Research questions

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON K-12 TEACHERS' USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MULTIMEDIA IN THE CLASSROOM

INTRODUCTION

Teachers

positively support their curricular goals and enhance

classroom instruction (Smerdon, B., Cronen, S., Lanahan, L.,

Anderson, J., Lannotti, N., & Angeles, J. (2000); Gray,

Thomas & Lewis, 2010). There are multiple technology tools st

in the 21 century available for teachers to integrate in their

classroom for these purposes; however, there are

challenges. These tools change rapidly so it becomes

inherent for schools to have current technology and

teachers that are sufficiently prepared to use these

technology tools (Hinostroza, 2011). Often teachers do not

understand terminology necessary to communicate when

using these tools. Two terms educators commonly use

interchangeably are technology and multimedia. The term

“technology” denotes the hardware that is used in the

classroom and the term “multimedia”conveys software

applications combining digital media types, such as text,

images, sound, and video, which are the definitions used in

this study. Furthermore, it is difficult to establish a skill and

integrate technology in their classroom to

By

knowledge level necessary for educators.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)

developed five standards in evaluating the necessary skills

and knowledge of educators. These five standards are to:

1) Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity; 2)

Design and develop digital age learning experiences and

assessments; 3) Model digital age work and learning; 4)

Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility;

and 5) Engage in professional growth and leadership (ISTE,

2008).

For the purposes of this study, the ISTE Standard 2: Design

and develop digital age learning experiences and

assessments and ISTE Standard 3: Model digital age work

and learning, were the primary focus. More specifically, two

indicators from standard 2 were examined: a) Design or

adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate

digital tools and resources to promote student learning and

creativity and b) Develop technology-enriched learning

environments that enable all students to pursue their

individual curiosities and become active participants in

* Associate Professor, Instructional Systems Technology, University of North Carolina Charlotte, USA. ** Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership, University of North Carolina Wilmington, USA.

ABSTRACT

st 21 century has seen new technology and multimedia made available for integration in K-12 classrooms. This exploratory

study examines K-12 teachers' use of technology and multimedia in the classroom in two southern counties in the

Southeastern United States. The purpose of the study was to answer the following five research questions: 1) What

technology do teachers use in the classroom; 2) How often do teachers use technology/multimedia in the classroom; 3)

How do teachers integrate technology/multimedia in their lessons; 4) What are some of the tools teachers use to create

multimedia; and 5) Where do teachers learn to use to create multimedia? The study utilized a survey method to

determine the types of multimedia technologies teachers routinely integrated in the classroom. Research data from

701 practicing K-12 teachers is reported in this study. Desktop computers, Laptops and Smartboards were the top three

technologies that were being used in the classroom. Powerpoint was still the most popular tool for creating multimedia

followed by Youtube, which was used by about half of the respondents in this study. This study has implications for

teachers, teacher educators and school administrators who make decisions on technology integration in the

classroom.

Keywords: Technology Integration, K-12 Multimedia, K-12 Technology.

FLORENCE MARTIN *

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MARSHA L. CARR **

7li-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology Vol. No. 1 2015l, 12 April - June

setting their own Educational goals, managing their own

learning, and assessing their own progress. One indicator

from standard 3 was also examined: a) Demonstrate

fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current

knowledge to new technologies and situations. The term

“ d i g i t a l t o o l s ” , “ t e c h n o l o g y- e n r i c h e d l e a r n i n g

environments” and “technology systems” in ISTE standard 2

and 3 refers to the terms, technology and multimedia, that

are explored in this study.

Technology Access and Use

In this paper, the term technology specifically refers to the

“hardware” that the teachers use. Technology (hardware)

can have a positive impact on teaching and learning,

hence it is important for current teachers to learn to

effectively integrate technology in the classroom

(Smerdon, B., Cronen, S., Lanahan, L., Anderson, J.,

Lannotti, N., & Angeles, J. (2000); Gray, Thomas & Lewis,

2010). It is equally important that, the technologies are

made available for the teachers to use in the classroom

(Hinostroza, 2011). Howley, Wood and Hough (2011) found

that attitudes, teachers' preparation for using technology,

and the availability of technology had significant positive

associations with technology integration.

Schools are assessed by their Digital Divide. Hohlfeld,

Ritzhaupt, Barron, and Kemker (2008) define three levels of

Digital Divide in schools. The first level focused on school

infrastructure (hardware, software and internet access

support for technology), the second level focused on the

classroom (use of technology by teachers and students)

and the third level focused on the individual student

(empowerment of students) which are major causes for the

lack of the use of technology. In this study, the focus is on

the second level, the technology that is being used in the

classroom.

