Effects of Computer Simulation on Learners’ Participation in Physics in Selected Secondary Schools in Kangundo Sub-County

Abstract

This study examined the use of e-learning technologies as predictors of students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Kangundo subcounty, Machakos county, Kenya The study was guided by three objectives, three research questions and hypotheses. The population of the study comprised of 31 academic staff, 1560 students of 31 secondary schools in Kangundo subcounty, Machakos county, Kenya. The sample size for this study was 266 respondents, representing 10-30% of the entire population. The sampling technique was a proportionate stratified random sampling. The instruments were questionnaire and teacher made test, used for the study to generate date. The instruments were validated and it reliability were tested using Kuder Richardson method, which yielded coefficients of 0.84 and 0.82 for The Use of E-learning Technologies Scale (TUETS) and Teacher Made Test Scale (TMTS) respectively. The research questions were answered while the hypotheses were tested with Chisquare associated with simple regression at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that the use of computer Simulated models helped learners participate fully and more in class than conventional methods thus enhancing performance of students in Kangundo subcounty, Machakos county, Kenya, while smartphone as e-learning technologies predicts students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Rivers State to a high extent. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that the government who are the owners of public secondary schools should ensure that all schools have functional laptop computer laboratories, accessible to both teachers and students with trained personnel to help them acquire relevant ICT skills that will aid teaching and learning process for improve both the participation and hence the academic performance of students. Also, parents should explore all positive means to provide smartphones, constant strong Wi-Fi connection, browsing data, constant power supply for students with strict monitoring by the school PTA to guide, orientate and control students on how they can use the smartphones available to them to their own advantage, as all of these will enhance effective academic learning activities with minimal distraction.