Virtual learning community for professional development in higher education: An international, interdisciplinary and intercultural perspective

This paper presents a study developed by four universities; two of which are located within the European framework (the University of Seville and the University of Oviedo, in Spain), and another two within the Latin-American context (the University Mar del Plata in Argentina and the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic) during the academic years 2013/14 and 2014/15. The present study included the following goals: (1) describing the use of social networks for the development of learning communities (CoPs) and (2) identifying the initial personal and participatory skills in order to desing strategies for working for intercultural groups and targeted interdisciplinary entrepreneurship internationalization. The instrument used is a questionnaire called Learning Styles relative to Technology and Motivation, designed ad hoc to measure attitudes and initial skills related to Social Media and Communication Models, Organizational Leadership Styles of University Learning, Entrepreneurship, and Motivation. The data analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software v. 21. The results provide evidence on the impact of social networks when integrated in university learning environments.