The Future of Education

There are several challenges in education nowadays. In a technology era, there are many different approaches available to educate. The possibility of using different tools implies different methodologies that increasingly demand the ability of organizing and managing different tasks at the same time, as well as facilitate more collaborative environments, where the roles of teacher and student gain a new dimension (Dalziel,2016). For that to happen we need to create learning environments that promote the development of competences that allow students to be successful in this type of environment, as well as assuring the students feel supervised in their virtual classes (Simpson, 2012). This study has the goal of understanding students’ perceptions of an online learning environment where they study. A total of 36 gradute’s online students participated in the survey, as volunteers; 22,2% males and 77,8% females That participants doing their first degree in an online format. We used the Distance Education Learning Environment Survey (adapted) to collect data. This instrument assesses students’ perceptions of virtual learning environments using six scales: Instructor Support, Student Interaction and Collaboration, Personal Relevance, Authentic Learning, Active Learning, and Autonomy. We designed the first part (Part I) the questionnaire to collect information related to the students (6 questions). Regarding part I, the majority of the students have a personalized study plan, and spend 2 to 4 hours studying daily. The lowest grades found were in the scale student interaction. They present very positive perceptions concerning their autonomy as students, feeling happy as such. Knowing students’ perceptions about how they study and interact with virtual environments is extremely important to assess their current processes and expectations and readjust, if needed, in order to help students achieve success.

Key-words: online learning environment, adult’s students, learning reflection, motivation