Application Research of VSS Teaching System Based on BS Architecture in Practical Teaching of Water Conservancy Professional Courses

Traditional practical teaching in hydraulic engineering programs faces persistent challenges, including spatiotemporal constraints and a misalignment between graduate competencies and industry demands. To address these issues, this paper develops a VSS teaching system for hydraulic engineering based on a browser–server (BS) architecture. We present the system architecture and the design of its core functional modules, and discuss its pedagogical advantages. An empirical evaluation was conducted from four stakeholder perspectives—current students, instructors, alumni, and employers—through targeted surveys. The results indicate that all four groups hold positive views of the lightweight VSS system’s teaching effectiveness, with instructors expressing the highest level of approval. Survey results indicated generally positive perceptions of the VSS system in supporting students’ engineering practice and analytical judgment, as well as in graduates’ workplace adaptation. Our findings confirm that the BS-based VSS system can effectively overcome key bottlenecks in hydraulic practical education. We further propose pathways for deeper digital teaching reform by integrating digital twin and artificial intelligence technologies. This study offers both a technical solution and empirical evidence for advancing digital practical teaching reform in hydraulic engineering.