More than novelty: students’ perceived pedagogical value of a 360° engine visualization experience

Abstract

Digital technologies are increasingly being incorporated into higher education, opening new possibilities for the teaching of contents that are difficult to address through conventional resources alone. In engineering education, one of the challenges lies in helping students understand complex technical systems in a more visual and accessible way. In this context, a 360º visualization experience focused on an engine was implemented as a teaching innovation, allowing students to explore the resource on a computer screen. Specifically, the aim of the present study was to analyse students’ post-experience perceptions of the utility, novelty and relevance of this educational resource and to examine the pedagogical value attributed to it in comparison with the usual course resources. A second aim was to compare this pattern in two universities in which the experience was implemented in the same way: the University of Cádiz (Spain) and Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico). To this end, 40 post-experience questionnaires were analysed, corresponding to 20 students from each university. The instrument included three items assessing the perceived utility, novelty and relevance of the technological resource, using a seven-point Likert scale, together with an open-ended question aimed at capturing students’ qualitative perceptions of the experience and its added value compared with the usual course resources. Results indicate a clearly positive evaluation in the three dimensions considered. In both institutions, the resource was assessed very favourably, suggesting that it was perceived not merely as an attractive addition, but as a meaningful support for learning. This interpretation was reinforced by the qualitative responses, which highlighted the role of the experience in making the engine easier to visualise and understand, as well as more engaging from an educational perspective. Although students from Tecnológico de Monterrey tended to provide slightly higher scores, no statistically significant differences were found between the two universities. Overall, the findings suggest that 360º visualization constitutes a valuable educational innovation in engineering teaching across two academic contexts. In particular, students attributed to it a pedagogical value that went beyond the usual course resources. The contribution is therefore centred on students’ appraisal of the resource after use. It focuses on the value they attribute to it within the teaching process, rather than on the measurement of learning outcomes. The study may be of interest to teachers and researchers involved in the design and assessment of digital educational innovations in higher education, especially in disciplines dealing with complex technical contents.