A hydraulic 3D-lab based on virtual Gora dam visits at Call of Duty Warzone to Develop Student's Competencies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The experience of going through a pandemic like Covid-19 forced many sectors of the economy to evolve, including education, specifically higher education. Teaching methods in Engineering, Architecture, and Construction (IAC) adopted tools, which had been developed primarily for industry, to adapt them to teach. These tools have been added to the already existing Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and in this study, they are used as didactic teaching techniques. These tools are Building Information Modeling (BIM), Virtual Reality (VR), and the video game (VG) Call of Duty: Warzone (CoD: Wz). Some investigations have studied the scope that the use of BIM, VR, and video games can have in teaching separately. However, no research so far has been found that unites the three tools in a single methodology. This study aims to show the methodology and its results when implementing the Hydraulic 3D Lab (Hydr3D-Lab) tool for teaching in IAC. As will be explained later, in the procedure of implementing the methodology, the use of BIM, VR, and CoD: Wz software was promoted during teaching hours to improve skills and help students understand concepts that are difficult to comprehend and teach theoretically. The implementation of this technological tool was developed in the context of IAC's national higher education programs at a university in Mexico. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of using the collaborative tool Hydr-3D-Lab as a teaching method for IAC. Additionally, this study proves that the learning experience can be enhanced using other technology tools such as Unreal Engine and Revit. © 2022 IEEE.

Mexico's Higher Education Students' Experience During the Lockdown due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Transition from face-to-face to remote courses in Mexico represented a challenge for teachers, students, and parents from all education levels. The Mexican federal government declared phase two of the plan to reduce COVID-19 spread on March 24, 2020. In some states, mobility restriction measures started by March 17 included the education system. On April 13, educational activities began in the remote mode exclusively, and this situation could be extended until the end of the 2020-2021 cycle, if health conditions do not improve. Universities, teachers, and students were not ready to implement the emergency remote teaching (ERT) strategy because of the limited conditions of technological adaptation and digital connectivity in the country. The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to investigate the experiences of graduate and undergraduate students concerning the change from face-to-face to the ERT modality in the health emergency context due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We collected data from 660 students from 38 universities and 22 states across the country. The study investigated students' previous experience with online courses, technological tool use, barriers faced during the new teaching-studying modality, current use of educational and specialized tools, and some physical and mental health indicators. As a result, we found problems related to time management of their work activities, the balance of time between home and school activities, and perception about studying days, which they felt strenuous. More than half of all students reported Internet connection problems. Students from private universities declared a higher use of technological tools. Students from public universities expressed more significant difficulties following teachers' instructions, perceived less attention from teachers, considered the change to remote courses was difficult, and felt overwhelmed by the required technological skills. Students in the first two years of university reported a higher proportion having deemed the most strenuous study days and having had difficulties following the teachers' instructions and considered that the distance modality change was hard. Finally, all the students declared that the expenses increased in their home in the highest proportion were electricity, mobile phone data, and Internet service. Future research should focus on measuring the impact of ERT on students' learning outcomes.

Mental Health Stressors in Higher Education Instructors and Students in Mexico During the Emergency Remote Teaching Implementation due to COVID-19

The COVID 19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the physical and emotional health of the population. In the case of specific populations, such as students and instructors, the change in the teaching-learning model has required both groups to adapt to online learning platforms and modify all academic activities in the context of implementing the emergency remote education model. The relevance of mental health has been continually neglected;however, due to the COVID-19 epidemiological outbreak, the impact of confinement on populations’ mental health has been incorporated into public discussion. In particular, the health emergency’s impact on health workers in the first line of care has been highlighted. The effect of mental health on the lockdown population and those encouraged to work from home, a group in which university professors and students are located, has been emphasized. To understand the changes faced by higher education instructors and students, derived from the implementation of the emergency remote teaching model in the context of the pandemic, we developed a study to investigate the experiences of this sector, with particular emphasis on the mental health stressors associated with their academic activities. We examined indicators related to anxiety, depression, motivation-demotivation, coping, and contextual and family conditions that could generate stress in the teaching-learning process during the emergency remote teaching model. We recruited a sample of 1,040 participants (380 instructors and 660 students) from more than 97 universities and 118 academic programs across the country. As a result, we have found that teachers have faced less difficulty with the teaching-learning model changes and how they deal with confinement. Similarly, this study has identified that women in general, both instructors and students, have more significant signs and symptoms related to mental health conditions, while men, both instructors, and students, resent the lack of socialization in the work and study centers environments. © Copyright © 2021 Zapata-Garibay, González-Fagoaga, Asadi-González, Martínez-Alvarado, Chavez-Baray, Plascencia-López and González-Fagoaga.