Evaluación de plataformas de aprendizaje virtual usadas en universidades de Panamá

Abstract

After the Panamanian government decreed complete and mandatory quarantine to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, universities in Panamá had to migrate their academic programs to a virtual format, using platforms to facilitate the learning process. The objective of this study was to identify the different learning platforms used by universities in Panamá, and to evaluate these platforms taking into account the quality indicators developed by Berrocal and Megías (2015), that are grouped into the following aspects: design, tools, and academic aspects. The data collection instrument was adapted and validated by experts and then self-administered through Google Forms. The study sample were university faculty that had previously used virtual learning platforms. The total valid sample (n = 460) identified the following platforms: Moodle (23%), Educativa (16%), Google Classroom (15%), Microsoft Teams (14%), Canvas (14%), Chamilo (13%), and Schoology (5%). The evaluation mean of the virtual platforms was 4.41 in a 5-point Lickert scale. Significant differences were found among the evaluation means and the 7 main virtual platforms being used in higher education. We also found a positive correlation between the evaluation means, time of use, and level of expertise of these platforms. Differences between the evaluation means by aspects were observed, with a tendency of greater evaluation for available tools, and a lower evaluation for academic aspects. No differences were found in the evaluation means and participant sex, with an almost identical mean between men and women.