A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF VIRTUAL CLASSROOM AND TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM METHOD OF TEACHING IN ACHIEVING ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction to virtual classroom
The emergence of the World Wide Web (WWW) has paved the way for a new system of academic learning. Traditional methods of academic learning which involve people being in a single venue at a specific time for learning to occur is fast becoming unsuited to the lifestyle of many people today.
The Internet opens doors for new academic learning paradigms. Online classes have become more popular over the last decade. E-Learning grew by 86% between 2006 and 2008 in regard to the total number of courses delivered. Virtual Classrooms in the same light grew by 33% within that same period. These percentages are a clear indication that more students are taking-up online courses as opposed to traditional classroom classes. The popularity of online classes has grown so much that some university programs are purely online based, offering all their courses over the Internet [2].
In another research based on the pilot evaluation of Learning Activity Management System (LAMS) [3], 80% of students preferred to discuss their ideas in a virtual environment, while only 15% preferred a physical classroom.
Based on the scale of accepted theory of Educational psychologist by William Glasser, states that we learn by; 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see & hear, 70% of what we discuss with others, 80% of what we experience and 95% of what we teach someone else. E-Learning that includes student interactivity and personal involvement in the learning process has the potential to successfully deliver the highest student learning possible (just short of them teaching someone else). Thus, eLearning can be highly effective, if designed properly [4]. This further highlights the paradigm shift in student experience – student interaction and learning in general.
2.2.E-learning Models
The intentional use of ICT in education support what is referred to as e-learning; it encompasses learning at all levels, both formal and informal, from simple tutoring to the delivery of whole courses. ICT in e learning refers to a diverse set of tools and resources used to communicate, create, store and manage information. These tools and resources include computers and the internet, telephones, television and radio. Online learning was made possible by integrating ICT into education.
ICT enables students to take courses online. As an internet based academic learning platform, students taking online courses require computers with internet access in order to access course content, assignments and tests. E-learning course deliveries are usually achieved through two design approaches; asynchronous (non-real-time) and synchronous (real-time) each with its own pros and cons. The two approaches are briefly presented:
-Asynchronous (Non-real-time) Model
Online e-learning is referred to as asynchronous learning. Students work independently through a set of course objectives and correspondence among themselves as well as with the instructor happens via email and discussion boards. The students are often given a time frame in which to perform given tasks.
-Synchronous (Real-time) Model
The synchronous approach often involves the use of a virtual classroom to aid course delivery. With this model, students engage with the instructor on a real-time basis. Communication between student and instructor communication occurs through audio, video, instant messaging and usually a shared whiteboard interface. Virtual classrooms grew more popular among students, due to their real-time nature, as it gave them the opportunity to address issues concerning course materials during the lesson delivery.
2.3. Virtual Classroom Architectures
The functional needs of a virtual classroom may differ depending on what it is used for.
Virtual classrooms may be used to teach or used to discuss business related matters from various parties involved (business meetings, brainstorming sessions). Two main virtual classroom architectures exist to cater for these two scenarios. These are discussed below.
2.3.1 Role-based Architecture
The role based architecture is implemented in “a multiple distance learning System on the internet as described in the conference proceedings of IEEE SMC’99” [5], [6] and in other online web based services [7]. In this case the virtual classroom is used for teaching a group of individuals. In this architecture each participant is assigned a specific role. The different roles include:
-Teacher (Instructor) act as a facilitator of a classroom session. They also develop courseware to be taught during sessions.
-Class expert helps students solve technical problems (such as no sound, microphone problems, etc) that they may encounter during a session.
-An administrator is responsible for maintaining all aspects of the distance learning and all aspects of the learning system such as user access rights and student registrations.
-The team leader is a person in charge of a group when students are divided into groups. The team leader may also be in charge of the whole class when the teachers/ instructors are absent.
-Students are the people who access the course content. That is, the people who are taught by teachers/ instructors.
Each of the roles has a set of responsibilities and privileges. For example, in some literatures, the teacher has control over the microphone and the whiteboard facilities. Having access to the microphone gives the teachers the privilege to speak while the rest of the class listens.
