Undergraduate perceptions of remote teaching in Computer-Aided Design courses

Abstract

This research analyzes the undergraduate student's perceptions and challenges of the mandatory transition of six computer-aided design courses, from a blended modality to a completely remote one, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. We analyzed a School of Architecture in Peru, which has implemented the blended learning in these six courses since 2015, to acquire technical skills in drawing, design, BIM, visualization, information graphic, video editing, computational design, and digital fabrication. We used an anonymous and self-administered survey between November and December 2021 to 1,045 students and received 435 responses for analysis. The results reveal the different ways in which the student interacts with the CAD software for each course. We concluded that the experience of going through the stages of face-to-face, blended, and online, prepares us to migrate into learning environments in the format of MOOCs. The study allowed us to identify challenges and strengths, such as usage preferences to consider for future transition, taking into account the characteristics of these types of courses as a basis for the creation of MOOCs for the inevitable demand for the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.