Analysis of the impact of virtualization on motivation in first-year teaching students

The aim of this paper is to analyze the change in a decisive motivational factor: the value students give to the tasks they perform in college. The study was conducted with teaching students at the University of Alcala over two academic years. First a quantitative methodology was applied; in phase two of the study, further answers were sought, leading to a qualitative analysis using semi-structured interviews that were analyzed with the NVivo software. During the first year, the value students awarded to the tasks they did in a given subject declined with the passage of time. The following year a new, more active methodology was designed that included changes in the students' tasks, and virtualization was implemented to assist teaching in the subject. During the second year, the value with which students perceived the tasks they performed increased. The results of the study show that an active teaching methodology based on real cases helps students become more motivated in their learning. This activity must be based on practical experience, must take into account skills like teamwork and must introduce new techniques such as using technology for teaching. Using the virtual platform makes learning more active, autonomous, reflective and critical, creating a space where users can also share their ideas and coursework. These findings suggest the need for a profound change in the tasks offered to students, especially teachers-in-training, a change that not only should respond to new educational challenges in higher education today but also should be transplantable to initial educational levels.