Abstract:

Nature reminds us time and time again that the best way to learn is through play. Young animals play as soon as they are able to move and, thanks to this, they socialize with their brothers and begin to understand what the life that is waiting for them will be. By playing, they learn to communicate, to defend their opinions or property, to make their way in life, to relate to their congeners and to defend themselves against their potential enemies.

There is a constant controversy about education, considering whether to learn it is necessary to make an effort, sometimes not pleasant, or we can learn by playing. The game is a teaching tool widely used in the early years of the students' school calendar. Preschoolers take school attendance as a game, not as an obligation; and they are usually loaded with illusion and eager to learn. In secondary these resources are still used, but with much less impact. In the university, on the other hand, the use of this teaching resource is merely symbolic; at the moment.

There is no doubt that the human beings learn, from the beginning, by playing. But that does not mean that there is no need to make an effort as well. The difference is not to make effort or not to make effort, but to do something nice and motivating or something not so pleasant and sometimes even demotivating.

There are many references of playful learning projects in primary and secondary education environments; but there are not so many in university. This article presents a didactic alternative, based on the VetTrip methodology, designed for a zero technical drawing course included in the plan to welcome new university students from the Engineering School at the Spanish University of Distance Education (UNED) from Madrid. This alternative, based on the game, tries to alleviate the discouragement and abandonment of the students by facing complex and arid subjects, as is the case of technical drawing.

We present the overall approach of the game as well as the first, certainly encouraging, results obtained after the first editions of the course in which this teaching resource is used.

Keywords:

Zero course, Gaming, Technical drawing, Formation of the future engineer, Demotivation, Premature abandonment.