Evaluation of digital technology and software use among business education teachers

Journal of Instructional Psychology, March, 2004 by Richard S. Ellis, Comfort O. Okpala

Multimedia Digital Video Applications in Business and Office Education

Multimedia includes high quality graphics and images, transitional effects, music, voice, sounds and animations. Multimedia digital video productions can enhance all of the digital camera picture applications. In the 1990's, digital camcorders were used as the input devices for multimedia productions. Several investigators have researched the educational applications of digital video multimedia. Morris (1992) described digital video technology multimedia products. Klemin (1993) reported that multimedia was being used in education and in business training. Klenin stated that this was a new technology for the digital computer coupled with borrowed analog technology from television, film, and stereo and designed for industry multimedia standards that was linked by new software. Pinheiro & Oblinger (1993) explored the early technology behind digital multimedia, and found that digital video interactive is a technology that transformed and compressed analog information into digital information that represented sound and video. The advantage of digital video is its ability to communicate over computers. Bassoppo-Moyo (1997) also researched digital video technology and its ability to combine multimedia tools to form a single communication engine. He defined digital analog video technology, its historical origins, how it works, software applications, interactive attributes, and the implications to film and video production. Barton (1995) described the factors driving the shift from analog to digital video storage and retrieval, including improved compression techniques, reduced hardware costs, and increased network demands. Barron depicted the characteristics of digital video, various compression procedures, and presented applications and guidelines for use of digital video in higher education including multimedia presentations, multimedia lessons, and internet.

Survey Results

Digital video cameras and their applications for personal computers are relatively new developments in the field of multimedia. Digital video cameras have all of the benefits of video digital still cameras, plus the added feature of real-time moving pictures, and sound. The videoed events can be saved on the camera's disk and then inserted into a personal computer and none of the disadvantages of analog camcorders. Digital video cameras can be effective instructional tools. They can be used to enhance power-point presentations, used in creating group projects and more importantly, instructors can make teaching videos that students can use as many times as possible.

As indicated earlier in the paper, about 226 respondents were randomly surveyed. The results indicate that 62.5 percent of Business Education public school teachers have used digital still camera as an instrument of instruction. The survey revealed that about 36.5 percent and 23.3 percent indicated that they have used camera editing software and video digital camera respectively in their teaching practice. Another important characteristic of the respondents is that a higher percent of them graduated recently from college. Based on their years of teaching experience, the survey results show that 32.4 percent of the teachers have less than 5 years of teaching experience. The highest level of completed education for the respondents were 59.7 percent, 38.1 percent and 2.2 percent for Bachelor's, Master' s, and Doctoral degrees respectively.