Virtual Learning Environment: Exploring the Role of Teacher as a Central Factor

Abstract

Online training permits or encourages a change in the teacher’s role. It is in this sense that the objective of this paper was to analyze the implications of the application of an unconventional model to the teaching process, supported by Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and incorporating new methodological paradigms into the teaching-learning process for course presentation and management, encouraging students to change the role they have played to date, given their preliminary training process, which has been based, nearly always, on a traditional model. Using online courses to support the student-centered teaching-learning process involves knowing what features the online teacher must have and how teachers can help their students in their new role. On the other hand, it is important to employ the lessons learned by traditionalist teachers, because the latter can take advantage of their experience to teach in a better way by implementing the use of information and communications technologies.