Abstract:

The need to develop the competence of design, modeling, understanding and improvement of systems and processes, considering the stakeholders involved, internal and external factors to the situation, as well as considering the institutional prioritization, leads the need to strengthen the systemic thinking that It is sought that all graduates related to the discipline of industrial and system have.

Bringing real situations closer through projects in organizations is not always feasible, so there is a concern to bring organizations closer to our classrooms. Where the student contemplates real situations (cases) through virtual reality, which allows him to generate situational analysis considering factors, processes, interest groups, etc. involved in the situation that allows him to raise it, to then redesign and improve it.

In this research, since 2018 we have developed and applied four cases that allowed industrial engineering students to visualize a real situation (through a VR application), analyze it and focus on the development of analitical competences beyond what could happen in a traditional case method. In order to measure this gap in the motivation to learn, it was designed a series of instruments to validate a better competences development hipothesis.

An added value considered in this project the win-win relationship with the companies with which the project is linked, since what is generated from knowledge will be available to the company for its own training. Our cases are related to a water treatment plant, a strategic planning session, a soft system situation related to a sewer system, and a plant layout.

In this ongoing research we have focused on three objectives:
(1) Define the key elements (themes, companies, collaboration agreements and collection instruments) for the development of cases considering the skills and knowledge desired for the student;
(2) Design of cases in writing and in virtual reality, with emphasis on the knowledge and skills that students wish to develop; and
(3) Evaluate the impact of cases through the application of activities based on the competencies and knowledge that were originally defined and the feedback of the related company.

Until now, the cases that we have developed and implemented in the classroom, point to a conclusion in the sense that virtual reality allows the acceleration of learning in a controlled environment regardless of place, or time. Many of the industrial environments are denied access to students, because it represents a risk to the company and to the people. Therefore, the use of virtual reality, allowed a better understanding of situations, more interaction with real elements of the industry and distance coaching with experts from each of the situations.

Like all innovations, we are still in the early stages to establish a robust system that allows having a repository of experiences that can be used from a digital site in any academic program and with diverse educational purposes. We also discuss the obstacles and failures in the management of these cases and offer educational and technical recommendations for the development of these educational materials.

Keywords:

Educational Innovation, Higher Education, Virtual reality, Open access, practices, resources, repositories, case method.