Introducing a geographic information system as computer tool to apply the problem-based learning process in public buildings indoor routing

A geographic information system (GIS) is presented in this work with the aim of helping the application of problem‐based learning process to show the students how to adopt the appropriate decisions for the adaptation of architectural barriers to ensure the universal accessibility in public buildings. The GIS developed here consists of three layers based on vector maps corresponding to buildings, potential routes and architectural barriers. Hyperlinks in the last layer allow access to some relevant information about each barrier, such as type, description and adaptation cost. Several tests have been carried out to show the capability of the implemented GIS to locate indoor barriers, determine suitable indoor routes by considering criteria such as paths lengths or the total cost of barrier elimination, and update the information corresponding to each architectural barrier. In addition, the application of the proposed GIS has also been explored for indoor route guidance with promising results. This investigation has been carried out with the aim of being combined with the problem‐based learning process. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 21: 573–580, 2013