Gamification for the Development of Competencies in Tec21 Based on Mixed Reality

Abstract

Currently, university students expect to obtain not only valuable knowledge about their majors, but they also want to develop different skills that will allow them to develop and stand out in the highly competitive world of work in which we find ourselves. To achieve this, Tecnologico de Monterrey implemented the Tec21 model, a challenge-based learning system focused on the development of both disciplinary and transversal competencies. Among the innovative tools used to promote these competencies we can find, after our research, the gamification: a technique that uses the resources of a game to promote student learning in an unconventional way, resulting in an excellent means for the development of the competencies. At the beginning of the pandemic, educational institutions reinvented themselves through innovation to make distance learning efficient. At Tecnologico de Monterrey, we have sought to develop problem-solving competencies through the implementation of two gamification strategies: an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) simulator that emulates the processes of a scale car model manufacturing line and a role-playing game in which students solve problems through a scenario. Three important factors were considered for gamification: engagement, academic rigor, and the development of competencies, all this has been enhanced with the use of emerging technologies such as immersive, augmented, and virtual reality, which allow students to have access to Laboratories at a distance and at any time. The theoretical concepts used, the situations or problems selected, the dynamics of the game, and the use of technological elements such as augmented reality and the use of the Tec Virtual Campus, have made this project an enrichment experience for the users, since the students spent an average of 32 hours of practice per week, improved their confidence in the application of problem-solving methodologies and developed teamwork, problem-solving, and information analysis skills. One of the greatest achievements, additional to the academic aspect, was the increased emotional stability of the students, which had been affected by episodes of depression derived from the confinement.