El índice de actividad individual de los estudiantes en EVA y sus rendimientos académicos: el caso de Bioestadística Veterinaria

Abstract

The suspension of face-to-face activities in the Universidad de la Republica caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, made virtual learning spaces essential for university teaching and learning. Biostatistics 1, a first-year Veterinary course, was entirely taught remotely through the Moodle platform of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Entorno Virtual de Aprendizaje [EVA]). In this study, the information provided by EVA was analyzed and associated with the students’ performance. A total of 825 students were enrolled in the course on EVA. Between 50 % and 70 % of the students entered the course every week, with minimal activity on the weekends. The Individual Activity Index (IAI), defined as the days that the student accessed the platform over the total days of the course, allowed to quantify the activity of the students and correlate that value to their academic performance through a linear regression. The IAI showed a direct, positive and significant association with the final result obtained by the students. The results of the academic performance of this generation were also analyzed in aspects related to disengagement, gain and promotion of the course, finding that the on-line modality had disengagement values ​​similar to those registered in previous years with face-to-face classes. The information provided by EVA is key to be able to assess the impact of the pandemic and to improve the next editions of the course.