Remote teaching of building information modeling during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study

This article reports on a Building information modeling (BIM) distance learning experience in a pandemic context. Based on a description of the experience and a survey completed by the learners at the end of the course, the article presents and discusses various aspects of the training, including the overall satisfaction of the learners, their evaluation of the technical aspects and the practical work, as well as the proposals made to improve the course. The analysis shows that some elements of the teaching functioned well, while others were rated as being less satisfactory by the students. More specifically, the learners highlighted the need to find ways and means to improve the level of interaction, which is reduced by online education. The use of video clips as a support for practical work was recognized as being effective, but it seems useful also to resort to the use of collaborative platforms dedicated to the construction industry. A critical aspect is the remote access to computer labs with computers where the taught software is installed, as not all of the learners will always have the option of having it on their personal computers. Although the results of the experiment are difficult to generalize due to its particular context, they identify interesting avenues for improvement while paving the way to unique opportunities for the use of active pedagogy principles in BIM education.