From Face-to-Face to Online Learning in the Blink of an Eye: The Impact of Switching to Virtual Education on University Professors and Students’ Performance and Emotional Health

Abstract

The only assertion that can be made about the future of humanity after the global COVID-19 pandemic is that it will never be the same. All aspects of our life, whether personal, social, professional, or academic have been affected. Considering this, teachers, education authorities and students will have to reevaluate our tasks and roles as key participants in the education process. This quantitative and exploratory study aims to know the opinion of a non-probabilistic sample of 46 professors and 43 students of six different majors in a public Mexican university, regarding the change in the teaching modality as a result of the global pandemic, in order to point out the impact this change has had on the teaching and learning processes, as well as on the emotional health of the samples. It was found that teachers introduced new technologies in their courses to interact, present content, and collaborate. Students had to adapt to the new modality and the challenges implied in online learning. Both populations expressed those considerable changes in the daily routines occurred as well as a significant increase in the time dedicated to work and study. Similarly, the study revealed that learners experienced a negative impact of these conditions on their academic performance. It is also concluded that in order to be able to determine the efficacy of the implementation of Information and Communication Technologies and the actual impact of the emotional state of the population on the learning and teaching process, further research will be necessary.