Laboratorios virtuales: Innovación en la Educación Superior de Física y Química durante la pandemia COVID-19

Virtual education uses communication technologies to facilitate learning, relying on educational software and collaborative pedagogy. Virtual laboratories simulate real objects and processes, allowing students to experiment safely and develop scientific skills. There are laboratories based on simulations, remote hardware and virtual or augmented reality, evaluated using methods such as analytical hierarchical process (AHP), satisfaction questionnaires and models such as ADDIE and ISO/IEC 9126. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Universidad Hispanoamericana in recognition of the importance of maintaining academic continuity and the development of skills by the employer sector (Mora et al., 2023); implemented virtual laboratories in physics and chemistry courses, with practices from home and data analysis. These tools demonstrated that they were effective for learning with a positive impact on the development of practical skills. This article seeks to provide information about virtual laboratories, their classifications, available tools and comparative studies. Therefore, it is recommended to continue with these initiatives, also contributing to the study of students in their hours of independent work in their study plans (Ramírez-Mora, 2023); focusing on improving its quality and its alignment with learning objectives.