The present study analyzes the significant differences in the perception and identification of murals, either physical or Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated, between Secondary School students and teachers in training both in Early Childhood and Primary Education undergraduate and Master's Degree in Teaching. The main objective is to compare how they perceive the aesthetics, creativity and visual impact of wall paintings, determining significant differences and how their knowledge and use of digital tools influence these assessments.

To do this, nearly 10,000 data have been collected through surveys aimed at identifying common patterns by analyzing the knowledge and use of digital tools and AI among students and future teachers.

To carry out the questionnaires, murals were generated, using AI tools for subsequent analysis and evaluation, through a didactic session focused on a series of murals (physical, AI-generated and mixed) with the intention of comparing the significant differences in their assessments and perceptions of the murals through a didactic experience applied in the classroom.

The results reveal significant differences between the different groups in terms of aesthetic perception, creativity of the mural design, as well as visual impact on the environment. Secondary school students showed greater difficulty in correctly identifying the AI-generated murals compared to undergraduate and master students. Furthermore, it is deduced from the cluster analysis that students with greater knowledge and use of digital tools tended to value more positively the AI-generated murals, which suggests that integrating ICTs and AI tools in art education enriches the creative process by providing a range of useful tools and educational experiences while fostering critical artistic skills. The implications of the study suggest that the use of these technologies in the classroom can improve interaction and collaboration among students, better preparing them to face contemporary educational challenges.

Keywords: ICTs, AI-generated murals, physical murals, perception, identification, secondary school students, teachers in training, creativity, visual impact, art education, educational technology.