library .uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. - PDF document

library .uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of Study The aim of this study is to investigate the implementation of multimedia- based presentation in the form of Powerpoint encompassing the preparation to the performance. The research was constructed regarding the needs of education improvement as the core of civilization by using technology to assist the learning process. The topic is in the practitioners’ spotlight and being discussed among the scholars in the educational field (Ghafivekr, et al., 2014). It is believed that the technology will greatly influence how the education goes. In the developed world, the range of technology tools have been exploited; therefore, they are now commonly found in the classroom (Mercer, Hennesy, & Warwick, 2017). The practice of technology also becomes the integral aspects of those disciplines (Pasternak, Hallman, & Rush, 2016). It indicates that more researches regarding the implementation of educational technology in the learning process are also required to be the benchmark and guideline for the teachers to apply technology in their teaching. Previously, Heinich et al. (2002, p. 10) have predicted that learning does not only include the instructional methods and physical activity but also media and technology. They outline the notion of learning as the process of selecting, arranging, and delivering information along with how the students interact with the given information. The statement is in line with the aim of this study in which it attempts to specify the detail of how multimedia-based presentation is designed and implemented in the learning. In this case, the multimedia principles (Mayer, 2003) becomes the focus of the research to find out the students’ process in designing and presenting multimedia-based presentation. Ploetzner, Fillisch, Gewald, & Ruf (2016), in their discussion of media and technology, agree that the age of information digitalization greatly combines the static and dynamic learning to become interactive. It also transforms the 1

2 library .uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id learning from teacher-centered to the student-centered as the use of technology can stimulate the students to be more actively engaged and involved in the classroom as well as play their roles as the main commodity in the learning process. This educational technology is also used in all levels of education from primary education to higher education. The context of students’ outcomes as well as their achievement becomes the primary focus of the researchers. It can be seen in the study conducted by White (2011), Chou, Chang, and Lu (2015), Cornwell (2014), and others. However, only a few of them discuss how the students get along in the learning process in the classroom since the previous studies concern more on the outcome. The researches related to the use of multimedia presentation are also carried out by several researchers. Hertz, Kerkhof, and Woerkum (2016) investigated multimedia-based presentation in the context of academic speaking, such as the conference or seminar. Hertz, et al., (2016) correlate two aspects: speaking anxiety and the use of the text. The study did not elaborate on the planning of the research and the process of designing multimedia-based presentation. Hertz, et al., (2016) focus on the performance and the product of the presentation. Moreover, Barret and Liu (2016) also undertake the research concerning on academic oral presentation as a part of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), yet they did not specify the kinds of presentation. The research only elaborates the oral academic presentation in general without providing sufficient literature and data about the media to the presentation. Based on the aforementioned previous researches, they mostly have not yet investigated in detail about how the students as the audience get along with the presentation and how the students as the presenter design the multimedia- based presentation specifically. Moreover, the common researches have not yet integrated those two aspects in research, so the scope of the research takes the deeper coverage ranging from the planning to the performance of multimedia- based presentation. As multimedia-based presentation is also related to the nature of human learning, this issue is indeed needed to be explored. Therefore, the present study is nested within the more specific scope to fill the gap. As this

3 library .uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id research focuses on the use of technology in higher education, the way how the students plan the presentation, identify the context and the audience, process the material, and practice the product are considered important to be investigated. In the higher education, the students have to eagerly convey their ideas to broaden their knowledge. Exchanging and sharing the knowledge among the students are required to make the information transfer works well. The scope of information-transfer in higher education is not merely from the lecturer to the students; meanwhile, the students also get the bigger opportunity to share their knowledge with other students. As this study is carried out in foreign language learning environment, the transfer of information or knowledge indeed requires the media as the bridge to connect between the speaker to the audience. It is closely related to the study conducted by Roby (2000) that his underlying principle is that “foreign language learning lends itself naturally to the use of media”. In line with the urgency of information-sharing in the classroom, one of the methods involving technology in presenting ideas is through multimedia- based presentation. In conceptualizing the importance of multimedia-based presentation in the tertiary level, the study about the effectiveness of text and pictures if they are placed at the same time and space is continuously conducted due to the development of technology in improving the learning and the students’ understanding (Mayer & Anderson, 1992; Mayer & Moreno, 2002). Therefore, the present study is addressed the college students due to the high percentage of their technology literacy. In terms of multimedia-based presentation that is used in the classroom, the survey also released about the activities done by the internet user in which the college students mostly spend their time to browse pictures, music, graphics, videos, and movies the internet. It also indicates that their interest is on modalities which are sound, picture, and animation. Therefore, the researcher is encouraged to conduct the research since the data proved that the use of multimedia-based presentation is necessary as the students tend to keen on doing multimedia learning. According to Oommen (2012), tertiary level students prefer Powerpoint presentation to the traditional method of information delivery. In recent years,

4 library .uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id Powerpoint turns to be the preferred method to deliver information in educational field – which was previously used in business and industry field. It is due to the effectiveness of Powe rpoint in students’ long -term retention (Chou, Chang, & Lu, 2015) and how Powerpoint gives the positive attitudes in lecture delivery (Oommen, 2012). Shepherd (2006), in his prior research, has already suggested that the electronic presentation is universally expected in this technological ages. As technology develops, other presentation tools are also used, such as Prezi, Visme, Projeqt, Slides, and so on. Therefore, this research attempts to reveal how the multimedia-based presentation tools especially Powerpoint can effectively promote the learning and knowledge transfer for both the students and the instructor. In presenting materials using multimedia-based presentation, the students tend to use verbal representation and corresponding visual representation of the content (Moreno & Mayer, 2007). Furthermore, they also explore the effective learning that is created by combining verbal and non-verbal representation of the knowledge – later known as mixed-modality approach. This claim is strengthened by Zolna (2007, p.142) who concerns the principle of modality that can promote the instructional materials by integrating words and pictures. Modality is precisely defined as the sensing receptor or the human’s ability to receive the auditory information through the ears and visual information through the eyes (Moreno & Mayer, 2007). The combination of those two modes is believed to support the students’ abilities in processing t he information. It also helps the learners to have different background and experience to engage in a more representative stage for making meaning (Altas, 2014). In line with the theory, it is also believed that involving pictures and words act as the powe rful tool for improving the students’ understanding of instructional material (Lee, Hsiao, & Ho, 2014). Thus, the use of multimedia- based presentation is essential in helping the students to process the information easily and to make the meaning effectively. However, the implementation of multimedia-based presentation must be integrated with the classroom condition. It includes the atmosphere of