The Use of Academic Platforms and Simulators in the Pandemic Era

Abstract

The social distancing policies generated by the pandemic have forced a large majority of universities to modify or rethink the pedagogical models used in the classroom. The development of educational platforms, the use of simulators, virtual labs, and the creation of serious games have been instrumental in achieving this goal.  At our university, professors in the logistics area have been working since before the pandemic on the creation of an educational platform (GOAL Project), and on the creation of a serious game called Logistic Simulator (or LOST, for short). The conditions of isolation have forced us to modify the pedagogical design of the course to promote activities that foster the research and self-learning capacity of our students. This work discusses the use of educational platforms and simulators to face disruptive conditions when it is not possible to use face-to-face models.