de Souza Barcala

Engineering education was formally recorded around the eighteenth century with the opening of the first school in Europe. Before that, ＂engineering＂ meant solving problems based on the genius and experience of a few ＂enlightened＂ individuals. Teaching engineering consisted of developing methods and theories, most of which were empirical, and passing them on personally to followers. The evolution of knowledge in mathematics, physics and chemistry made it possible for problems to be represented by mathematical models and, consequently, to form theories which, as well as being used to solve these problems, could be written down and transmitted by any individual who came to understand this model.With the advent of personal computers, and the international network between them, the dissemination of existing knowledge and its evolution has undergone a leap that is causing significant changes in society. Among them, the teaching/learning process in all fields of human knowledge has been one of the most affected by these changes.