PERCEPTIONS ABOUT DISTANCE LEARNING IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: CASE STUDY

Distance learning can be defined as an educational strategy based on the usage of digital tools to education process without place, time, profession and age limitations, which implicates new roles, attitudes and methodological approaches to students and teachers. Therefore, distance learning is consolidated as a line of research to understand the institution of higher education challenges toward the new informatics and technological media oriented to professional training and knowledge actualization.

Accordingly, the main of this research is identifying the perceptions and expectations of the undergraduate students of Medellin (Colombia), taking as a case of study the Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano (ITM), the Institución Universitaria Escolme, and the Universidad Autónoma Universitaria (UNAULA). An exploratory, field and transverse research was conducted, supported by a quantitative methodology. The studied population was defined by undergraduate students between the first and last semester. The quantitative methodological design is a self-administered questionnaire, and a non-probabilistic sampling was carried out to 240 under graduate students from February to May 2015.

The analysis of results is descriptive and initially focused on characterizing the experience in the virtual platform, the pleasure for distance learning mode and level of use of the various online available tools. The main results show that teachers are who should encourage students to have an active participation in the e-learning process, through pedagogical dynamics that encourage the use of new information and communication technologies.