This paper offers a broad vision of the potential benefits which virtual worlds may provide for improving learning, collaboration, motivation and therefore, the improvement in academic performance of students. The paper underlines how virtual worlds may offer new experimental platforms through new interactions perceiving the changeable nature of technology. The article is based on the results of the experience developed in the mainframe of the educational innovation project performed at La Laguna University during the 2012-2013 academic courses. The technological infrastructure has been created already and the 3D graphic modelling was designed using open source software aiming for creation of the ‘La Laguna Virtual University’ virtual world. Teachers have given ubiquitous classes in this virtual environment interacting with students. All feedback from teachers and students has already been gathered in this experience

Growing concern about issues such as environmental quality or the sustainability of natural resources has led to the use of the Decision Support System (DSS), which originated in the business field, and is now part of environmental decision-making processes. The presence of environmental, social, or economic dimensions has helped decision support systems to evolve to be able to tackle investigations that can contemplate all these variables, such as in the case of multicriteria decision analyses. In addition, new lifestyles, in which society recognizes more and more the contribution of forests to its welfare, have led to the need to involve stakeholders in decision-making processes. This article presents a review of different Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and participatory decision support systems applied to forest environments. This last point is presented from the perspective of stakeholder participation in the processes and from the point of view of procedures or tools used. To do this, some of the research performed in forest environments within this current century is reviewed.

Sustainable forest planning should involve the participation of stakeholder communities in the decision-making process. This participation can help avoid the possible rejection of new planning measures. In this paper, the decision-making process to implement regulations on the use of forest tracks on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) is analyzed. In recent years, the number of people using the island’s forest environments has notably increased, leading to conflicts between different users of the tracks; as a result, the Island Council of Tenerife is working on regulating these pathways. This paper describes the framing analysis, design, and implementation of a participatory multi-criteria approach to explore, together with stakeholders, the best policy alternatives related to forest planning and management issues of forest track use. To do this, a set of tools has been developed, consisting of institutional analysis, participatory methods, and multi-criteria assessment techniques.

This research paper explores the impact of immersive virtual reality (IVR) on the teaching of conceptual design in engineering and architecture fields, focusing on the use of interactive 3D drawing tools in virtual and augmented reality environments. The study analyzes how IVR influences spatial understanding, idea communication, and immersive 3D sketching for industrial and architectural design. Additionally, it examines user perceptions of virtual spaces prior to physical construction and evaluates the effectiveness of these technologies through surveys administered to mechanical engineering students utilizing VR/AR headsets. A structured methodology was developed for students enrolled in an industrial design course, comprising four phases: initial theoretical instruction on ephemeral architecture, immersive 3D sketching sessions using Meta Quest 2 and Microsoft HoloLens 2 VR/AR headsets, detailed CAD modeling based on conceptual sketches, and immersive virtual tours to evaluate user perception and design efficacy. Ad hoc questionnaires specifically designed for this research were employed. The results indicate a positive reception to IVR, emphasizing its ease of use, intuitive learning process, and effectiveness in improving motivation, academic performance, and student engagement during the conceptual design phase in graphic engineering education.

This work follows up the validation and usability study done over an augmented reality based application for the development of the spatial skills of engineering students. In this paper can be found all work done prior to its commercial launch for widespread use. In addition, a study will be done to find out the influence of the display device (computer screen or head-mounted display) in terms of spatial ability acquisition and improvement, as well as the time required in terms of using them