EFFECTIVENESS OF DIGITAL MEDIA IN

STUDY PATTERNS OF STUDENTS

Emily Liz Gilbert
School of Computer Science and Engineering
Prof. M. Thenmozhi
Assistant Professor of English
Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
ABSTRACT

The effectiveness of technology and digital media on academic learning has

been widely discussed over the years. We have come to embrace digital
learning by inculcating in course curriculums. It has gained popularity by
offering various benefits such as greater flexibility and better access to
different types of resources. Digital learning can constructively engage
students struggling with traditional educational methods. The main aim of this
study was to understand how effective digital tools are in academics. The study
was conducted with the help of undergraduate students of VIT during the
winter semester of 2022-23. It can be expanded to include students of other
colleges as well. The study sample consists of 25 students living in hostels. This
paper presents the results of the conducted study, done with the help of a
questionnaire. Results show that majority of students find media sources
helpful in educational prep. Thus, including such interactive options in study
programmes can be beneficial.

Keywords: digital media, education, technology, study

INTRODUCTION

The educational system continues to face changes throughout the years,

especially in how knowledge is imparted. With the onset of COVID-19 and the
steady rise of online classroom learning, technology has played a large hand in
shaping education. Many scholars, teachers and students have come across
innovative technological ideas to implement this. Augmented reality and
animatronics have become popular amongst students. Visuals have always
helped cementing ideas in our mind as they help open up different
perspectives.

Technology has helped students understand concepts better with the arrival of
smart rooms. Digital learning expands their horizons and allows them to
explore subjects beyond the standard curriculum. It also gives them better
resources to equip themselves. Digital learning extends to people of all ages
who would like to further their education, start off from where they left off or
even just begin from scratch. In such a way, it can be considered as a boon for
many.

LITERATURE REVIEW

A study by (Hsin, 2014) points out that technology has had a positive effect on
children’s performance across developmental domains. It made them more
collaborative and increased interaction with their peers.

It has also been noted that digital media has a very strong influence in shaping
the educational landscape. Plenty of universities have adopted methods like
supplying students with tablets and computers, as well as enhancing internet
connectivity. For engineering students, new innovations and developments are
better understood with the help of augmented reality. This allows them to get
a better grasp of cutting-edge technology and stay one step ahead. (Johnson,
2016).

Though there are positives, researchers argue that the possibilities of

integrating and implementing these ideas may be overhyped. Each new
technology undergoes a period of time before it loses traction and gives way to
a newer innovation. This leaves students bereft of consistency. (Holmes, 2019)

A paper by (Chen,2020) lists out the various purposes artificial intelligence has
become beneficial for, including grading papers more efficiently and
effectively. Higher standards of quality in education can also be seen with the
usage of multimedia in classrooms.
Keeping recent times in mind, it has also been noted that there is a steady rise
in moral and ethical concerns on exposing young students to technology even
in the education sector. (M.Bakator, 2020)

(Clark, 1983) concluded from his research that though media can deliver
instruction, it does not influence the learning process. He believed that it could
only serve as a means to provide information and not change the way one
stores information.

(Kozma, 1994) underlines the fact that considering the capabilities of

multimedia, it can interact with cognitive and social processes by which
knowledge is gained.

(Bejinaru,2019) states that with the advent of digitalization of education, there

has been a steady rise in sharing online knowledge, availability of digital
support materials and digital publications.

Yet another study done showed that students were more engaged when
faculty used social media along with traditional teaching methods in their
curriculum. The students showed a higher ability to retain that particular
information. Interactive learning brings about active participation from
children, which leads to better understanding of a topic. (Moran, 2011)

On the other hand, a paper written by (Van den Beemt, 2020) points out that
many teachers struggle with the tension that technology can pose a tempting
distraction to students. Students with a smaller attention span have a
tendency to lose sight of the task at hand and become unfocussed.

