ABSTRACT
This study was to examine factors impeding the Influence of mobile apps in promoting interest and Engagement in Biology Among Secondary School Students. The instrument used for data collection was questionnaires, which were developed and administered to 120 SSS2 students from senior secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. The data from their responses were analyzed with the use of simple percentages.
The results revealed that there is a great extent to which mobile apps influence students' interest in Biology. By way of improving teacher productivity, allowing students to learn at their own pace, and assisting students in carrying out difficult assignments and studies. It also revealed that there is a great extent to which mobile apps impact students' engagement in Biology as the use of mobile apps is more interactive than textbooks and entertaining due to interactive quizzes, chat, quick search, and gamification features on mobile apps, as well as mobile apps are easier to use when compare to the traditional textbooks, it also revealed that there is great efficiency and effectiveness in the use of mobile apps in catering to the diverse learning needs of students within Biology as it creates an environment that promotes an active approach to learning and caters to the needs of the students by improving the students' performance, inculcating technological skills in them as well and enhancing the student-teacher relationship. Lastly, revealed some of the constraints of the use of mobile apps which are the cost of computer gadgets, distractions from the learning process due to misguided use of mobile apps for learning Biology, poor network bandwidth, and lack of/limited mobile app skills among teachers as well and frequent electricity interruptions.
It is therefore recommended that curriculum improvement efforts should be encouraged by the government, teachers should be encouraged to use mobile apps in teaching Biology, the government should develop pre-service and in-service staff training programmes that are tailored to the school programmes, teachers who are not ICT compliant should be encouraged to study further to meet the demand, electrification should be diversified most especially in the rural areas to enhance the use of mobile apps.
