Abstract:

Mechanical engineering students usually write technical reports after a laboratory session, where they compile the main aspects of one or more practical lectures. These reports usually include a brief summary of the session, as well as some important theoretical aspects, results and main conclusions. As a result, students get used to working with office tools, at the same time they improve in writing technical documents that will help them in the near future. However, it is very common to realise that most of these reports are suspiciously similar or students simply have written them mindlessly. In order to motivate our students, and considering how important it is to manage audiovisual tools in the world of work, we started a pilot experience where our students were encouraged to make an audiovisual montage instead of a technical report after a laboratory session. Results were satisfactory, and feedback shows us that students prefer alternative ways of learning.
In this paper, we explain the methodology developed and the instrumentation used in this experience, as well as some of the results of students’ work.

Keywords:

Audiovisual report, tecnical, mechanical, laboratory session.