Multimedia Types and Integration

The term multimedia defines applications that include text,

images, audio and video. Neo and Neo (2001) define

“multimedia” as “The combination of various digital media

types, such as text, images, sound, and video, into an

integrated multisensor y interactive application or

presentation to convey a message or information to an

audience” (p.1).

With teachers using technology in the classroom, there is

room to integrate multimedia into the lessons. There are

several benefits to integrating multimedia into the lessons.

Some of the benefits include ease of use, immersive

experience, ability to reach a wide audience, update

content easily, self-pace (Martin, Hoskins, Brooks, & Bennett,

2013). Lindstrom (1994) found that, people remember 20%

of what they see, 40% of what they see and hear, but about

75% of what they see and hear and do simultaneously. This

emphasizes the need for and use of multimedia in the

classroom. Ng and Komiya (2000) found multimedia to

elicit the highest rate of information retention, which result in

shorter learning time.

Teachers integrate multimedia in a variety of ways. Some of

the common ways in which teachers integrate multimedia

are to introduce a topic, to demonstrate a concept, to

enhance the lesson and to practice an exercise. Several

teachers use free off the shelf multimedia products in their

classroom. With the ease in multimedia creation these

days, teachers have been creating multimedia products

themselves. Some of the tools that are available today to

create multimedia are PowerPoint, Vimeo, Youtube,

Camtasia, Animoto, Prezi and xtranormal as indicated in

Figure 1.

Purpose of the Study

It is important to identify the available technology tools in

the classroom setting that are available to teachers for

instruction as much as it is to identify how teachers use

multimedia. This study investigated the technology and

multimedia that teachers routinely have in their classroom

and how they are using it.

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Figure 1. Technology and Multimedia in the K-12 classroom

8 i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology l l, Vol. 12 No. 1 April - June 2015

Research Questions

A quantitative method

used to answer the following questions in this study: 1) What

technology do teachers use in the classroom; 2) How often

do teachers use technology/multimedia in the classroom;

3) How do teachers integrate technology/multimedia in

their lessons; 4) What are some of the tools teachers use to

create multimedia; and 5)Where do teachers learn to use

and to create multimedia?

Method

This particular study utilized a Survey Method to determine

the types of multimedia technologies teachers routinely

integrated in the classroom. Using a cross-sectional

research method provided an opportunity to study a small

group that was representational of a larger population of

grade K-12 public school educators in southeastern US. This

study used a purposive sample, appropriate to use when

collecting data from a large population in a county such as

the targeted group of this study (University of California at

Davis, n.d.). This type of sampling examined teachers at the

K-12 school level. This data was broken down into grade

levels.

An online survey instrument (Survey Monkey) was used to

gather data on the type and use of multimedia in the

classroom. By studying a representative sample using a

survey method, there is an opportunity to discover

relationships that are common among groups. The survey

instrument was created by the researchers and comprised

of questions that aligned with the six study questions. At

least one or more of the questions focused on each of the

five research questions and some survey items covered

more than one of the questions.

Instrument

The survey instrument had a total of 18 questions. The first

seven were demographic questions that profiled each

teacher. The remaining 11 questions were inquiry-based

referencing the research questions. The survey included

open-ended questions, close-ended questions and

multiple-choice questions. Open-ended questions were

designed to prompt the respondent to provide answers

that consisted of more than just one or two words. This

technique allowed participants to be specific on the type

was chosen and survey approach

and purpose of multimedia being used in the classroom.

Close-ended questions were included to elicit a yes or no

response. This helped identify if teachers are using

multimedia in the classroom. Finally, multiple-choice

questions were used to collect quantitative data. This was

useful in narrowing the information down to make sure the

data collected is specific and aligns with the objective

being studied.

The survey was developed and then administered

electronically. Participants were informed that their

participation was voluntary, and that the survey was

anonymous. The survey was available for a two-week

period to all teachers in a two County radius of the regional

University.

County Description

The study focused on two Counties located in the

Southeastern section of the United States. Both counties

were chosen because of their enrollment size, typography st

(rural and urban), and the implementation of 21 century

skills. The intent was to capture a perspective st

representation of 21 century schools, in both urban and

rural settings as well as small and large enrollments.

County School District A (CA) serves 33 schools with over

10,000 students. Of these schools, two are PreK centers, 26

elementary schools, nine middle, and seven high schools.

