Today’s students inhabit a visual, networked culture. They connect and communicate with their peers and the public through digital media. Many assume that these “digital natives” are fully literate with regard to media; however, we believe that students need guidance, support and inspiration to realize their full academic potential with digital media. The term ‘digital media’ is used to broadly cover a range of ‘media types’ and activities that are in a digital format rather than the traditional analogue or physical format.
When we use the term ‘digital media’ we are generally referring to: still images including graphics; video including animation; and audio; or a combination thereof. When more than one media is used we may refer to it as multimedia. In recent years there has been a noticeable growth in the interest and use of digital media. There are a number of reasons for this growth including the decreasing cost to create digital media, easier access to equipment, ease of sharing and a better understanding of the opportunities that can benefit teaching and learning. Because digital media can take varying forms and can include a range of media types, it is very flexible and has the potential to be used in many different ways to support teaching and learning.
For example a video by a teacher that answers a common course question ‘why is ice slippery?’ can be used in face-to-face scenarios such as a lecture or tutorial or be made available online for it to be downloaded to a learner device, such as a mobile phone, and have learner activities based around it. Common examples of uses include: demonstrations of contextual images; images with clickable parts (an image map) that link to further information e.g. Google maps; video recordings of teaching sessions; to produce media-enhanced feedback; and recordings of special events such as guest lecturers. Statement of the Problem
This study aimed to find out the effectiveness of Digital Media for teaching. Specifically, it was conducted to answer the following questions: 1. What is the commonly used Digital Media by the teachers in teaching? 2. What is the most presentable and most understandable Digital Media used by the teachers? 3. How does Digital Media improves the academic performance of the 1st year Computer Science Students? 4. What is the most preferred Digital Media of the students among the different Medias used by the teachers? Importance of the Study
Digital Medias are now mostly used for teaching. For the technology we have nowadays Digital Medias plays an important role for learning or studying. Teachers. Through the information gathered by this research, teachers are benefited in the way that they will know those different Digital Medias used for teaching. They can adopt different Digital Media methods and apply it in their way of teaching.
Students. Students are benefited in a way that they can gather information and they can tell their instructors about the different ways of teaching using Digital Media and improving their instructor’s way of teaching and improving the way the students learn. Parents. Through the technology today, individuals could purchase means of different Digital Media, parents will now know and will now use this way of teaching for the learning of their kids. Future Researchers. They can gather data from this study and learn or use it as a reference if they are planning to conduct the same study. Scope and Delimitation of the Study
This study focused on the effects of Digital Media for teaching. This study was conducted at Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation. The respondents of this study were 30 students from the first year Computer Science students who were randomly selected. There are 44 numbers of first year students who enrolled in the VMUF – College of Computer Science, Academic Year 2012-2013.
The Research Design used in this study was the descriptive method in order to observe, describe and document students. A questionnaire was used as the measuring tool in gathering data. The bases in formulating the questionnaire were the readings, related literature and studies. It was referred to and checked by the research adviser. Definition of Terms
The following terms used in the research study were defined operationally for better understanding and for the purpose of clarification. Digital Media. Is a form of electronic media where data are stored in digital form. Contextual Images. A topic of pattern recognition in computer vision is an approach of classification based on contextual information in images. Multimedia. Media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. Animation. Rapid display of a sequence of images to create an illusion of movement. Audio. Is an electrical or other representation of sound.
Video. Refers to recording, manipulating, and displaying moving images, especially in a format that can be presented on a television.
Chapter II
Review of Related Literature
This chapter presents the review of related literature pertaining to the Effectiveness of using Digital Media for Teaching. Related Literature Accessing freely available media digital content and tools can be an effective way to improve educational provision and maximize resources in difficult times. On the other hand, without support, a sharing of best practice and awareness what we’re getting into we might waste a lot of time and money undertaking tasks which, on reflection, should have been done by someone else or done in a different way.
The sharing of good practice and direct experience, in addition to free content and open source tools, may be the only way to ensure we receive the benefits of digital media while avoiding the pitfalls. The use of audio is well established in education and has been used for decades. From the humble audio cassettes of the 1970s, to accompanying nearly all video recordings, audio has a long history as a teaching and learning aid. Audio as a format has great breadth and depth which means there is great potential for its use in education.
The majority of uses for digital audio, to date, have been replicating traditional activities ( e.g. recordings of lectures), yet this digital medium has the potential to offer much more. As use of digital learning technologies continues to grow around infrastructure (e.g. the virtual learning environment) and as teaching and learning pedagogy evolves within ‘uniquely’ digital contexts, we have begun to see new methods for using digital audio recordings within teaching and learning. Audiovisual material provides a rich medium for teaching and learning. Video can effectively communicate complex information to a student and, if used creatively, can become a powerful expressive tool. This short paper looks at some potential benefits and challenges associated with using video materials in teaching and learning.
