Engaging Engineering Education Through Multi-Sensory Virtual Decision-Making Centers: A Gamified Approach

The article explores the transformative impact of gamification in education, highlighting the integration of theory and practice to create dynamic and engaging learning experiences using multi-sensory virtual reality environments, such as the Multi-Sensory Virtual Decision-Making Center (MVDC). Among the state of the art of gamification, it has been shown that gamification significantly improves students' attention, motivation, and knowledge acquisition, leading to better academic performance. In addition, it promotes the use of new technologies and encourages teamwork. The Multi-sensory Virtual Decision-Making Center facilitates the creation of immersive collaborative virtual environments where multiple decision-makers can participate remotely in real-time without losing the sense of presence, thus providing an enhanced user experience by conducting joint decision-making sessions remotely and in real-time. Therefore, this work proposes a novel approach to engineering education by combining the synergistic potential of gamification and MVDC, improving both the educational experience and the efficiency of remote and real-time collaborative decision-making. This proposal includes the realization of joint exercises in the classroom with the combination of these technological tools. The initial results are encouraging because they offer an improved user experience when performing collaborative gamification exercises in the classroom and promote efficient and engaging real-time remote decision-making. This work will provide valuable insights and recommendations for future research in this dynamic and promising field.