The challenge from remote to blended learning since the COVID-19 pandemic: the case of Operational Research in Industrial Engineering

This work describes the didactic experience made in the period 2020-2021 in Operations Research course in Industrial Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering of the National University of San Juan. Shifting to remote learning we made faster and deeper the methodological and technical changes in the teaching-learning process designed before pandemic. Both were based on the digital transformation of education and efforts to reform engineering education in Argentina: in order to meet the demands of this dynamic world, engineering programs are challenged to find innovative ways to teach classes so that graduates are prepared in soft skills as well as technical skills. The UNSJ Distance Education System made the Moodle platform immediately and massively available. This allowed us to make an abrupt transformation of the learning space. We use the flipped classroom method, design activities to promote transversal skills and modify the forms of evaluation. In response, the students have shown a strong commitment to the proposal, an important responsibility in group activities and a very good connection with virtual tools. In the post-pandemic we will opt a blend learning, to enhance the benefits of online and face-to-face teaching and tend to design a student-centered learning methodology.