Influence of Multimedia Networking and Communication Technology on Primary School Pupils’ Academic Performance in Owerri Municipal of Imo State

The study investigated the influence of multimedia networking and communication technology on primary school pupil's academic performance in Owerri Municipal Council of Imo State.Three research questions guided the study and a descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study.The population of the study comprised all teachers of public primary schools in Owerri Municipality; giving a total of 568.A sample size of 399 respondents, were drawn from the total population.The instrument used for data collection for this study was a structured questionnaire titled "Multimedia Network Communication Technology and Primary School Pupil Academic Performance Questionnaire;, Which was validated by experts in Educational Technology, Early childhood Education, Measurement and Evaluation; all from AlvanIkoku University of Education Owerri.To test the reliability of the instrument, test -test method of an interval of two weeks was conducted on 25 teachers from Owerri North who has similar characteristics with Owerri Municipal.Thereafter the two sets of score from the tests were correlated using Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Statistic Canada reliability index of 0.78 was obtained.Data collected from the study was analyzed using mean statistics.The findings of the study revealed that the use of multimedia networking appeals to both male and female pupils during teaching.The study also shows that effective use of multimedia networking in teaching and learning facilitates pupil's interests and engagement in learning.It was also the finding of this study that effective use of multimedia networking and communication technology has a positive influence on the academic performance of primary school pupils in Owerri Municipal.Based on these findings, the following recommendations were made: that the use of multimedia networking and communication technology should be made available to all primary schools in Owerri Municipal, teachers should be encouraged to effectively and efficiently use multimedia networks in teaching and learning so as to arouse and sustain pupil's interest in learning.