The teacher also has the ability to grant participants access to these facilities. A role policy is used to assign roles to participants. The implementation of the role policy differs and is subject to the designer’s preference.
Some authors allowed students to switch between roles, giving them different privileges. This is particularly useful during break away sessions, where different students can take up the team leader role.
2.3.2 Collaborative Architecture
Another approach to virtual classroom architectures is based on the notion of collaboration.
Collaboration is at the forefront of a variety of classroom techniques that are currently being advocated. Collaboration is based on the notion that students master certain subjects better when they work in groups with equal “rights“ rather than as individuals. Furthermore, group work is beneficial to problem solving.
Collaborative learning is a well-established group work method that provides a useful alternative to teacher-fronted classes. Collaborative learning has other benefits in the context of teaching and learning, including developing the students’ social interaction skills, communication skills and much more due to its “all participants are equal” policy.
Traditional classrooms foster group work for certain activities and as a result virtual classroom applications need to adhere to this requirement. Commonly found in virtual classroom course delivery sessions is what is known as “break-away” teams. During a session, a facilitator may group certain participants together to form smaller groups. These groups are given a subject to discuss or a problem to solve and after the allocated time has elapsed, the assigned team leader reports back to the larger class. These “break-away” teams resemble traditional classroom setting where a teacher divides the students into groups to work through a certain problem.
This architecture does not define any roles and all participants are considered equal. Thiskind of virtual classroom architecture will be better suited for business meetings or business brainstorming sessions where all parties are given the same privileges.
2.4.Building Blocks of Virtual Classrooms
Recent trends in technology points towards the integration of services into single devices. Just over two decades ago one had a television set, a video recorder and a hi-fi system for entertainment (video and audio) but today, a single computer will suffice. Printers now do more than just print papers, but perform other functions like scanning, photocopying and emailing. It is clear that people want single devices that do more for them than having multiple devices performing different but related functionalities. Cellular phones are the winners in this regard. These communication tools provide support for both collaborative and individualized communication. The following subsections discuss the different building blocks of virtual classrooms.
2.4.1 Whiteboard
A whiteboard is mostly seen as the main feature of a virtual classroom and sometimes referred to as the “chalkboard with an electronic edge”. The idea behind it is to mimic traditional blackboard functionality as best as possible. The physical board is represented by a white rectangular drawing space. The chalk is replaced by either the mouse or an external electronic writing pen. These whiteboards are equipped with tools that allow users to draw shapes (triangles, rectangles, circles, etc), text and free hand drawing. Whiteboards are further equipped with colour selection menus and a variety of text editing tools. Some virtual classroom implementations have support for power-point presentations to accommodate modern presentation styles. Slides are viewed by all participants yet controlled by the facilitator of the session. A means to broadcast the content of the shared whiteboard to all participants poses a challenge for virtual classroom designers.
WiZiQ [6] recently implemented a screen sharing feature. This feature uses a screen sharing codec' that transmits the presenter’s screen as a series of images at a specific frame rate to the server, which in turn transmits these images to all attendees' screens [8]. The screen sharing feature has been optimised for users with 500Kbps data transfer rate, these are too slow to support what WiZiQ offers.
2.4.2 Audio and Video Communication
Video communication is known to be one of the major bandwidth consumers in virtual classroom applications. Bad implementations result in heavy delays which lead to a low user Quality of Experience (QoE). Advances in High Definition (HD) video over the Internet brought advances in both visual quality and narrowing of Round trip latency for realistic dialog. Video quality and clarity allows students to better engage with the instructor and maintain student attention during a session.
Audio quality is vital to student’s clear understanding of the offered content– it might be the worst distraction of a session and needs to be the one aspect that is well maintained (difference in quality is user equipment dependent). A truly interactive communication requires timely and high-resolution video and audio transmission over a network, with end- to- end latency below 100 ms. even when captured and transmitted independently, the video and audio must be kept synchronized and thus both transmitted with the lowest latency. A broadband connection is required in most cases to achieve this.
