Abstract:

The Training and Formation Institute is the Institution of the University of the Republic (UdelaR) in Uruguay that is responsible for the training system for technical, administrative, and service staff (non-teaching staff) as part of the personnel administration policies adopted by the institution.

Training activities must be conducive to institutional change and be oriented to the continuous improvement of administrative management. In this scenario, the training of the non-teaching staff must aim to a formation that is capable to transform the management with criteria of efficiency, rationalization, flexibility, and transparency, but also must raise proposals and modalities that allow the reconciliation of personal and professional life.

The context of health emergency due to COVID-19 led, inevitably, to the virtualization of all planned activities with the use of web videoconferencing.

This situation implied training in the use of videoconferencing systems and the development of educational material. However, it also represented an opportunity to encourage the participation of staff members by being able to connect from any place and in the time available.

This work will present the results indicators as the participation rate, the approval rate, and the dropout rate before the pandemic situation and during it, discriminating by gender. As a result, attendance increased from 78% to 82% compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic). Likewise, female attendance increased by 8 percentage points, as well as approvals by 2%. This situation can be attributed to the use of videoconferencing platforms, which make it possible to connect from any space and therefore favor access to training. However, we must consider that the use of video conferences in the courses occurs in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic, where children did not have face-to-face classes and therefore were in the care of their parents.

In addition, some aspects related to web videoconferences used in the courses are evaluated with participants. Among them, we can find access to the platform, use of its functions, hourly dedication per week, proposed activities, educational resources, teamwork, and compatibility with work and family life.

These tools seek to obtain information, in order to evaluate these modalities for improvement in future editions of courses.

Keywords:

TIC, Online education, Adult education.