Abstract:

In the university, as in the rest of educational institutions, the pandemic caused by COVID-19 in the 2019-2020 academic year made us suddenly have to adapt all face-to-face activity to virtual activity.

In the first year of the degrees, the practices in the subjects of mathematics and statistics play a very important role.It is the most applied activity and the one that is most liked. They develop very important competencies, in which interaction with the teacher and other classmates is closer and more dynamic. However, those characteristics that make it attractive and interesting are the ones that are most easily lost when it has to be taught virtually.

Therefore, at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year and, taking into account that in the 2020-2021 academic year the virtual activity would have to continue to have a considerable weight, we considered the need to use a motivating tool and, although the practices were virtual, maintained dynamism, interest and, of course, allowed the student to reach the necessary skills.

The tool that we decided to use for our internships in the statistics subjects of the first year of the degree in Administration and business creation and the subjects, also of the first year, of algebra and mathematical analysis of the degree in computer engineering in information technologies has been the educational virtual break outs.

In a virtual educational break out, students must overcome a series of challenges in which they have to figure out a series of passwords to progress.
To apply it in our teaching practice, we must know that, in the first place, it is important to pose challenges that are achievable. The estimated time of the activity must be adapted to the duration of the practice. In our case, the activity will be carried out with the students connected online with the teacher so that he is the moderator and explain the challenges if it is necessary.

The contribution of the use of the virtual break out to carry out the practices contributes: work learning based on challenges, use of gamification techniques. On the other hand, it allows students to develop different competencies, among which we highlight: critical thinking, the ability to solve problems and learn to work under pressure.

In this work we present the practices carried out, the results of the satisfaction surveys carried out with the students, as well as, an analysis of the results obtained in the qualifications, compared with the previous year.

Keywords:

Break out, virtual practices, mathematics, statistics, engineering skills.