Transforming Automotive Engineering Education: The Integration of Digital Technology with Interactive Digital Content

The evolution of digital content has transformed learning by introducing interactivity and flexibility, establishing it as a crucial asset in the educational landscape. This situation has led to the development of an IDC module with the support of AI tools, aimed at enhancing student achievements in that area. This investigation explores the criteria for adopting Interactive Digital Content (IDC) within automotive engineering education and evaluates its effectiveness in comparison to conventional learning approaches. The study examines the impact of technology integration, specifically how the adoption of digital tools in IDC enhances student engagement and enriches theoretical knowledge among students. A quantitative approach was employed to gather data from four experts and 59 automotive engineering students via a quasi-experimental intervention. The IDC content was created using the ADIC model and underwent expert validation, which demonstrated a strong consensus (100%) with the IDC framework. The ratings for content design (mean=3.18), perception design (mean=3.57), and interactive design (mean=3.43) were notably high. Analysis of student outcomes indicated a notably higher satisfaction level (mean=4.12) with IDC modules in contrast to conventional methods. The pre-post-test indicates a distinct preference for Interactive Digital Content (IDC) compared to traditional learning methods, highlighted by a mean score of 3.94. This suggests a significant impact of IDC on cognitive performance (F (44,46) = 50.45, p = 0.03), especially when accounting for prior academic achievement. This indicates that IDC not only involves students more efficiently but also improves their capacity to retain and utilize intricate concepts, which is essential in technical disciplines such as automotive engineering.