THE VIRTUALIZATION OF HEALTH EDUCATION IN TIMES OF COVID-19 A VIRTUALIZAÇÃO DO ENSINO NA SAÚDE EM TEMPOS DE COVID-19 VIRTUALIZACIÓN DE LA EDUCACIÓN EN SALUD EN TIEMPOS DE COVID-19

The study aimed to understand the students’ point of view regarding the virtualization of education in the master’s degree program classes during COVID-19. This is a case study with a qualitative research approach, using an online questionnaire to identify, into the student’s point of view, how virtualized teaching was applied in classes during social distancing. The results show that the use of these resources can significantly contribute to the learning process into the Health area, however, it is essential to invest on training to have a better use of the technologies, since it’s not enough that the teacher have the tech resource if a qualified knowledge it’s not transmitted to the student.


INTRODUCTION
We are living a unique moment in digital and online technologies with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to that situation, everyday practices within families, communities and workplaces have changed, and it is no different in education. With social distancing, in order to avoid contagion, all educational institutions in the world needed to virtualize their classes to continue the educational process, both in pedagogical and methodological practices and in management practices (UNESCO, 2020).
Given the circumstances, in Brazil the context is no different. The search for quick and efficient pedagogical practices became a challenge commensurate to the combat of COVID-19. Managers, teachers and students sought to adapt to virtual environments, to virtual reality, as well as to find and learn different digital resources to guarantee the habit of studying and the quality of education, even remotely. In addition, Brazilian regions have social and economic differences that can compromise virtual education due to quality internet access, which, in the case of the development of synchronous and asynchronous activities, partially impairs the educational process.
In this scenario, online platforms, mobile apps, video conferences and remote classes are presented as allies of the virtualization of education, enabling the continuance of educational services, without adversities for the students and with the possibility to fulfill the workload, since education cannot stop. Despite that, both teachers and students encountered that experience without any actual training to use those technologies and methodological strategies of remote teaching and learning. Therefore, this study is relevant because it discusses, from the students' point of view, how digital and online resources can benefit Health education through the virtualization of education in educational institutions, including stricto sensu Graduate Programs.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study has a qualitative approach and exploratory nature, since it doesn't anticipate systematic procedures in search of generalizations, but, instead, seeks a deeper understanding of a specific phenomenon, interpreting it and considering the singularities of the subjects' reality and their subjectivities (MINAYO, 2007 For data collection, we used an online questionnaire with seven questions, both multiple-choice and essay. This tool, according to Ramos (2013), is used for issues whose research objects correspond to issues of empirical nature, containing views, position, opinion and preferences of those researched.
Before applying the questionnaire, in the beginning of May 2020, we provided, via e-mail, the Free and Informed Consent Form, which presented the research objectives, the participation method, the lack of direct benefits, the ability to withdraw at any moment and the possible damages -

a) Experience with the virtualization of education
In the first category, we asked students to indicate if they experienced, at any point in their lives, the virtualization of classroom-based education or if they had participated in remote classes. Fourteen reported that they never had that opportunity and six stated that they used the workload available in blended modality (on-site and remote) in some disciplines in their undergraduate program, participating in remote activities through a virtual learning environment. We observed that even those who didn't have this experience had used some digital resource in remote classes of the course, such as: slide presentations, videos and Google Drive® tools.
Nevertheless, all 20 students reported that they use other digital and online resources to develop some activity requested by the professor. Therefore, we infer that 11 indicated that they always seek to know new digital tools aimed at education in the Health field and that they are open to testing and learning. On the other hand, 9 students reported difficulties with the tools and wanted the professor to teach how to use them during remote classes.
Technologies in Health education have the potential to improve activities. However, to successfully use those technologies, students of that field need to be aware of the underlying social and theoretical concepts that influence their use, whether in educational activities that take place in the relevant not only to use the technologies, but also to qualify how such resources are used.
We requested students to indicate if they had liked the experience of remote classes and the virtualization of education. All reported that they were able to adapt to the process and that they would like this resource to become permanent, even after the pandemic. We observed that, with the difficulties to implement a new study routine and understand methodological strategies presented in remote classes, students already used some digital resource in their classes, such as: slide presentations, videos and some Google Drive® tools. We believe that this experience with online tools was an aggregating element for that quick adaptation.

c) Challenges of remote collective activities
The third category attempted to identify the challenges of producing collaboratively in a remote modality. Based on the reports, the students were more interested in the practical activities that involved the use of a database, for example, using the bibliography manager for the publication of scientific articles, Endnote® (https://endnote.com/), which imports bibliographic references from the internet.
Students admitted that they turn to technologies to make activities more organized, contributing to meaningful learning.
Concerning the challenge to accomplish collaborative activities, students reported that the internet has and offers more advantages than disadvantages, since it enables the formation of a ubiquitous individual, because computer services and conveniences used in different location situations transmit a feeling of omnipresence that can facilitate the process of collaborative production. In addition, this activity can be carried out at any time and in different places. This process benefits course correction, since we expect effective and efficient pedagogical action. According to Lara (2016) and Torres (2017), listening to students about pedagogical strategies generates participation in society, and they can question the technologies, criticize them, analyze their contributions for social and political emancipation. Therefore, the curriculum comes to life, is rebuilt and resignified, and isn't restricted to the transference and application of determined content.
With that, students could be involved in a synchronous space linked to an asynchronous virtual learning environment and develop other class activities. We notice that, through reading and discussing scientific articles suggested in remote classes, students developed the abilities to better communicate during video conferences.

CONCLUSION
The objective of this study was to discuss students' understanding regarding the virtualization of education in the classes of a Master's Program in times of COVID-19. In order to contemplate that scope, we developed a qualitative study of the case study type, which used an online questionnaire as data collection tool and content analysis as a technique to compile and discuss the results.  with the student's reality and more meaningful, providing ubiquity and greater collective collaboration.
However, they pointed to individual difficulties in using the technologies concerning, respectively, the fluctuation of the internet service and limited knowledge of specific technological resources, since they required time to search, learn and test constantly updated programs. The students already used digital technologies in their personal and academic life, but informally, because they acknowledged that those technologies enable updates and interactions between students and professors in any space and time, with social media, to share information and knowledge, as the most used tool.
The potential of the virtualization of education through integrating digital and online resources with other activities, materials and environments, whose knowledge production may happen collaboratively, occasions sharing knowledge during remote classes, amplifying teaching and learning.
However, beyond the socialization of knowledge through sharing in social media, a practice already obtained by the students, it is important to use these technologies with aptitude, with their different resources and apps, in order to foster greater quality in the mediation of knowledge.
The students showed good level of knowledge about the use of synchronous and asynchronous tools (forum, sharing academic productions and video conference), which would probably help in the progress of virtualization of classes. Since technological advancement happens in an accelerated manner, the management of higher education courses in the Health field should promote strategies for the proper appropriation of these advancements in pedagogical practice. After all, students demonstrated that they are open and familiarized with new technologies.
Although this research, of qualitative nature, has its analysis lens reduced for attempting to understand the virtualization of classes to continue the process of teaching and learning at only one course of the Master's Program at one private HEI in Ceará, it is timely for allowing the visualization of the possibility to invest in the transformation of a specific reality. On a macro level, although it doesn't allow generalizations, since it is a case study, this investigation sheds light on everyday reflections regarding the virtualization of education during the pandemic and how it can contribute to the expansion of remote classes aiming to create a learning environment that is more interactive and conducive of meaningful education. Therefore, it is necessary to provide collective formative moments even remotely for actualization, a reality which extrapolates the need of a single institution and deserves debates and investment, including new studies investigating other realities.