Learnings and improvements a in virtual higher education facing the return to in person learning

Abstract

ABSTRACT
In 2020, the COVID-19 public emergency was declared, forcing higher education to incorporate the virtual modality. The virtual study experience has not been completely negative. The objective proposed was to identify the learnings and improvements in education acquired during the virtual modality period by undergraduate university students, who are now returning to presence learning, in the National University of Córdoba in 2022. A cross-sectional, quantitative and descriptive study was carried out, with a population of 200 students. The data collection instrument used was an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire. All the data collected underwent a descriptive statistics analysis. As for “learnings,” the surveyed students defined as positive the interaction types, the development of discipline, the persistence and motivation, the use of technology, the development of interpersonal relationships and a sense of belonging. However, a difference regarding the satisfaction of individual needs among the surveyed groups was found. Satisfaction was also found regarding the communication available to students and its organization, yet answers differ in the case of teacher-student relationships. In “improvements,” the surveyed students acknowledged the different information search skills; the ability for flexibility; the active participation; the development of planification and monitoring skills; the use of virtual spaces; feeling digitally included; having access to information; relating to a learning style; and, finally, the use of technical language. The present study suggests a learning and improvement process in education, acquired during the virtual modality period by undergraduate university students