The impact of the use of technology on student engagement and motivation in the music classroom

Abstract

This article explores the use of a technological tool, the Makey Makey, in the music classroom, to support student engagement and motivation. An experimental, descriptive and correlational quantitative design was designed and done over a sample of 104 students at high school level. Pre- and post- measures of engagement and motivation indicators were collected and compared to a control group to explore and compare the impact of the use of the Makey Makey over these indicators. The research findings indicate a significant difference between the experimental and control group in relation to their levels of engagement and motivation, suggesting that the use of technological tools in the music classroom can have potential benefits over these indicators. The results also show that are the affective and emotional dimensions that have more incidence over the student engagement, suggesting that educational interventions aimed at improving student engagement and motivation should focus on nurturing their emotional engagement. However, the results from this study cannot be generalized due to the study's limitations, which make evident the need for more experimental studies and further exploration of the impact of technology in student engagement and motivation indicators.