Abstract:

Since 2012, OpenFING has created a digital library of recorded lectures at the School of Engineering (FI) of the Universidad de la República (Uruguay). OpenFING has effectively addressed the challenges of teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing a wide range of recorded lectures for students. The project has further strengthened its offerings through live streaming of lectures, primarily for large introductory courses, and regular updates to the recorded content for most courses.

In 2022, following two years of online teaching, the return to in-person classes revealed a decrease in student attendance, which is generally not mandatory for most courses. To examine the perceived usefulness of OpenFING recorded lectures (OF-RL) as an educational resource, a study was conducted targeting first-year students. The study aims to analyze attendance patterns, the utilization of available educational resources, and study methods among first-year students, while assessing their impact on academic outcomes.

To achieve this, a voluntary and non-anonymous survey was administered to first-year students during the second term of 2022, with a response rate exceeding 70% of the population. This paper focuses on the survey results for two mandatory first-year mathematics courses, M1 and M2, which are required for all programs at FI.

The research questions (RQs) guiding the analysis of results for M1 and M2 are as follows: RQ1: Are there differences in the perceived usefulness of OF-RL between students who attend face-to-face theoretical lectures and those who do not?; RQ2: How do students evaluate the usefulness of OF-RL based on their academic performance in these courses?
The results reveal similar trends in both courses regarding class attendance and resource usage (RQ1). The majority of students, whether they attend face-to-face theoretical lectures or not, positively value the usefulness of OF-RL. These findings provide valuable and systematic information for the first time on the widespread use of these resources at FI. It is worth noting that evaluations are slightly higher for students who do not attend in-person theoretical classes, increasing from 76% to 90% for M1 and from 65% to 84% for M2.

In terms of the evaluation based on academic performance (RQ2), for both courses, it is observed that students with better performance highly value the usefulness of OF-RL compared to those who fail. In the case of M1, 83% of students who pass the course consider OF-RL as a useful to highly useful resource, while only 48% of those who fail share the same evaluation. For M2, the percentages correspond to 74% and 47%, respectively.
The survey data also indicates that students prioritize the utilization of OF-RL for their course follow-up, ranking it higher than recommended course bibliography or the audiovisual resources supplied by the course instructors.
Based on the analysis, FI has valuable information to continue fostering the growth of the OpenFING digital library, as well as exploring other course modalities that enhance student engagement and support the learning experience. Additionally, these findings help professors adapt and enhance their instructional designs, facilitating student access to materials and promoting the adoption and reinforcement of alternative study methods and rhythms.

Keywords:

Educational resources, recorded lectures, digital libraries.