Virtual Classrooms at the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the National University of Jujuy: Feasibility and Suitability of Their Implementation

Abstract

This article reports on the analysis of the results obtained within the framework of a research project whose objective was to determine whether, at the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the National University of Jujuy, the implementation of virtual classrooms in the subjects that make up the curricula of undergraduate degree programs is feasible and advisable, in order to develop the educational process through the Blended Learning teaching modality.

The results obtained required the exploration, description, explanation, and understanding of the existing conditions in the aforementioned context, taking the Academic Unit, teachers, and students as categories of analysis.

The collection of quantitative and qualitative data, together with their organization and interpretation through statistical analysis—descriptive and inferential, parametric and non-parametric—and qualitative analysis, made it possible to obtain a diagnosis of the possibility of considering Information and Communication Technologies as part of the process of educational innovation that must now be taken into account in order to respond to the emerging conceptual ecology of learning.

The analysis carried out shows that the authorities are willing to undertake the systematic training of teachers in order to enable the Blended Learning teaching modality; that, in general, teachers have a moderately favorable attitude toward the use and practicality of virtual classrooms as part of the educational process; and that students display characteristics of digital natives, although with some restrictions regarding access to digital technology and the Internet.