An Investigation Into The Use Of Multimedia Technology In Teaching Biology In Tanzanian High Schools

In the 21 st century,many researchers and educational practitioners often believe that “technology is the backbone of quality education”.In this generation,technology has played an important role in improving the quality of education.The development of multimedia technology provides new methods of teaching and learning that can be implemented in schools,at home and elsewhere.In education,multimedia technology helps to facilitate the shift from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning.The use of multimedia technology in education has become more prevalent in recent years,and various types of research currently available suggest that the use of multimedia technology in education will become even more widespread in the future.This study adopted a conceptual framework using Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology(UTAUT),Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge(TPACK),and Deep Integration of Information Technology with Curriculum theories into a core concept,a theoretical model was developed by reviewing relevant literature to understand teachers’ perceptions of multimedia technology use in high school biology teaching,teachers’ skills in using multimedia technology in biology teaching,and effectiveness of multimedia technology application in the classroom.The model was then further developed using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods.In the first phase,a survey instrument based on the concepts of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology(UTAUT)and Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge(TPACK)was designed and distributed.It was distributed to 211 in-service secondary school biology teachers in Tanzania.Statistical methods were used to obtain descriptive information from teachers on factors that influence their use of multimedia technology in high school biology classrooms,including teacher age,teachers’ highest qualifications,teaching experience,number of students in the classroom,computer literacy,training in multimedia technology integration and availability of ICT resources,electricity and internet in the school.These factors play an important role in influencing teachers’ acceptance and learning about the use of multimedia technology in the classroom.Exploratory factor analysis,correlational analysis,and multiple regression analysis were conducted from the data collected from the survey in order to refine the theoretical model.The results in descriptive statistics regarding teachers’ perceptions of the use of multimedia technology in teaching biology shows that question 11 has the highest number of participants(92.5%)who strongly agree or agree with the stated use of multimedia technology.Questions 19 and 23 have the lowest number of participants(69.2% and 64.0%)who strongly agree or agree.For the remained questions the participants who strongly agree or agree have ranged from 70.6% to 88.7%.Overall it shows that most of the participants have good perceptions of the use of multimedia technology.The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that teachers’ skills of Technology Pedagogy Knowledge(TPK),Technology Content Knowledge(TCK),Content Knowledge(CK),Pedagogy Content Knowledge(PCK),Pedagogy Knowledge(PK),and Technology Pedagogical Content Knowledge(TPACK)affect teachers’ perception of the use of multimedia technology in the classroom.Among them,Technology Pedagogy Knowledge(TPK)skills and Technology Content Knowledge(TCK)skills have greater impact on teachers’ perception of using multimedia technology,followed by Content Knowledge(CK)skills and Pedagogy Content Knowledge(PCK)skills.Lastly,compared to the other skills,Technology Pedagogical Content Knowledge(TPACK)skills and Pedagogy Knowledge(PK)skills have less impact on teachers’ perceptions on using multimedia technology.In the second phase of the study,a similar study was selected to support the study by providing a case study.Qualitative data obtained through observation and literature analysis were used to support and enrich the understanding of the effectiveness of multimedia technology use in high school biology classrooms.Following a thematic analysis of two participants’ observations,five themes emerged: lack of resources,teacher use of technology,effective use of classroom time,teaching abstract concepts,and classroom management.In the observations,a data finding indicated that there are conditions needed to be applied to the instructional environment to support “deep integration of information technology with the curriculum”.These conditions should follow the basic attributes of deep integration,i.e.,creating an information-based teaching environment,using new teaching methods,and changing the traditional classroom structure.The analysis of data from similar case study shows that students who learn through multimedia teaching learn better than those who learn through traditional teaching methods.Two groups of students were investigated in this case study;53 students in the experimental group were taught through the use of multimedia(including Power Point presentations and videos),while 57 students in the control group were taught through traditional teaching methods.The results showed that the use of multimedia technology in the teaching and learning process had a favorable impact on the students’ academic performance.The theoretical contribution of this study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of using multimedia technology in the process of teaching high school biology.The predictive model and other findings were consolidated to understand teachers’ perception of using multimedia technology in their biology teaching practices.The thesis concludes with a reflection on the entire writing process,summarizes the findings and research results,draws out the innovations,limitations,and recommendations of the entire study,and makes suggestions for future research.