Effect Induced by the Covid-19 Pandemic on Students’ Perception About Technologies and Distance Learning

Abstract

This paper represents the first investigation conducted in Italy at university level to detect the effects induced on students by the swap of the educational processes from physical to fully virtual, caused by the Coronavirus epidemic. The study involved 101 students attending a bachelor course in Educational Science. The results show that, although students seem to miss physical settings and face-to-face activities, the sudden switch from physical to fully virtual setting has been positively absorbed. The overall emerging scenario indicates that a large part of the present generation of university students is ready for novel educational processes, largely grounded on blended learning activities. The results of this study, beside representing an historical documentation, question the nowadays organization of the physical learning ecosystems, that date to few centuries ago and suggest to re-think both their organization and functionalities.