Project Based Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiment Reports of Initiatives in Computer Engineering

The COVID-19 pandemic caused profound impacts arising from a traditional on-site teaching model rupture and demanded
distance learning for Engineering students, who faced additional challenges and opportunities for practical activities with
physical components such as Internet of Things projects. As an alternative to standardized synchronous tests, Project Based
Learning (PBL) was employed in this context to engage students in the social distancing context. This paper presents
experiment reports of PBL application for the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo’s Computer Engineering
curriculum in 2020: two undergraduate courses (third year’s Digital Laboratory II, fifth year’s Laboratory of Software
Engineering II), scientific initiation (short-term research project of smart meter for third year student), and capstone project
(one year project fifth year student regarding smart home monitoring). In all courses, at least a Master of Science student
acted as co-advisor or graduate teaching assistant. When combined with remote labs, home labs and virtual labs, PBL could
engage students and make practical activities happen during the pandemic. The students took an active part in the projects,
working with stakeholders and raising demands for tools usage.