Due to the size of the district, some of the schools operate

on a year round calendar, but most of the schools follow a

traditional school term schedule. The district promotes the st

implementation of 21 century skills in classrooms. This

district is predominantly urban.

County School District B (CB) district serves 19 schools and

approximately 7,000 students. The technology plan for the

district states, “It is the vision to promote excellence in

teaching and learning by empowering students and

teachers with the technology tools necessary for improved

performance and accountability.” This district is

predominantly rural.

Participants

The survey was sent to teachers teaching at Elementary,

Middle and High Schools in both the School districts. Of the

surveys sent, 701 teachers completed the survey. Of the

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9li-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology Vol. No. 1 2015l, 12 April - June

participating teachers, 13% were male (n=92) and 87%

were female (n=609). As shown in Table 1, about half of

the teachers who participated in the survey taught at an

Elementary School. Of the teachers who chose “other”,

5.5% taught in ESL, Special Education, Gifted,

Counseling,or Pre-K classrooms.

Table 2 showcases the content or subject level each

teacher taught who participated in the study. From Table 2,

it is apparent that 40% of the teachers who responded to

the survey taught all subjects at the elementary school

level, and 18.4% taught language arts, 16.1% taught

Mathematics, 11.8% taught Social studies, and 10.9%

taught Science. Of the 'other' option, 64 teachers taught in

the subject areas of Engineering, Professional

development, guidance lessons, ESL, Media, Theatre, AIG,

Marine Science and oceanography, Library Skills, Online

learning, Orchestra, Reading, Psychology, Printing

graphics, Driver Education, Career Technical Education,

Speech and language pathology, Dance and

Construction.

About half of the teachers had between 8 and 20 years of

experience as shown in Table 3. There were 21% of

teachers with more than 20 years of experience. Very few

teachers had less than 2 years of experience.

To understand the teachers demographic better, a

question was asked about their technology expertise and

this is represented in Table 4. Half of the teachers

responded that they were confident on their own on using

technology and about 36% of the teachers responded

that they were capable of teaching others as shown in

Table 4.

Responses for Research Questions

Data from the 11 remaining questions focused on the

research questions and each research question is

answered in this section.

1) What technology do teachers use in the classroom?

Table 5 provides an overview of the types of technologies

that teachers either have access or use in the classroom.

Desktop computers were rated the highest (97.6%)

followed by laptops (45.5%) and Smartboards (40.1%).

“Other” option was selected by 182 of the teachers. They

listed technology that was not provided on the list. Some of

the items that were listed were, Activeboard (n=10), data

projector (n=17), document camera (n=48), flip camera

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Grade Level Response Percentage

K-5 51.2%

6-8 19.4%

9-12 25.9%

Other 5.5%

Table 1. Grade Levels that the teachers taught

Subject areas Response Percentage

Elementary Education (all subjects combined) 39.6%

Mathematics 16.1%

Science 10.9%

Social Studies 11.8%

Language Arts 18.4%

Second Languages 2%

Fine Arts 2.7%

Physical Education 4.8%

Health 3.6%

Vocational Education 5.1%

Computers 3.4%

Special Education 11.9%

Music 2.9%

Table 2. Subject areas that the teachers taught

What are your years of experience in teaching? Response Percentage

2 or less 7.3%

3 to 7 25.3%

8 to 20 46.2%

More than 20 21.2%

Table 3. Years of Classroom Experience

What is your technology expertise? Response Percent

Not yet 0.1%

Beginner with support 10.9%

Confident on my own 52.5%

Capable of teaching others 36.5%

Table 4. Teacher technology expertise

What technology do you use? Response Percent

Desktop Computers 97.6%

Laptops 45.5%

Notebooks 17.1%

Smartboard 40.1%

Mimio 20.0%

Clickers 23.3%

IPOD 4.2%

IPAD 11.4%

Other 15.4%

Table 5. Technology Teachers Use

10 i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology l l, Vol. 12 No. 1 April - June 2015

(n=5), LCD projectors (n=17), promethean (n=11),

calculator (n=4).

2) How often do teachers use technology/multimedia in

the classroom ?

Table 6 highlights the frequency of usage by teachers.

More than half of the teachers (57.5%) use technology in

the classroom every day, while 19.2% of teachers use

technology and multimedia every other day and 23.2% of

teachers use them less than 3 days/week.

3) How do teachers integrate technology/multimedia in

their lessons?

Teachers were asked to explain how they integrated

technology and multimedia in the classroom. Table 7

represents different ways in which teachers integrate

multimedia in their lessons. Most of the teachers (94.9%)

use technology to enhance a lesson, while several use

technology to introduce a topic (81.3%), to demonstrate a

concept or to practice an exercise (77.4%).