Yang et.al [9] proposed the use of text to speech technology to reduce the bandwidth requirements of virtual classroom applications. Textual files are generally smaller and can be transmitted quickly when compared to video and audio files. The added advantage of their system is that the user does not have to read all the time but could listen to what was being said while concentrating on the whiteboard presentation. The disadvantage, however, of the system was that the synthesizing quality of the engine was not very good, resulting in bad audio quality. Bad audio quality is known to lead to low user QoE of the virtual classroom application.
2.4.3 Instant Messaging
Instant Messaging (IM) is a form of real-time communication between two or more people based on typed text messages. It requires the least bandwidth when compared to other virtual classroom communication tools such as video and audio calls, and can be the fastest means of communication during a session when there is limited bandwidth. IM has proved to be a very useful communication tool in a virtual classroom setup.
A major advantage of IM is that it complements visual communication for the audibly impaired members of a session and helps those who cannot support video and audio to actively engage in a session. IM is synonymous to students passing small notes around to one another during a group session. These messages can either be public whereby all members of the session are permitted to read it or private where only a limited set of persons are allowed to read it.
2.4.4 Feedback Mechanisms and Interactions
A virtual classroom requires a means for the facilitator to ask questions and get feedback from the students attending the class when used for teaching. With certain implementation, the facilitator is the only one who controls the microphone, hence giving access to individual students one after the other which may prove time consuming and very ineffective. As a result, virtual classrooms are equipped with polling mechanisms, that allow a facilitator to ask general questions and all participants can answer simultaneously by selecting an answer of their choice. The results are visible to the teacher.
2.4.5 Resource Sharing
Resource sharing refers to the distribution of course content prior to, during and after a virtual classroom session. Students are given access to course related material such as presentations slides, worksheets, assignments and past virtual classroom sessions.
2.5. IMS Features that Enable Support for Virtual Classrooms
As discussed in the previous section, virtual classroom applications combine several services into one application. These services include voice calling, video calling and instant messaging. Each of these services comes with its own set of Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. Some commercial implementations of virtual classroom applications are offered over the open Internet. The Internet is a best effort network, meaning communication is unreliable and can often be intermittent. This is not ideal for conference calls (business or teaching) and can be extremely annoying to the end user. Furthermore, security cannot be guaranteed over an unmanaged platform. It is possible to offer reliable and secure IP based services by using managed service delivery platforms. Virtual classroom applications need to run over highly managed Service Delivery Platforms (SDPs) which provide QoS guarantees.
The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is an architectural framework which provides the necessary control functionality required to run managed SDPs over Next Generation Networks (NGNs). This network shifts the focus of network providers from access provisioning to service provision. IMS allows for the horizontal integration of applications, which are being developed and deployed at an alarmingly rapid rate. However, its wide acceptance relies heavily on how best network providers differentiate their services from existing services over other non-IMS networks. This service differentiation can be done by increasing security, greater service integration and improved reliability through QoS provisioning. Virtual classroom applications are a means to integrate existing services such as voice, video and text communication. The IMS offers service integration support, required by virtual classroom applications, through Session Initiation Protocol (SIP’s) ability to offer simultaneous communication modes (voice, video, IM). The simplicity of the IMS with regard to session setup and termination together with its architecture, which separates the core entities from the application layer, allows for easy incorporation of new applications into the network. This will allow ISP’s to easily integrate a virtual classroom application into their network. Users have full access to all applications, including Voice over IP (VoIP), Video on Demand (VoD), Presence, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and many more that are deployed in the application layer. These existing services can be harnessed to provide a more comprehensive virtual classroom experience. For example, recorded virtual classroom sessions could be offered as VoD, leading to another source of income for ISPs. Furthermore, the IMS is access network; independent of hence can be used over a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), UMTS, WLAN and Broadband connections. Users do not need to have multiple accounts to access the various applications. Therefore, IMS flexibility enables virtual classrooms to be offered over any access network technology, fixed, mobile, wired or wireless.
