This paper describes the use of gamification and visual technologies in a classroom for higher education, specifically for university students. The goal is to achieve a major increase in student motivation and engagement through the use of various technologies and learning methodologies based on game mechanics called gamification. Gamification is used to engage students in the learning process. This study adds learning methodologies like Learning by Doing to students' collaborative work, and mixes teacher support with new, accessible technology, such as virtual reality and visualization 3D on the web thanks to webGL. This creates a new management tool, called GLABS, to assist in the gamification of the classroom. Understanding the role of gamification and the technology in education means understanding under what circumstances game elements can drive a student's learning behavior so that he or she may achieve better results in the learning process.

A mixed-methods study evaluating the motivation and satisfaction of Architecture degree students using interactive visualization methods is presented in this paper. New technology implementations in the teaching field have been largely extended to all types of levels and educational frameworks. However, these innovations require approval validation and evaluation by the final users, the students. In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of applying mixed evaluation technology are discussed in a case study of the use of interactive and collaborative tools for the visualization of 3D architectonical models. The main objective was to evaluate Architecture and Building Science students’ the motivation to use and satisfaction with this type of technology and to obtain adequate feedback that allows for the optimization of this type of experiment in future iterations.

The main focus of this study was the inclusion of informal methods in the educational frameworks of architectural and urban design. The project used is based on the 3D representation of virtual models of new urban proposals in order to re-organize a local market in Tonalá, Mexico. Starting from a formal course, where the students had to develop solutions to real architecture and urban problems, a second phase was designed, based on feedback in an informal environment by the end-users (citizens and professionals). The key objectives of the experiment were to show students to connect and receive feedback through technology, evaluate how these interactions can define new informal ways of learning, and discuss how this informal data can be incorporated into an academic curriculum. The results confirm how the informal interaction constitutes a great contribution in the improvement of student’s skills, even considering that the incorporation of informal data into their evaluation still remains challenging.Postprint (author's final draft

Since the international governmental institutions required and/or recommended (according to the regulations of each country and continent) all public works to be certified in the BIM (Building Information Modeling) methodology, public and private institutions and universities have sought to integrate BIM into their production and educational processes. This requires the university academic environment to focus its efforts on training students in this methodology, as they will need to apply it in any future work activities related to architecture and construction. This article seeks to analyze which methods are being used by higher education institutions around the world to integrate BIM implementation in AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) degrees and to determine if a set of regulatory guidelines exists that could serve as a common foundation for institutions to improve this integration process. To this end, a systematic literature review was carried out on WOS and SCOPUS by applying the PRISMA statement methodology. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected based on keywords, abstracts, and full content of the articles. In the end, 23 articles were thoroughly studied, the integration and evaluation methods analyzed, and results obtained. The analysis shows a consensus on the need to develop common academic guidelines across university centers that define a strategy for curriculum modifications and teaching and learning strategies. Finally, future lines of research are identified.