USALSIM: Learning and Professional Practicing in a 3D Virtual World

USALSIM was developed by the University of Salamanca (USAL) as a response to the policy changes of learning and work placements in the new European Space for Higher Education. USALSIM makes it possible to face the increase of the number of students who will participate in the different university work placement programs and the increasing number of companies and institutions necessary to host and train theses students. This project used a 3D virtual environment (a work placement simulator) that allows developing a virtual representation of different work environments. Representing a professional work space such as a laboratory, for example, the student can simulate common tasks through active learning. This virtual world is focused on a constructive pedagogy, where students are directly involved in their formative development, establishing professional relationships, developing transversal and technical competencies and evaluating their knowledge. USALSIM is a funded project by the Spanish Ministry of Education within the Program of Integral Attention and Employability of University Students (CAIE059).