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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Online Education and Quality of Life: Universidad de Palermo as a Model of Innovation in Latin America

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We are living in a time full of challenges as the Fourth Industrial Revolution unfolds at an unprecedented pace, in an interconnected world which has changed the way we work, the way we communicate, and education can’t be an exception. The boundaries between the physical and digital worlds are becoming more and more blurred, and the convergence of online and face-to-face interaction is becoming ever more evident, with machine learning and artificial intelligence applied to everyday life. Technology is changing the world, and universities must not only adapt to this reality but also innovate and take advantage of it, in order to offer more and better quality education to an increasingly diverse audience, furthering and spreading knowledge. Online education means conducting a course (or more) partially or entirely through the internet. It is also referred to as eLearning (electronic learning). It is a form of distance education (Ko S, Rossen S, Teaching online. A practical guide. Routledge, Chicago, 2008). Students that opt for online learning state that it enhances their quality of life. This is not only the case of students participating in distance learning, but also of those taking blended courses (the majority of students). Many combine on campus and online studies based on their professional and personal schedules. They acquire different abilities in each of these modalities and achieve a better balance among their multiple responsibilities (academic, family, professional and social commitments). This chapter aims to discuss three important issues: the historical context of the education paradigm shift in which this experience is embedded, the educational model for online courses and degree programs at Universidad de Palermo, and a proposal to teach quality of life within the framework of this pedagogical model.