4) What are some of the tools teachers use to create

multimedia?

Table 8 highlights the tools that teachers use to create

multimedia. 93.3% of teachers rated Powerpoint as the

most common multimedia creation tools followed by

Youtube from where teachers streamed videos.

Of the participating teachers, 121 had also chosen the

“other” option and some of the tools that were listed for

multimedia creation were, ActivInspire (n=4), Discovery

Streaming (n=3), Glogster (n=7), Photostory (n=3),

Pagemaker (n=1), Smartnotebook lessons (n=20), Voki

(n=2), Voicethread (n=3), United Streaming (n=4),

Teachertube (n=3), Wallwisher (n=1), GoAnimate (n=1),

Animoto (n=1), Promothean flipcharts (n=3), MimioSlides

(n=14), Learn360 (n=2), Sliderocket (n=1), Keynote (n=1).

5) Where do teachers learn to use / to create multimedia?

An additional question asked teachers where they learned

about the multimedia they incorporated or used for

instruction in the classroom. Table 9 highlights the teacher

responses on where they learned about multimedia. Most

of the teachers learned about multimedia either from

colleagues (84%) or workshops (74.8%). Of the teachers,

43 also chose the “other” option and listed students,

graduate school, social media, conferences, blogs, trade

magazines, trial and error as opportunities where they

learned to use the tools. When asked if teachers had an

interest in learning multimedia presentations, 74.8%

(n=510) responded yes with only 25.5% (n=172) no.

Discussion

After a review of data, this study suggests teachers have an

interest in using technology and multimedia in the

classroom. The results of this study suggest that the use of

desktops/laptops in the classroom is a common tool and

PowerPoint, a common multimedia. Teachers also appear

to be willing to be trained and have sought out available

resources to improve their ability to use technology. The

next section provides a more descriptive overview of

technology and multimedia use by this group of teachers.

Technology Access and Use

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What is the frequency of technology and multimedia

usage in your classroom?

Response

Percent

Every day 57.5%

Every other day 19.2%

Less than 3 days/week 23.2%

Table 6. Frequency of Technology/Multimedia Use in the Classroom

What ways do you integrate technology and

multimedia in your lessons?

Response

Percent

To introduce a topic 81.3%

To demonstrate a concept 77.4%

To enhance the lesson 94.9%

To practice an exercise 73.3%

Table 7. Ways Teachers Integrate Technology and Multimedia in the Classroom

What multimedia creation tools do you use? Response Percent

PowerPoint 93.3%

Vimeo 3.9%

Youtube 48.8%

Camtasia 0.5%

Animoto 14.4%

Prezi 17.6%

xtranormal 5.4%

Table 8. Multimedia Creation Tools Teachers Use

Where did you learn about multimedia? Response Percent

Colleagues 84.0%

Classes or Workshops 74.8%

Web Searches 48.0%

Other 6.3%

Table 9. Teachers Multimedia Source

11li-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology Vol. No. 1 2015l, 12 April - June

The most widely used technology in the classroom was the

desktop computers. This study was consistent with the

findings from the US Dept. of Education study in 2009, which

reported that 97% of the teachers had access to desktops

in their classrooms. The second most widely used

technology was laptop. With one to one laptops being

implemented in several school districts (Lowther, Strahl,

Oblotsky, & Huang, 2008; Shapley, Sheehan, Sturges,

Caranikas-walker, Huntsberger, & Maloney, 2008), laptop is

a key technology that is used in several classrooms today.

Inan and Lowther (2010) found that, teacher readiness and

teacher beliefs strongly predicted laptop integration. The

overall support for School technology and Professional

development had strong effects on teacher beliefs and

readiness. In this study, only about half the teachers had

access to laptops in their classroom. The third most widely

used technology was the smart boards. Smart boards or

Interactive whiteboards have shown to reduce the time

teachers spent as compared to writing on traditional

boards (Ball, 2003) and was rated as a technology that

many teachers rated as they used in their classroom. The

ability of teachers to create lessons and to collaborate with

other teachers, and also capability to use a variety of

instructional strategies on the smart board were considered

some of the advantages (Türel& Johnson, 2012). Handler

(2011) found that, Smart board integration can increase

motivation, provide an opportunity for self-paced practice,

and created a high interest learning environment.

Combining the generic smartboard and mimio's about

60% of teachers in this study had either a smartboard or

mimio in their classroom.