RESEARCH ANALYSIS

The objective of the study was to explore if multimedia impacted students’

learning process, how effective it is, and to draw conclusions on why it would
influence an individual’s academics. To facilitate this, 25 students of the
university were chosen from a wide ranging age group of 18-23 from various
branches of technology to answer 10 questions provided to them. Students
from both men and women’s hostels were selected as part of the research.
They include Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electronics and
Communications, and Civil Engineering students. An online questionnaire was
distributed through Google Forms and was used as the main data gathering
tool. It included 9 multiple choice questions along with an open ended
question. The questions were created in such a manner that it would be of no
difficulty to come to a conclusion. Pie charts along with bar graphs were used
to visually represent the collected data and organize it efficiently.

Analysing the received data, a majority of the participants identified as male.

48% percent of the 25 students were female where as 52% of the students
were male. The study group included both genders in almost equal proportions
so as to get impartial results.
The internet provides a plethora of resources for learning, but not all of them
are commonly used. When asked to select online platforms that were most
commonly used by them in relation to academics, nearly 88% of the students
chose YouTube. Out of the 25 students, 22 of them preferred using the
platform to supplement their learning process. This could be related to the
large array of self-help videos from multiple sources available on the platform.
Yet another favourite was Toppr, which was selected by 11 students. Other
popular distributors of information were Khan Academy and Quora, which was
selected by 7 of the students. A large group of 12 students used media
platforms not mentioned in the given options. 2 students did not use any kind
of media at all while learning.

College students are generally known to be active users of online resources for
their course. As part of the research, students were asked to rate how heavily
they depend on digital media while learning on a scale of 1-10. 36% of the
students rated a 7 where as 20% of students report complete dependence with
a rating of 10. One student rated a 5. All students reported using technology of
one form or the other.
When asked if technology ever served as a source of distraction, a majority of
the students reported it to be true. 72% stated that they found it distracting at
times while 16% positively said that it was distracting. Only 12% students
found it to not be a distraction. This pointed out that there was a drawback to
using the internet as well.

To understand how students utilize technology, they were asked to list out
how they use media when related to education. A large proportion (88%) of
the students preferred using multimedia for verifying answers, but it was
followed by a close second at 84% for learning through course related content.
68% of the study group used it for downloading related articles and textbooks.
Students were also asked to note how often they referred to digital media
while studying. The results were varying as seen in the pie chart below. 44% of
the students noted that they used technology for education sometimes where
as 36% positively responded. They noted using multimedia often while
studying. Nearly 20% marked using digital content consistently while learning.

To draw conclusions on how effective digital media is, and understanding on

why students use technology in their academics is required. As part of the
research, students were asked why they use multimedia. A large number of
students, nearly 56% students reported that the internet explains concepts in a
simpler method when compared to traditional methods. This was seen to be
the highlight of using multimedia.
When asked if technology could help add value to the current educational
system, 23 students answered positively and only 2 students responded
uncertainly. A majority felt technology to be an important addition to class
curriculums.

Students were also asked their opinions on whether implementing technology

would negatively impact the educational system. 92% did not think so, where
only as little as 2% believed that it could have a negative effect.

Finally, students were asked if digital media had helped them improve their
academics or learn a subject better. A better part of the group noted that
media was an effective component in helping them learn better. 20 students
(80%) believed that it did help make significant improvements. Only 20% were
unsure of its effect.

INFERENCES

From the above responses, it can be concluded that a majority of the students
found digital media effective in their academic process. Most of the students
found it useful in their day-to-day studies. Digital content is often much more
diverse than the limited information in the books that are often available to
students. Researching is a major part of learning and to do so, digital media
provides a greater platform. There are also some resources available online
which are much clearer in cases than material Assistant Professor of English
available in textbooks. Using digital media helps simplify learning a particular
concept, and hence saves a lot of time. Considering college students, printed
texts are more expensive and do not provide much information beyond the
scope of the syllabus.

CONCLUSION

To conclude, technology and digital media can be considered to be a positive

influence in academics of students to a large extent, thought it does not come
without its drawbacks. It can be said that the positive outcomes greatly
overcome the negative. Digital media is sure to revolutionize the way we learn
and gather data, especially in the coming years with more promising
technology on the way. It has great scope in opening new pathways to make
education more accessible to people from all walks of life.
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Chen, L., Chen, P. and Lin, Z., 2020. Artificial intelligence in education: A review. Ieee Access, 8,
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Clark, R.E., 1994. Media will never influence learning. Educational technology research and
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