Climate change and sustainability have recently been object of study due to the impact on the planet and on human activity of the first and the benefits that could derive from the efficiency of the second. Particularly, urban environments are locations that represent a high percentage of emissions of gases, waste, resources use and so forth. However, they are places where great changes can be made, in an attempt to accomplish the urgent challenge to adapt to current and projected rates of climate change. Research has shown that a fruitful approach to urban sustainability is to describe indicators that measure the effectiveness of current processes of urban infrastructures, analyze areas in need of improvement and measure the effect of any actions taken. The significant feature of this research relies on its global approach, considering both major worldwide used and less widely-spread frameworks and the analysis of the 32 selected tools and guidelines, including over 2000 indicators. The result is a proposed structure of 14 categories and 48 indicators, easily applicable in urban areas, that tries to fulfill basic aspects to obtain a general diagnosis of the sustainable nature of the urban environment, which can serve as support to detect the strongest and weakest areas in terms of their sustainability.

Optimization of environmental performance is one of the standards to be achieved towards designing sustainable buildings. Many researchers are focusing on zero emission building; however, it is essential that the indoor environment favors the performance of the building purpose. Empirical research has demonstrated the influence of architectural space variables on student performance, but they have not focused on holistic studies that compare how space influences different academic performance, such as Mathematics and Arts. This manuscript explores, under self-reported data, the relationship between learning space and the mathematics and art performance in 583 primary school students in Galicia (Spain). For this, the Indoor Physical Environment Perception scale has been adapted and validated and conducted in 27 classrooms. The results of the Exploratory Factor Analysis have evidenced that the learning space is structured in three categories: Workspace comfort, natural environment and building comfort. Multiple linear regression analyses have supported previous research and bring new findings concerning that the indoor environment variables do not influence in the same way different activities of school architecture.

Despite being one of the most commonly self-taught instruments, and despite the ready availability of significant amounts of didactic material, the guitar is a challenging instrument to learn. This paper proposes an application based on augmented reality (AR) that is designed to teach beginner students basic musical chords on the guitar, and provides details of the experimental study performed to determine whether the AR methodology produced faster results than traditional one-on-one training with a music teacher. Participants were divided into two groups of the same size. Group 1 consisted of 32 participants who used the AR app to teach themselves guitar, while Group 2, with a further 32 participants, received formal instruction from a music teacher. Results found no differences in learning times between the two groups based on the variables of method and gender. However, participant feedback suggested that there are advantages to the self-taught approach using AR that are worth considering. A system usability scale (SUS) questionnaire was used to measure the usability of the application, obtaining a score of 82.5, which was higher than the average of 68 that indicates an application to be good from a user experience point of view, and satisfied the purpose for which the application was created.

In the present study, Autodesk Fusion 360 software (which includes the A360 environment) is used to train engineering students for the demands of the industry 4.0. Fusion 360 is a tool that unifies product lifecycle management (PLM) applications and 3D-modeling software (PDLM—product design and life management). The main objective of the research is to deepen the students’ perception of the use of a PDLM application and its dependence on three categorical variables: PLM previous knowledge, individual practices and collaborative engineering perception. Therefore, a collaborative graphic simulation of an engineering project is proposed in the engineering graphics subject at the University of La Laguna with 65 engineering undergraduate students. A scale to measure the perception of the use of PDLM is designed, applied and validated. Subsequently, descriptive analyses, contingency graphical analyses and non-parametric analysis of variance are performed. The results indicate a high overall reception of this type of experience and that it helps them understand how professionals work in collaborative environments. It is concluded that it is possible to respond to the demand of the industry needs in future engineers through training programs of collaborative 3D modeling environments.

En este trabajo se analizan las implicaciones que tiene la incorporación de estrategias metacognitivas en el aprendizaje matemático con estudiantes de sexto curso de educación primaria. El estudio se desarrolló a partir de contenidos matemáticos en una investigación cuasiexperimental en la que se analizó el nivel de comprensión del alumnado a partir de la instrucción explícita del docente, su participación en una práctica guiada, trabajo cooperativo y una práctica individual para analizar su nivel de aprendizaje. Los resultados muestran, tras una prueba de diagnóstico (pretest) y otra de referencia (postest), mejoras en atención, comprensión, trabajo cooperativo, resolución de problemas, procesos de aprendizaje, confianza y motivación. Con base en los resultados podemos argumentar que la utilización de estrategias metacognitivas juega un papel importante en la formación matemática, ya que permite que el estudiante controle la comprensión, detecte errores, examine los saberes previos y explore sus propios procesos de pensamiento.

Many people wishing to learn a musical instrument opt to learn using alternative or informal methods instead of the traditional Master–Apprentice model that requires a greater cognitive load. This paper presents an augmented reality (AR)-based application designed to teach and train guitar chords, with the novelty that it is also used to teach short melodies consisting of four chord transitions so that users have to change hand and finger positions. The app uses high-quality 3D models of an acoustic guitar and animated hand to indicate correct finger positions and the movements required when changing from one chord to another. To follow the animated instructions, the learner overlaps the 3D model onto the neck of the physical guitar and his or her own hand. A system usability scale (SUS) questionnaire was used to measure the usability of the application. A score of 82.0 was obtained, which is higher than the average of 68 points that indicates the application is good from a user experience perspective, thus satisfying the purpose for which it was created. Having analysed the data for both groups—individuals with no prior experience of playing a musical instrument versus individuals with prior experience—it was concluded that the application provided a useful learning approach for all participants involved in the study, regardless of experience. That said, those possessing prior experience of playing an instrument learnt faster. It should be noted that the research revealed significant difference in learning by gender, with male participants learning faster than female participants. Similar results have been detected in other research performed in the field of music, as well as in other fields. As this study required spatial reasoning when viewing the 3D model, the differences identified this case may well have arisen as a consequence of differences in men and women’s spatial awareness, thereby leaving open an alternative line of research.