Abstract:

Education today is faced with the challenge of adapting in a world where technology is becoming part of everyone’s life. Technology permeates society and continues to be the catalyst for the change that affects the lives of each person. Technology has caused a significant change on how we communicate with one another, how we read, what we read and how we learn. Essentially, technology holds power that is ubiquitous and inevitable within our society. The advancement in information systems and technology causes students to be more demanding and more knowledgeable about alternatives for their education. Thus, education providers are faced with the challenge to reform and modernise approaches of teaching and learning to cater to the needs of digitally minded learners by utilising the right technology. Interestingly, the question on ‘which kind of technology leads to better learning performance has not been well explored’. People in general learn differently, with each person having their own preferred learning styles. Consequently, it is crucial for educators to know students’ preferred learning styles because the type of technology that they provide might directly influence the students’ learning performance. Mayer’s theory suggests that technology with multimedia capabilities can enhance students’ learning. Unfortunately, little work has been done explicitly to address whether technology that supports multimedia capabilities has a positive effect on students and which type of multimedia capabilities leads to higher learning performance.

The present study is based on the experiments that were conducted on 40 students to examine their learning performance using various technologies that supported single learning style or multiple learning styles. A test was administered regarding their learning performance and this was then compared to their learning styles. As a result, it was found that students who use media that support multiple learning styles attained almost 25 percent higher average marks than those who use media that only support a single learning style. Based on the findings, this research suggests that educators should provide technology with multimedia capabilities that is able to support illustrations, videos, music or other applications to support people’s multiple learning styles, promoting higher learning performance.

Keywords:

Technology, Learning styles, Multimedia Learning Theory, Student.