A Structural Engineering Lab Based on Virtual Construction Site Visits to Develop Students’ Competencies for the New Normality

During the academic periods of the year 2020, the academic curricula around the world have had to endure important changes in terms of the activities performed in class due to the new format of online classes. Civil Engineering curricula has not been the exception.A key factor of the Civil Engineering program is the capability of attending construction sites. With the contingency, the acquisitions of construction site visits permits have become more difficult to obtain due to the high health risk involving a large number of people in the same place. Lecturers also had to consider that some of the students have returned to their cities of origin as a consequence of the online classes. Therefore, constructions site visits were no longer an option. We are proposing a virtual lab for construction site visits that overcomes all the obstacles created by the contingency period and also present it as a viable alternative for the new normality that we are going to face in the early stages of the reincorporation to face-to-face classes.With this virtual lab, students will be able to have a completely interactive experience, with possibilities of live interaction and access that allows lecturers to maintain all the characteristics that will allow the students to achieve the expected level of competencies in their academic program with the help of technological tools. We studied the perception of 121 undergraduate students about these virtual site visits. After the visits, students were asked to fill an online survey that consisted in 18 questions in which they evaluated different aspects of the visit, from technical to academical elements. It was concluded that the virtual lab is a successful activity to enhance the students’ competencies.