It was surprising to find that only about half the teachers

surveyed use technology and multimedia everyday in the

classroom. Technology integration and lesson planning

takes time, and this might be the reason why some

teachers chose to only use it on selected days in a week.

Also, tablets were not used as much as expected. That was

one area that could see potential growth of use in the next

few years. More than two thirds of the teachers were using

the technology to introduce a topic, to demonstrate a

concept, to enhance the lesson, and to practice an

exercise, which were some of the effective ways of

integrating technology in the classroom.

Multimedia Use

PowerPoint was still the popular multimedia tool in the K-12

classroom. Two decades ago, Jackson (1997) described

using PowerPoint to have resulted in “very substantial

increases in student satisfaction” in comparative politics

courses. Researchers have found that, providing students

with only outline structures that require annotation or

handouts makes the class more interactive (Race, 2000).

The second mostly used multimedia application was

Youtube. The results of this study were consistent with the

Speak Up 2010 survey (Project Tomorrow, 2011), which

found teachers' classroom uses of podcasts and Internet-

based videos to have increased over 50 percent since

2008. In this study, Youtube videos were used by about half

of the teachers who participated in the study.

The teachers will require additional training and

accessibility to technology and multimedia, according to

the study results. The majority of teachers are ready to learn

and explore instructional practice. The findings from this

study were consistent with the NCESS survey that found that

teachers learn technology by professional development

activities (88 percent) and from their colleagues (87

percent) (Jones, 2001).

Implications for Practice

Educators were exploring and incorporating a variety of

technology tools in their classrooms daily to enhance their

lessons. Implications of this study extend to teachers,

school administrators and officials, boards of education,

and higher education faculty who are responsible for

teacher preparation (preservice) programs. Preservice

teachers must be trained to use the technology potentially

available to them in the classroom as well as promote

creative uses of technology to encourage innovation.

School districts must prioritize and provide building

administrators with funding sources in order to provide the

necessary technology for teacher access. Teachers should

make an effort to use technology and multimedia in their

classroom.

Limitations of this Study

Due to the time constraints and lack of financial resources,

conducting interviews from the number of individuals

needed to appropriately assess and represent the larger

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12 i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology l l, Vol. 12 No. 1 April - June 2015

teaching population was unrealistic. Although this survey

method was best suited for the study, acquiring responses

that would provide more detailed information, like specific

student examples, would have provided a deeper level of

data for analysis.

Recommendations for Future Research

Leaders in the field of education are aware that the need to

utilize technology as a teaching tool in the classroom is

necessary to prepare students for a future beyond the K-12

school setting. This insight into technology use and

accessibility is critical to all school districts. With the

requirement of utilizing and integrating technology in the

classroom and the limited amount of multimedia

resources available to teachers, further studies could

investigate other technology resources not discovered

during this study. More empirical research should be

conducted on using tools other than computers and

computer programs to determine, if alternate resources

can be just as effective. Data should be analyzed with

respect to different types of Counties (Urban and Rural) and

also at different types of School level (Elementary, Middle

and High) to provide insight specific to that sample.

Conclusion

This study examined 701 practicing K-12 teachers for the

use of technology and multimedia routinely integrated in

the classroom by concentrating on five research questions:

1) What technology do teachers use in the classroom; 2)

How often do teachers use technology/multimedia in the

classroom; 3) How do teachers integrate technology/

multimedia in their lessons; 4) What are some of the tools

teachers use to create multimedia; and 5) Where do

teachers learn to use or to create multimedia? While this

study suggests that, teachers use a variety of technology

and multimedia tools; desktop computers, laptops and

Smartboards were the top three technologies used in their

classrooms and that they used over 50% of the time for

introducing a topic during classroom instruction.

Powerpoint was still the most popular tool for creating

multimedia followed by Youtube. While there is usage of

technology and multimedia in classrooms, a push for more

integration is needed with the advent of new technologies

and multimedia currently on the horizon.

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RESEARCH PAPERS

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Florence Martin is Associate Professor in the Instructional Systems Technology program at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. She received her Doctorate and Master's in Educational Technology from Arizona State University. She researches on designing and integrating Online Learning Environments (OLE) to improve learner motivation and engagement to achieve effectiveness in learning.

Carr is Assistant Professor and former Master of School Administration coordinator at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in the Educational Leadership department. She previously served as a superintendent of schools for over a decade and received the National Milken Educator Award. She is author of several books including Self-Mentoring: The Invisible Leader. She presently serves as an international consultant in the field of self-mentoring.

14 i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology l l, Vol. 12 No. 1 April - June 2015