Teacher Motivation and the Use of Computer-based Interactive Multimedia

The purposes of this study were (a) to describe the use of multimedia within a participating population of teachers, and (b) to identify factors that motivate teachers to use multimedia for instructional purposes. Teachers from the Oneida Special School District located in Oneida, Tennessee, were invited to participate in this study.

This study was conducted in two phases. Phase I used a questionnaire to collect data on the use and development of multimedia. Forty-six teachers participated in this portion of the study. Phase II used an interview process to identify the factors that motivated teachers to use multimedia in the classroom. Five respondents from among the 21 respondents reporting the highest usage of multimedia resources were interviewed.

Some of the findings of the Phase I questionnaire indicated that 64% of the respondents reported using some type of edutainment software, while 47% of the respondents reported using the Internet. Respondents also reported using commercially produced multimedia resources or resources created by groups or other individuals far more then self-created multimedia resources.

An analysis of the Phase II interview transcripts indicated that teachers were motivated to use and develop multimedia when they believed it was a potentially powerful tool, when they perceived it as relevant to the educational setting, and when they valued the use of multimedia resources. Beliefs, relevance, relatedness, and personal value were identified as important factors that motivated these teachers to integrate technology and multimedia within the educational setting.