Applying Augmented Reality in Engineering Education to Improve Academic Performance & Student Motivation

Students starting at university are accustomed to using the latest generation of devices and technology for communication, leisure and work. All technological progress allows for the use of innovative learning tools in education, causing significant changes in teaching methods and the students' learning processes. Augmented Reality (AR) in education is an emerging area, so this paper analyses how this technology influences academic performance and encourages student motivation. We are starting from the hypothesis that the use of didactic material based on AR technology will improve motivation and the academic performance of students, so new didactic material has been developed using AR to explain the contents of standard mechanical elements. This research yields results that indicate how engineering students obtain better academic results and are more motivated, when the new generation of technological tools is incorporated into the learning process. Twenty five first year students studying for a Mechanical Engineering degree used AR technology to assist them in the subject of graphic engineering. During the study, a control group of twenty two fellow students used traditional class notes. All these students took an exam and two surveys to give feedback on the teaching material: one for finding out the effectiveness and efficiency of the material itself, together with the level of student satisfaction; another for assessing the level of student motivation when using the technology available during the study. The results showed a significant statistical difference between their academic performances, proving to be higher in the experimental group; this group also showed a higher level of motivation than the control group.