document repository Videos PBL focused on Nutrigenomics Qualitative-quantitative methodology to study perceptions and opinions with anonymous survey Methodology

6. The majority of the respondents agreed that was a very between students from interesting system of interaction different disciplines and useful for their future professional development. The majority of the participants also expressed their interest that such experiences are routinely included in their graduate training programs. Initially uncomfortable with the control of the Google Wave tool Reluctant to participate in extra-curricular activities Allusions to a lack of time Qualitative results

7. 71,4% of participants had consulted the various links on the site Biowave. 78,6% of the participants had accessed intensively or frequently the main tool: Google Wave. 92,9%of participants have had to consult the documentation available on the use of Biowave. Approximately 35% of the students have viewed the videos Quantitative results

8. Useful for interaction and for professional careers Useful to encourage interaction and e-collaborative work Quantitative results

9. 64.3% of participants value the need to encourage this type of experience in the online learning environments 57.1% of the respondents considered the regular introduction (generalized) of this type of experience in the formative training as very convenient or enough convenient.

10. Discussion and conclusions Biowave Platform allowed: To exchange information and to share knowledge from a holistic approach of reality To be aware how the interdisciplinary approach can help solving complex problems To overcome limitations of working in a specific area To encourage interaction Positive evaluation of the interaction and collaboration Useful for their future careers Recommended for inclusion in formative training

11. Barriers Overcome the reluctance expressed to participate in extra- curricular activities Perception as an extra work Overcome the reluctance to use unfamiliar tools Difficulty to adapt schedules and time Success factors Instructor’s role To solve problems that participants can recognize and perceive as useful and belonging to their main field Discussion and conclusions

12. Improvement proposals To incorporate proposals that enable a joint design and an appropriate structuring and timing. To add strategically in the training programs communication skills and online collaboration tools, Larger period of time

13. aaguilarmart@uoc.edu Thank you!