The Perceived Motivational Impact of Voice-over-PowerPoint™ on Part-time Adult Learners in a Distance Learning Environment

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether well-designed instructional material based on motivational theory and blended learning theory has the intended impact on the learning motivation of adult learners in a distance education environment. This study used Voice-over-PowerPoint™ technology as a medium to deliver subject specific instruction based on motivational theory as supplementary content to the course curriculum. This empirical study was conducted over a period of approximately two months on a sample of 57 adult learners who were enrolled for a distance education course for non-degree purposes at a tertiary education institution. Quantitative research methods were applied and data was collected using two motivationmeasuring surveys: (1) The Course Interest Survey; and (2) The Instructional Materials Motivation Survey, which were both developed by Keller. Motivational strategies were designed for the chosen educational technology, Voice-over-PowerPoint™ (VoP) videos, using Keller's Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction (ARCS) model of motivation. These strategies were then delivered via the learner management system for learners to use at their convenience. This research suggests that overall, learner motivation can be affected by external conditions such as well-designed instructional material, and further supports the ARCS model. Furthermore, the use of VoP videos as a viable medium for delivering motivational strategies in a blended, distance learning environment was validated.

Motivating Students in the Biology Classroom via Games

“…IMMS is a reliable and valid assessment tool relating to the use of an educational game in the classroom which measures the degree of students' motivation in relation to the educational material of a particular course, and contains 36 Likert scale questions (Keller, 2009;Brits and van Oordt, 2018). As described by Brits and van Oordt (2018) and Keller (2009), it was designed based on the theoretical model ARCS (attention = attention, relevance = correlation, confidence = confidence, satisfaction = satisfaction) by J. Keller, and was based on a synthesis of psychological theories about human motivation based on empirical data.…”

“…The IMMS questionnaire "refers to the students' motivation for learning, and indicates their willingness, desire, need or even compulsion to participate in the game and successfully complete the whole educational process" (Brits and van Oordt, 2018).…”

“…• 12 questions that evaluate the content of the lesson and investigate whether the organization of the lesson both attracts and retains the attention of students, and ensures the avoidance of boredom (i.e., attention questions) • 9 questions assessing whether the new knowledge is related to students' previous knowledge and experiences as well as their abilities and needs, and whether students will apply this knowledge in the future (i.e., correlation questions) • 9 questions assessing the extent to which the learner has encountered difficulties in understanding the new knowledge, and to what extent they consider that the way the lesson is presented (through the game) ensures effective learning and success (i.e., confidence questions). • 6 questions focusing on the positive feelings that the student had during the lesson and the satisfaction they felt after having understood the lesson and acquired a complete perception of it (i.e., satisfaction questions) (Keller, 1987;Brits and van Oordt, 2018).…”