There are an endless number of ways to exploit video in order to create motivating, memorable and inclusive learning experiences. However, watching a video can also be a passive experience and so teaching methods must be used which instead turn it into a springboard for student action and interaction. Before deciding to use video for teaching purposes, it is vital to watch all the material to be shown to students beforehand, just in case there is any unnecessary or unsuitable content. It may also be helpful to look through lesson plans from other institutions for ideas on how video has been used effectively to illustrate specific topics. Foreign Literature
Writing at GETideas.org, Laura Flemming, a library media specialist from River Edge N.J., describes her experiences using the multimedia book “Inanimate Alice” in the classroom. Published by the BradField Company, the book uses text, sound, images and games to tell the story of Alice and her imaginary digital friend Brad. Spotlight recently featured Flemming in our story on the future of the book. Flemming says Alice is important because it has not been adapted from another medium, but was “conceived, written and created entirely within the digital domain.”
As our cultural relationship with text shifts to include more complex multilayered forms of literacy, Flemming argues educators need to figure out how to use these new storytelling forms in the classroom. Digital novels can help our students be connected to, engaged with, and increase their ability to make meaning from, text. As educators, we have a responsibility to embrace innovative reading forms and recognize that they are increasingly critical pedagogical tools. More than just a creative approach to literacy, electronic, multimedia, and transmedia texts should now be recognized as an essential part of literacy teaching and learning. “Inanimate Alice” was written by Kate Pullinger, a writer and researcher in creative writing and new media at De Montfort University in the UK where she co-founded the Transliteracy Research Group.
Writing on her website, Pullinger says of transliteracy that “as more people, from more fields, find the concept useful in their own work, the definition is growing and changing.” You can watch all the episodes of “Inanimate Alice” here. But be warned, you just might get hooked. As one young reader said: “After [the first episode] I was burning with curiosity to see and read the other episodes in the series. … Inanimate Alice is heart-pounding, exciting, and adventurous and I enjoyed them. You should watch Inanimate Alice, NOW.” Local Literature
Amidst problems on teacher resistance on the use of online modes of teaching and limitations in technology, this case study/project demonstrated the potential of the use of social networking sites in developing a digital portfolio in an academic reading and writing course for college students. The use of social networking sites as digital portfolios has clearly shown that similar to traditional process approaches to writing, it has documented the students‟ growth as writers. However, two strengths are realized in this practice.
First, the use of the digital portfolio has provided more options for students to use other forms of media such as visual and audio media to enhance their presentations, giving greater control/autonomy on the part of the students‟ choice of portfolio pieces. Second, the greatest strength of using digital portfolios is actualizing the sense of audience among the student writers. Considering the vast virtual environment of the internet, students receive authentic feedback from different members of the online community.
This is in turn maximizes opportunities for interaction, improvement and growth of students as writers. This project has also yielded several interesting avenues for research and development. First, with regard to teacher training, the use of social networking needs to be integrated in course design for teacher preparation to provide ample opportunities for teachers to explore the internet as a potential resource for teaching and learning. Second, since process approaches to writing continue to dominate in language classrooms, other issues such as writer identity, feedback and learner autonomy need to be re-examined when these approaches are applied in the context of an online environment. Finally, this project has created more space for further explorations in terms of the role of technology in reshaping the teaching of writing in the Philippine context.
Chapter III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the methods and procedures employed by the researchers in the conduct of this study. It presents research design, locale of the study, population sampling, tools for data analysis and research instrument used. Research Design
This research study made used of the descriptive method, thus the descriptive survey is designed to be used because the researchers attempted to interpret and evaluate the effectiveness of Digital Media for teaching and used the information gathered from the first year Computer Science Students as their reference. This was achieved through the use of questionnaire as the main tool of gathering relevant data. Locale of the Study
This study was conducted in Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation, San Carlos City, Pangasinan. Population Sampling A total of thirty (30) Computer Science students of Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation selected as the respondents. Respondents of the study came from the first year Computer Science students of VMUF.
Tools for Data Analysis
To derived valid and accurate result, appropriate statistical measures were employed. These are follows: (1) Number of Survey List
(2) Total number of Respondents
The formula of getting the percentage is as follows,
Number of Survey List
P= —————————————— x 100%
Total Number of Respondents
Percentage count was used to determine the preferences of the first year Computer Science students in Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation in conducting a research through the effectiveness of Digital Media for teaching. Research Instrumentation
Descriptive type of research was utilized by the researchers and a survey questionnaire was used to gather the data, to determine the validity and reliability of the questionnaire.