2.3 Studies on Use of Instructional Video in Language Teaching and Learning
The review of literature conducted on the use of videos in second/foreign language teaching indicates that video use for instructional purposes together with televised curricula boomed in the late 1970s. But there was also a noticeable decline of published media-based material in the 1980s, with a subsequent resurgence in the 1990s due to the reintroduction of videos for instructional purposes across all skills in integrated skills instruction.
Researchers have reported myriad positive effects associated with the use of video in courses which support its value as a teaching tool. In general these include enhanced learning (Warren, 1991) and increased understanding of material presented (Hales & Shaw, 1995). Students find videos to be enjoyable (Levin, 1998), which may be linked to increased student responsiveness to instruction found when videos are utilized (Marx & Frost, 1998).
The effectiveness of communication and instruction can vary with the richness of the communication medium chosen. The mediums that offer the greatest number and variety of verbal and non-verbal cues are considered “richer” and more likely to have impact upon the receiver. Video offers a display range of verbal and non-verbal behaviors which may make the material more meaningful to students (Swan, 1997), and seems to result in increased levels of affective arousal (Marx & Frost, 1998).
Mark Shrosbree (2008) in his paper outlines the practical aspects of choosing hardware, the basics of using video editing software and a range of methodological applications for the language classroom.
Anastassia McNulty (2010) highlights the role of video in the process of improving student pronunciation and presentation skills. The authors described a week-long classroom video-based project conducted at a Midwestern High School. The most prominent observations of this project were that the video-based ESL activities contributed to the overall learning motivation and the enhancement of pronunciation skills. Finally, the authors discuss some potential issues and instructional implications of utilizing video technology in K-12 settings.
In the same vein Wagener’s (2006) study highlighted the importance of available digital video resources for language learners. One of the main research variables in this study was associated with the student accomplishment in listening and translating skills, as well as vocabulary acquisition. This research showed the positive implications of using video technology in the language classroom. Instructional video materials significantly contributed to the development of all the three observed aspects: listening, translating skills, and student’s vocabulary. Although the study findings confirmed the benefits of digital video, the authors expressed serious concerns that this approach has not been fully explored and utilized in the learning process.
Another study conducted by White et al. (2000) recognized the multiple instructional advantages of video in comparison to printed materials, such as rich visual support, audio component, enhanced contextualization, and better control over the medium (slow motion play or possibility to record student voice). However, the authors also noticed that little research has been conducted to validate these commonly embraced values of video technology.
Nicolas Gromik (2008) describes his experiences of designing and teaching his Multimedia English course, in which he asks his Japanese university students to use authentic audiovisual resources to become producers of knowledge in the foreign- language classroom. Windows Movie Maker has played a crucial role in the success of this course.
John Bassili (2006) conducted a study of college freshmen in a psychology course in order to determine whether they preferred face-to-face or streamed-video lecture delivery as a learning aid. He found that a majority of the students preferred the online video lectures. These findings imply that videotaped content, far from being a less effective vehicle for instruction, might actually increase learner motivation and interest in course material.
Herron, Cole, and Corrie (2000) offer evidence that showing videos in the classroom allows instructors to expose language learners to authentic cultural information.
Hanson-Smith (2004) describes the pedagogical benefits of using online videos as in-class learning resources. In addition, she lauds the fact that the Internet is increasing access to professional audio-visual resources that are free, authentic, and suitable for language learning development.
Katchen, Morris, and Savova (2005) have explored the possibility of using video production to engage language learners, asking students to produce vocabulary-focused videos. They contend that the benefit of their approach is twofold. First, it allows students to produce videos using grammatical forms and lexical items that are relevant to them, increasing the chance that these forms and terms will be retained. Second, it facilitates the creation of learning resources for future students.
Sharp (2005) describes a class video project suitable for middle school students. Based on his research, Sharp advises starting out with simple, group-based projects when implementing video production in the middle school classroom. This advice can easily be extrapolated to the college-level classroom.
Tom A. F. Anderson (2008) compared different factors that contribute to the possible success of lessons that use video games as their core material. A deeper impression of the feasibility of using in-game dialogue for language learning was. Assessment of listening comprehension was conducted in pre- and post-tests. The study shows that students can learn English through a course that uses computer games and gives directions for further research.
