Development of a virtual earthquake engineering lab and its impact on education

• Main Authors: Luis Felipe Guerrero, Daniel Gómez Pizano, Peter Thomson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia 2018-01-01
• Series: Dyna
• Subjects: virtual laboratory; earthquake engineering; information and telecommunication technologies; virtual education
• Online Access: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/dyna/article/view/66957

The use of information and telecommunication technologies (ICT) for the development of educational tools such as virtual laboratories has become a valuable teaching support practice in different areas of professional training. Current applications range from virtualization practices in fundamental sciences, to virtual experimentation on specific engineering topics. This paper describes the development of the Virtual Earthquake Engineering Lab (SISMILAB). This lab includes different applications with the objective of becoming an aid in the process of understanding and applying fundamental concepts related to the field of earthquake engineering. The aim of the lab is to strengthen the academic and research experiences of students both inside and outside the classroom. Students have readily used SISMILAB and given positive feedback regarding its effectiveness in conveying concepts and aiding in the visualization and interpretation of results. Finally, the paper discusses the impact of the virtual laboratory based on metrics obtained from questionnaires regarding student and faculty satisfaction.