The experience of students in COVID-19 times: A comparative study between the universities of Extremadura (Spain) and Nacional de Rió Cuarto (Argentina)

Abstract

The year 2020 will be remembered as the year in which COVID-19, worldwide, modified people's lives. The educational reality has not been an exception, with millions of students forced to migrate from face-to-face to virtual teaching. Faced with this reality, the present study aims to make a comparison between the experiences and feelings of Extremadura and National Rio Cuarto universit students who, in this situation and studying in person, have been forced to continue their teachings virtually. The method to obtain the information is qualitative through online survey and discussion groups. The results show that a majority of the students indicate low satisfaction with the change in teaching (virtuality), which they would not repeat voluntarily, nor would they recommend. Among the issues that they claim in both cases are: The (non) presence of the teacher, the excess of tasks, the pace for its development, communication (due to hyperconnection or lack of it), as well as the digital divide. In conclusion, it should be noted that this experience has highlighted some deficiencies in the adaptation of institutions and teachers to this new reality, opening a path for the improvement and digitization of face-to-face universities.