Abidin M. et al. (2011) investigated whether learners exposed to songs using YouTube would experience a change in vocabulary competence compared to those exposed to the traditional teacher-fronted approach. Participants were divided into two equal groups of experimental and control. Data was gathered through a vocabulary pretest and posttest, on-going observations, and journal entries. Results revealed that the experimental group experienced a significant improvement in their vocabulary competence compared to the control group.
Beverly A. H. and Khushwant K. S. (2000) discuss the use of video clips as a teaching tool in interpersonal behavior and/or communication classes. Four different areas are discussed within which video clips are utilized.
Samir M. Rammal (2005) in his research project provides teachers of English as Foreign Language (EFL) with insights into developing material and teaching methods that can be incorporated and thus practically implemented in their classrooms. Emphasis is on approaching the identity and culture of the native speakers of English through diverse authentic teaching materials.
Yongyuth Intajuck (2005) in his study present brief background of the video, its types, its benefits, and some of the methodological alternatives of using it in the language classroom settings.
Mekheimer M. G. (2011) measures improvement gains in aural/oral, reading and writing skills using data from an experiment that was conducted over a period of one academic year. Following an intensive, concentrated exposure to authentic video material accompanying a language skills development remedial programme and extensive videos of some selected dramatized famous literary works, students in an experimental group (n=33) demonstrated statistically significant gains scores over their peers in the control group (n=31) across all skills. This study demonstrated that authentic video, inducing satisfactory viewing comprehension as well as presented in an integrated language skills instruction, is a valuable approach to whole language teaching.
Sebastian Altenhoff (2009) provides both a theoretical (part I) and a practical investigation (part II) of the integration of video in the language classroom. In order to create a framework for analysis, he first of all give a short overview of the didactic benefits of integrating authentic video in the language classroom in general.This survey is followed by a short description of the basic ideas of YouTube such as free accessibility. The practical part (part II) aims to put theory into practice. He describes and analyse a lesson that was originally planned for and executed in several tutorials for first semester EFL students. Although YouTube was part of a language course at university, this lesson could as well be adapted for the Oberstufe and is hence an appropriate example within the context of this topic. In the lesson the sketch served as an introduction to the topic Phonetics & Phonology.
Jing-Mei Chung (1996) in his article explored two video instructional strategies, advance organizers and captions in the target language, to make the viewing experience profitable. After reviewing the relative effectiveness of various types of advance organizer and the advantages and disadvantages of using captioned video materials, a set of classroom procedures that combines advance organizers and captions to teach English as a foreign language is proposed.
In this vein, Herron and Seay (1991) provided evidence that support the feasibility of video-based, strategy-driven instruction in listening comprehension; in their research, the experimental group performed significantly better on the final tests of listening comprehension with both the video and the audio than did the control group in which no strategy training occurred. Herron, et al. (1995) explain this, noting that …
“Video is lauded for contextualizing language (i.e., linking language form to meaning) and depicting the foreign culture more effectively than other instructional materials. Videotapes permit students to hear native speakers interacting in everyday conversational situations and to practice important linguistic structures. Unlike audiocassettes, video's visual dimension is thought to reduce ambiguities present in native speaker voices and to motivate students to want to learn the foreign language.” (Herron, et al., 1995, p. 775).
Eka Katsiashvili (2010) describes a mini experiment and its results with new methods and activities, which are made by the video player. These activities show that video is an effective teaching aid and teachers should use it in foreign language lessons.
Mark Griffiths (2002) briefly overviews some of the educational benefits of video game playing. He mentions despite the disadvantages, it would appear that videogames (in the right context) may be a facilitatory educational aid.
In this respect, Terrell (1993) explains the applicability of videos for integrated language learning by giving the example of listening comprehension. He said that listening comprehension training with [authentic] video materials for intermediate students gives them experiences that cannot be duplicated in traditional classrooms limited to instructor/student interaction.
Chung & Huang (1998) said that as more complete video instructional packages are made available to foreign language teachers, they search for ways to make students' learning experience more active and interesting, similar to those that occur in the real world.
