Course of thermal solar energy - experiment of a project of non-distance teaching

A proposal for the creation of a thermal solar energy course at a distance aims to fill a gap in the typical academic qualifications of engineers and architects in Brazil for a period and at a cost that is compatible with the reality of our country. Our objective is the graduation of professionals who can work in small and medium solar projects by replacing electric showers in demand-side management programmes. The elaboration of the course was developed by three teams organized in a way which is similar to that of film-making, viz. screenplay, production and direction. The selected working environment was Learning Space by Lotus/IBM. The results pointed to a friendly relation between professors, trainees and learners, although a slower rhythm than that expected at first was noticed.