Formative research in ubiquitous and virtual environments in higher education

Abstract

Academic training in research is fundamental in the quality of higher education and within this context, technological mediation becomes pivotal to reach student-centered learning objectives in any moment and at any time. The findings of a study, the purpose of which has been to evaluate the results of the formative research of two groups of students that have interacted in learning environments (E-learning and U-learning), are presented. The research follows a quasi-experimental study with a design of chronological series and multiple treatment, framed in three stages that were defined as referencing, systematization, and analysis. The sample consisted of 189 fourth-year students of the Early Childhood Education degree, at El Bosque University in Bogotá, Colombia. The results reveal that U-learning environments strengthen and consolidate formative research as an ongoing process for undertaking educational research through personalization, adaptation, and situational learning, marking meaningful differences with respect to E-learning environments during the systematization stage. The intervention with U-learning environments has revealed challenges and needs in the academic curriculum such as strengthening the link between evaluation and educational research in the field of professional practice, as well as the incorporation of technology with the purpose of making it something natural, adaptable, and interoperable, that students are able to use it without even thinking about it.