Research on the usefulness of videos in developing particular language skills, especially listening comprehension, has been on the increase. Most of these studies focused on the effectiveness of videos in increasing listening comprehension. (Weyers, 1999; Stempleski, 1987; Stempleski & Tomalin, 1990).
A comprehensive literature analysis concerning integration of video technology in second language learning supports the notion that slow, but interesting, evolutionary approaches in using video is evolving in classroom practice.
2.4 Studies on PowerPoint as an Instructional Aid
The use of PowerPoint in the classroom appears to be embraced enthusiastically by faculty and administrators at institutions nationwide. Many classrooms are being equipped with computers and costly projection devices to support presentation graphics as well as other visual presentation media. Faculty members are contributing countless hours in the preparation of slide show presentations to accompany lecture material, necessitating large electronic files that create increasing electronic storage capacity needs. Textbook companies are contracting with individuals to construct textbook- specific slide shows in an effort to increase the marketability of their textbooks. Among the studies of power point that exist to date, the majority emphasize that power point increase the interest level of the classroom experience.
Colleges and universities are embracing the use of presentation graphics (e.g., PowerPoint) in the classroom. Studies have consistently indicated that students generally believed that the use of PowerPoint facilitated their learning (Apperson, Laws, & Scepansky, 2006, Beets & Lobingier, 2001, Rankin & Hoaas, 2001)
Matthew (2007) in his study on power point highlights three different methods for using PowerPoint in a university classroom setting. The first method involves student construction of picture stories, the second describes making travel plans, and the third demonstrates guidelines for outside class group work on simple research projects, such as surveys of fellow students’ opinions. Finally, the authors give examples of peer and instructor assessment forms and offer possible future directions for research and implementation of PowerPoint projects in second language classrooms.
Allan M Jones (2003) reviews the advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of power point in a teaching and learning context and suggests some guidelines and pedagogical strategies that need to be considered where it is to be used. It summarizes some of the key principles of presentation that are frequently ignored and suggests some of the approaches that need to be incorporated into good practice in Life Science teaching and learning. Its use is often limited to an information transmission mode and this paper emphasizes that this is a very restricted pedagogical use of a very powerful and flexible teaching and learning support tool.
James Katt et al. (2007) examine the effect of providing text visuals, limiting the number of lines per slide, and the manner of displaying the lines, on retention. The results support the use of text visuals, but do not support the popularly recommended guidelines for number of lines and method of display, and suggest additional research is needed.
Schrodt and Witt (2006) examined the effects of classroom technology use, including PowerPoint, on perceptions of teacher credibility and found teachers who augmented their face-to-face presentations with technology were generally perceived as being more credible than those who did not employ technology. In this study, however, students’ attitudes were based on the instructors’ descriptions of pedagogical devices that would be employed in the class, thus the presence of technology use, not the quality of technology use was considered.
Cyphert (2007) points out that users of technology such as PowerPoint can be achieved an “electronic eloquence” (p. 171) by considering applications that go beyond merely using PowerPoint as a visual accompaniment to an oral presentation, suggesting a line of research that explores PowerPoint as a medium for visual rhetoric.
Stoner (2007) analyzing the effectiveness of PowerPoint slides suggests exploring PowerPoint from a new perspective, that of an inscriptional system. While studying these new approaches has merit, these lines of research do not address the fact PowerPoint will undoubtedly continue to be used as a presentational aid and that the best practices for that application remain primarily informed by speculation.
Koorosh Jafarian et al. (2012) investigated the effect of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) on EFL students’ writing achievement. Forty students in a high school in Iran were selected and divided into experimental and control groups (20 and 20 respectively). An independent sample t-test was run to find if there were any significant differences between the results of the experimental and control groups in the writing test. CALL users’ achievement in EFL were significantly higher than nonusers (df = 38, p≤.05). This significant difference between the two groups favoring CALL users was an indication of the effect of CALL on improving students’ knowledge and competency in EFL.
