After the unexpected turn that the pandemic gave him, Where is university teaching going? There is a common point in the testimony of teachers, students and officials that they gathered page 12 around that question: the assumption is that Virtuality is here to stay. but not to impose –Because presence is “irreplaceable”-, but to integrate into the learning process and favor, Looking to 2022, university education is on the rise, then, to a . towards bimodal format, The way it can be expressed is not homogeneous; It will depend on the characteristics of each institution. looms an essential necessity. This concern has also been shared by sources: connectivity For all and all students this is a debt the state must answer.
Where are you going for university studies?
“Platforms are a more technical device, as was the printing press at the time and went from oral learning to one in which you could go over books. they have to be in the service of education“, defines the Secretary General of the Federation of Teachers of Universities (FEDUN), Daniel Ricci, with the criteria shared by the rest of the interviewers. strictly speaking, as it says Rodolfo Techi, President of the National Interuniversity Council (CIN) – which brings together the rectors of national universities – “The Epidemic in Higher Education quick processes which had been going on for a long time”.
At this point, each university is “thinking about a system to return to attendance, incorporating virtual tools,” says Ricci. ,There are things that can be done in a better way using technological tools, You can upload videos, create quizzes, tutorials, master classes. for example: Easy to do a theory class for 500 students on one platform“Graphics. gloria quevedo, professor of biology at the National University of Catamarca, comments that this is one of the things students are asking: that theoretical classes be virtual.
these changes will lead to the fact that, of course, students attend institutions fewer days per week, “We all agree that it is essential for those entering to be familiar with the physical locations, laboratories, workshops… We are going to place special emphasis on them. Third, fourth and fifth year students will certainly have a lot per week are able to attend less often, which is what they ask themselves,” Takechi says.
,The pandemic triggered a process that may have taken five or 10 years“suggests the rector of the National University of Jujuy. He provides an example: Between March and June last year the use of virtual classrooms increased by 100 percent in the humanities and economic sciences, but in the areas of engineering” practically Nothing “has grown into,” more related to technologies.” For him, a “New Scenario” in which It is even more correct to oppose virtuality to presence., “Virtality has shown that it is very useful for many activities. Physical spaces have presence, but are also mediated by technologies. And asynchronous, there are remote activities that are not in real time,” they analyze.
Lucille “Lula” Levy She is studying to become a public accountant and is the secretary of political and union action of the University Federation of Buenos Aires (FUBA). He says: “We want a presence where students return to the classroom, because we believe that face-to-face is irreplaceable, but at the same time we learn and improve to achieve a rich and excited With new tools to continue on the path of academic quality”.
bimodal classes
One innovation is that bimodal classes, Takechi highlighted that the Ministry of Education, through the Secretariat of University Policies, is funding to strengthen virtuality in study homes in 2020 and 2021. Part of that funding was used to build these environments. “At Jujuy University we have already inaugurated. This is a pilot class, aimed at the improvement and updating of graduates and graduates. It was very interesting to see how many people inside the class shared attendance with another number We’re connecting to more remote locations in the province and have screens that are projected onto different walls of the classroom,” he says. ,Clearly, hybrid classrooms are on the rise, creating a new way of working, and there will be academic challenges to be faced.“, he predicts.
Gloria agrees, “Hybrid classrooms are imposing.” To him, virtuality cannot be compared with the “empathy” and “walking in the classroom” that enables presence. “But anyway (teachers) have slowly mixed in with what we’ve done individually. There are new, positive, friendly things that are one to be discovered. Students who are more exposed to the media and networks tend to be very have naturally adapted to this way of teaching,” he says.
connectivity dilemma
The professor says university students answered a survey. He revealed that his main concern is lack of connectivity, especially in the internal departments of the province. “As a benefit, he highlights that, by moving, he saved a lot,” he details. Many did not have computers and some did not have cell phones with cameras. In all this process of change, the most worrying thing for the academic community is connectivity., This is something that all sources shed light on.
Oscar Bogarin Gonzalez He is the President of the Student Center of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the National University of Lomas de Zamora. He is 26 years old and has few finals left to get his degree as a journalist. Express: “In Pandemic the disparity was clear, since many students said that paying very high amounts of internet every month was unsustainable, then Only those with PC and Internet can participateHe noticed that many classmates had postponed their studies for this reason. The student center was organized into “brigades” to help those who had problems connecting. Differences were found even among those who did not. who went on to enroll: some were able to finish high school without problems. Others don’t.” State release of data“Putting connectivity as an essential service to education, was a great step, but there is still a lot to improve with what to do with that sector”, the sentence.
,Many students expressed the need to maintain virtuality through the network, But the reality is that it means only to those who are likely to have a PC study. Personally, I believe that attendance is the teacher’s closeness with the student that is important for learning, especially in social science careers,” says Oscar. He also adds “Re-optimization cost for appearance“, because many students have “more than half the degree approved and never went to university.”
Not only is it necessary for RICCI to “increase the level of connectivity in classrooms and homes, especially those farthest from urban centres”, establishing it as a “human right”. as well as “must have” Buy more tech equipment for universities“Another important point is teacher training, FEDUN is doing research to “analyze what happened” to put together appropriate strategies. UBA Teachers Association (Aduba), in agreement with UBA, offers a master’s degree that covers current trends and specializations in virtual teaching, “so that teachers can handle technical tools with greater skill.” “I also believe that it is necessary to Modify our Collective Bargaining Agreement, There are things that are not scheduled,” he added.
As with everything, in this new setting, In June, the National Interuniversity Council made several recommendations through a document. Some of the axes include teacher training, strengthening connectivity, participating in the abandonment caused by the pandemic. However, the perspective is not homogeneous, “You have to understand the operation of each university and of course the autonomy that is within the framework of the movement of each chair and the teaching team, which makes its students know how many, where they come from, what the problems are. It will be virtual Allow people to balance face-to-face activities”, concludes Takechi.
ways to build community
It is generated in the virtual space”university community“Considers Takechi. For him, this is what can emerge in classrooms, bars, libraries. From this point of view he also sees panoramas Korina Rogovsky, Master in Educational Technology (UBA) and teacher of the Education and New Technology Project at Flexo. “You have to see it that we experience as a opportunity to explore, It was necessary to continue in some way or the other, which, through the technical sector, was experiencing it as a meeting place. Collaborative tools have allowed the discovery of other types of cognitive processes, with collaborative work building upon dialogue and the exchange of ideas.“Analyses the expert.” Learning can be promoted that goes beyond the reflective, explanatory class that is very characteristic of higher education. There’s an invitation to explore new modalities,” he says. It’s good for everyone to work in a group in a virtuality. They feel part of the class,” agrees Gloria, which was reflected in surveys conducted by Catamarca University students.