Chapter IV
Presentaion, Analysis and Interpretation of Data
This chapter presents analysis and interprets the study findings in order to determine the effectiveness of Digital Media for teaching on the first year Computer Science students of Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation as their reference. Figure 1
What is the commonly used Digital Media by the teachers in teaching?
Figure 1 represents the commonly used Digital Media by the teachers. Majority of the respondents answered that the PowerPoint is the commonly used Digital Media which constitute 93% (28 out of 30 respondents); while 7% (2 out of the 30 respondents) said that the Video Media is the commonly used Digital Media; and 0% (0 out of 30 respondents) said that the Audio Media is the commonly used Digital Media. Figure 2
What is the most presentable and most understandable Digital Media used by the teachers?
Figure 2 represents the most presentable and most understandable Digital Media used by the teachers. Majority of the respondents said that the PowerPoint is the most presentable and most understandable Digital Media used by the teachers which constitute 83% (25 out of 30 respondents); while 17% (5 out of the 30 respondents) said that the Video Media is the most presentable and most understandable Digital Media used by the teachers; and 0% (0 out of 30 respondents) said that the Audio Media is the most presentable and most understandable Digital Media used by the teachers.
Figure 3
How does Digital Media improves the academic performance of the 1st year
Computer Science Students?
Legend:
A – It helps us by the visualization of the lecture
B – It helps us understand the lesson clearly by the used of Organized Data Presentation
C – It helps us because in this age of Computers, Digital Medias are always accessible. Figure 3 displays the answers made by the respondents on the questionnaire distributed to them on how does Digital Media improves the academic performance of the 1st year Computer Science students. There were total of 30 respondents and out of this number, 10% or 3 respondents said that Digital Media helps them by the visualization of the lecture. 87% or 26 respondents said that Digital Media helps them understand the lesson clearly by the used of Organized Data Presentation; and the remaining 3% or 1 respondent said that Digital Media helps because in this age of Computers, Digital Medias are always accessible. Figure 4
What is the most preferred Digital Media of the students among the different Medias used by the teachers?
Figure 4 indicates the most preferred Digital Media of the students among the different Medias used by the teachers. Most of the respondents preferred the PowerPoint Digital Media among the different Medias used by the teachers which constitute 74% (22 out of 30 respondents); while 23% (7 out of 30 respondents) said that they prefer Video; and the remaining 3% (1 out of 30) said that they prefer Audio.
CHAPTER V
Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations
This chapter presents the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations. This study was taken with the general objective of determining the effectiveness of using Digital Medias for teaching on the students of the Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation, College of Computer Science as their reference. Specifically, it was conducted to answer the following questions: 1. What is the commonly used Digital Media by the teachers in teaching? 2. What is the most presentable and most understandable Digital Media used by the teachers? 3. How does Digital Media improves the academic performance of the 1st year Computer Science Students? 4. What is the most preferred Digital Media of the students among the different Medias used by the teachers? Summary of Findings
1. The commonly used Digital Media by the teachers in teaching is the PowerPoint which constitutes 93%. Next is the Video Media which is 7% and last is the Audio Media which is 0%. 2. With the different types of Digital Media available the most presentable and most understandable Digital Media for the students is the PowerPoint which is 83%, Video Media which is 17% and the last is Audio Media which is 0%. 3. Among the selected students, 10% said that Digital Medias helps them by the visualization of the lecture, 87% said that Digital medias helps them understand the lesson clearly by the used of Organized Data Presentation, and 3% said that Digital Media helps because in this age of Computers, Digital Medias are always accessible. 4. Majority of the respondents which is 74% prefer PowerPoint, 23% of them says that they prefer Video, and 3% of them prefer Audio. Conclusions
Based on the summary derived from this study, the following conclusions were drawn: 1. The students are likely to understand the lecture by presenting it in the form of PowerPoint because for them, it is the most presentable and most understandable and the most commonly used Media by the Teachers. 2. Students improve their academic performance because Digital Medias helps them understand the lecture/lesson clearly because Digital Medias use Organized Data Presentation. 3. Majority of the students preferred PowerPoint because, it is the commonly used, and the most understandable and most presentable. Recommendations
Based on the conclusion of the study, the following are recommended. 1. Students should appreciate and understand all of the Digital Medias available. Although the most commonly used is the PowerPoint, many Digital Medias are also available and accessible. 2. Students can also improve their academic performance by other means, like reviewing by themselves or jotting down notes while presentation is occurring in the lecture. 3.
Teachers/Instructors should make use of Digital Medias available everywhere, in this Age of Computers, Students are most likely to enjoy the lecture by showing it to them digitally.