Studies have demonstrated that students prefer PowerPoint and respond favorably to classes when it is used. Few studies have addressed the physical structure of PowerPoint. In the study of Jennifer M. Apperson et al (2006), students enrolled in several psychology classes on two campuses completed a 36 item questionnaire regarding their preferences for the use of PowerPoint in the classroom. Students preferred the use of key phrase outlines, pictures and graphs, slides to be built line by line, sounds from popular media or that support the pictures or graphics on the slide, color backgrounds, and to have the lights dimmed. It is recommended that professors pay attention to the physical aspects of PowerPoint slides and handouts to further enhance students ‘educational experience.
Hossein Nouri and Abdus Shahid (2005) test whether using PowerPoint in an accounting course enhances student short-term memory, long-term memory, and attitudes toward class presentation and the instructor. They conducted an experiment, which includes a treatment-control design, in a classroom setting throughout a semester. In one section of an accounting principles II (Managerial Accounting) course, PowerPoint was used as the delivery system, while the second section was taught using a traditional delivery system. The results show that PowerPoint presentation improves student attitudes toward the instructor and class presentation. The results do not provide conclusive evidence that PowerPoint presentations improve short-term or long-term memory. The latter results are consistent with other media comparison studies that show the medium alone does not influence learning.
Yen-Shou Lai1 et al. (2011) introduces a learning environment integrating annotations with a dual-slide PowerPoint presentation for classroom learning. Annotation means a kind of additional information to emphasize the explanations for the learning objects. The use of annotations is to support the cognitive process for PowerPoint presentation in a classroom. In this study, an exploratory method was conducted with 170 sophomore and junior students ranging in age between 18 and 21 years. Survey results indicated that the proposed system based on cognitive theory can effectively help students in the experimental group to have better learning efficacy for lectures with dual-slide PowerPoint presentation than that of the conventional group.
In a study by Szabo and Hastings (2000), 155 students were administered a 10-item questionnaire to measure how they felt about the use of presentation graphics (compared to a traditional lecture format) in the classroom. Ninety percent of the respondents believed that presentation graphics were more attention capturing than traditional lectures and 85% said that it was more interesting.
In another study (Mantei, 2000), students were exposed to either traditional lectures with overheads or to lectures supplemented with presentation graphics where notes were posted to the Internet. The students in the presentation graphics condition reported that they found the presentation graphics format more interesting and enjoyable, and that when notes were posted on the Internet, it enhanced their learning.
Similarly, Atkins-Sayre et al. (1998) reported that 73% of the 485 students they surveyed found that presentation graphics helped them maintain an interest in the lecture. If students report that they find presentation graphics to be more interesting and attention capturing, it is reasonable that they also may find the course instructor to be more engaging and more competent. In fact, Atkins-Sayre et al. (1998) found that students believed presentation graphics enhanced an instructor’s delivery, and more importantly, their credibility. Atkins-Sayre et al.(1998) also found that students who were taught with the aid of presentation graphics believed that they were better able to learn or retain the material from class.
Beets & Lobingier (2001) examine the benefits and perceived benefits of use of presentation graphics (i.e., PowerPoint) in the classroom. In addition to assessing student’s perceptions and attitudes regarding use of PowerPoint in the classroom, they also examined the direct benefits of the use of PowerPoint by analyzing final course grades. They predicted that PowerPoint would make the courses more entertaining and interesting, hopefully leading to better grades.
A recent study published examined the impact of the use of PowerPoint on students’ experience in the classroom (Apperson et al., 2006). This study indicated that although there were no differences in grades as a result of the use of PowerPoint in the classroom; there were differences in the students’ responses to the classroom experience. Students in the PowerPoint condition believed the class was more organized, clear and interesting.
Nguyen Thi Quynh Anh (2011) examined student attitudes towards PowerPoint presentations in the English lectures in the context of second language learning classroom. The results showed that students preferred PowerPoint presentations over traditional methods of lecture delivery and had positive attitudes towards PowerPoint presentations and lecturers as PowerPoint presenters.
Archana Sharma (2012) discusses one of the latest technical equipment, the Interactive Whiteboard (hereafter IWB), which is speedily being adopted in schools and institutions. It also looks at some possible advantages and disadvantages of using IWB.