Adapting to Remote Learning during COVID-19: An Engineering Education Approach

Abstract

With a focus on the problems faced by the education sector, this article shows the main technological tools used by teachers for remote teaching in an engineering education program during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a case study in a Latin American university positioned in the QS World University Ranking, the tools most frequently used for communication, storing information, messaging, and sharing learning videos are described. This study examines engineering’s areas of knowledge, considering that learning them poses a challenge for teaching in virtual environments due to the need to carry out laboratory practices. Using statistical methods, the relationships between the areas of the education program, the teachers’ sociodemographic variables, and the technological tools used to offer online classes during the lockdown are described. The results show that, from the perspective of the teacher and for the field of engineering, the tools with the most significant effect, in sometimes essential for teaching during the pandemic, were those related to the Google platforms, which were used in 75% of the cases for video communication and storage. Meanwhile, with 44 and 56% WhatsApp and Moodle, were the most used for messaging and sharing contents and learning materials.