Web based distance education in chemical industrial plants

The development of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) and their application in Engineering Education (in a knowledge-centered world) is one of the axes of an ongoing educative transformation. In particular, when the objective is updating professionals and training the industrial plant personnel at the work place, the use of Distance Education tools is of utmost importance. The employment of “Web Based” technologies allows using an expert’s know-how, without requiring his/her presence within the plant, which implies a methodological transformation in the learning and teaching process. The challenge to this transformation process is to acknowledge the resources to be used and measure their weak and strong points. This quality evaluation is complex, since it should encompass both technological aspects and learning and teaching pedagogical mechanisms. An analysis of the issues to be considered in assessing Web-based Distance Education Systems for the staff of industrial plants is presented. The axes for such evaluation are discussed, together with the presentation of different experiences in chemical industrial plants, for preparing technical personnel. Finally, the application of a specific environment for Distance Education (Web-Info), developed in La Plata University, is also discussed. IV Workshop de Tecnología Informática Aplicada en Educación (WTIAE) Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI)