Online Teaching of BIM during the COVID-19 Pandemic

BIM can be complex to teach during a regular class schedule, and the COVID-19 pandemic made it even more challenging. However, the need for social distancing brought to attention students' needs other than academic: It was possible notice the importance of students' emotional well-being. This research demonstrates this through three main stages: first by looking into the structure of the classes. Then, a classroom activity elicited from the students revealed important points that either they perceived as challenges our positive points of the lessons. Some of their suggestions were applied and then in a final state, the points elicited by the students were turned into a survey. The survey identified difficulties related to technical problems such as to Wi-Fi network or slow computers, which can be quite challenging for BIM lessons. The paper also describes the actions taken to undermine these issues. One important point that the research showed was that students appreciated the processes of peer-evaluation. This is important since peer evaluation can be quite valuable for BIM learners, since the skill to correct other professionals' models is highly important on a BIM oriented engineering processes. Finally, students showed that empathy and a closer relationship with the professor and colleague helped them cope with the feelings of isolation during the pandemic.