Introduction to the study of audiovisuals: an innovative teaching experience in the context of the pandemic in Uruguay

Abstract

The pandemic forced educational actors to transform their practices to adapt them to the context. One advantage of the University of the Republic is that it already had a consolidated path regarding the incorporation of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). However, its use is still considered as «a repository to support face-to-face teaching» and distance education implies the development of pedagogical strategies with specific dimensions and approaches that lead to process transformations. It is possible that truly online teaching practices have existed with the use of EVA or that «successful» distance courses have been developed after the incorporation of educational innovations. Introduction to the study of audiovisual language is a curricular unit in the first year of the Bachelor’s Degree in Communication with an enrolment of more than 1500 students. During the pandemic, it proposed an inverted classroom modality that focused on the students’ process through: the diversification of didactic resources, contents and activities; the incorporation of instances of exchanges; and the change in the role of the teacher and the student. These innovative aspects, which are not limited to the use of the EVA, imply a modification in the organisation of the course and in didactics. This allowed for a better link between teacher – student – content and a higher percentage of passes. The above results in an innovation with relevant positive results, even in times of pandemic, in which socio-economic aspects are involved that further condition the particular characteristics of the educational contexts.