In “The Transformation to an Online Course in Higher Education Results in Better Student Academic Performance,” Teresa Freire and Carolina Rodríguez present empirical evidence that challenges one of the most widespread and often unfounded beliefs about university education: that online learning is an inferior substitute for the traditional classroom.
Drawing on a sample of more than 2,500 medical students at the University of the Republic (Uruguay), the authors compare two identical versions of a Hematology and Immunology course, one taught face-to-face in 2019 and the other fully online in 2020, and find something surprising: students in the virtual environment not only participated more, but also achieved better academic results.
The study goes beyond mere statistical comparison. It reveals how the very structure of learning, its cognitive and social incentives, can improve when redesigned for digital environments.
In the online version, traditional lectures were transformed into short videos that students could watch at their own pace; group activities were expanded and made 80% mandatory; and new opportunities for self-assessment and instant feedback were introduced. In other words, technological change was paired with a pedagogical redesign that promoted distributed practice, collaboration, and self-regulation, all well-established factors in psychological research as catalysts of durable learning.
Rather than lamenting the “loss of presence,” Freire and Rodríguez show how the pandemic acted as a natural experiment for rethinking higher education. Their conclusion is both clear and optimistic: when the digital environment is used not as a passive repository of content but as an interactive laboratory for problem-solving, academic performance improves.
At its core, this work highlights a simple but profound insight: learning flourishes when it is active, social, and thoughtfully designed. Freire and Rodríguez remind us that effective education is not about the tools we use, but about how we structure curiosity, dialogue, and engagement. The true lesson of their study is that digital transformation, when guided by intention and empathy, can bring teaching closer to its essential goal, helping minds connect, question, and grow.
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How to Cite: Freire, T., & Rodríguez, C. . (2022). The Transformation to an Online Course in Higher Education Results in Better Student Academic Performance. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 25(1), 299–322. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.25.1.31465
