Mobile Phones as Instruments for Learning of the

Grade 12-ICT Students of Palompon Institute of

Technology

By:

Sumalinog, Shamma Rapha

Festejo, Lyca Cyrille

Salobre, Jessa

Laping, Ariel

Pingoy, Angelica

Reyes, Wheyrelle
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

According to Wikipedia, a mobile phone, also known as a cell phone in North

America, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio

frequency link while the user is moving within a telephone service area. In recent

years, mobile phones are considered significant and essential to many people and

are used as key instruments for communication and learning especially to

teenagers, who are mostly students. A nationwide survey conducted by Kenichi

ISHII in 2007 shows that mobile phones are the most necessary medium of

communication. 40.0% (who are aged 13 to 18 years old) of the respondents

chose mobile phone as a medium of communication that they regard as necessity,

while 22.9% chose TVs and 10.3% chose PCs. Mobile phone is popular since the

late 1990s (Meek, 2006) and today, there are 7 billion mobile connections

worldwide and unique mobile subscriptions of over 3.5 billion (Twum, 2011).

Mobile phones are found everywhere around the globe. With the advent of

technology and of time, the usage of mobile phones and its influences to people

had spread out through different continents and different countries including the

Philippines. Based on the survey conducted by global research Synovate in 2010,

mobile phones are considered a must-have among young Filipinos, with product

ownership in the country at 67%. One out of 4 of them, it said, can’t live without the

said gadget. Many Filipino youth cannot seem to let go of their mobile phones.
They have the third highest number of contacts on their mobile phones, closely

following youth from Singapore and Indonesia. Last year, a similar study by

Synovate showed that young Filipinos liked using their mobile phones to play

games, listen to music, watch videos, and surf the internet.

According to Schreiner (2018), along with their books and school supplies,

most high school and college students—and many younger students—make their

daily trip to school with their trusty smart phone. Mobile phones connect students

to one another, to educational resources, and to a potential host of distractions.

The presence of mobile phones presents both opportunities and challenges for

today's students. Cell phone can be a helpful academic tool, or a hurtful academic

disruption depending upon the attitude and use pattern of the students and the

policies of the schools they attend.

The possible influence of mobile devices on higher education and their impact

on lifelong learning opportunities is still unclear and is an evolving field of study

(Kukulska-Hulme, 2007). It is not surprising that educators have considered using

mobile phones in education given their affordable, popular and practical functions

(Ismail, et. al 2015). Mobile phones make learning easier and more flexible, thus,

more students engage in using them. However, it was reported that university

students often use their mobile phones for personal communication rather than for

learning (Abdullah, et. Al 2012). A recent study done on college students by

Tossell, et. al (2015) found that mobile phone use was perceived as favorable
prior to study but later revealed students viewed mobile phones as detrimental to

their educational goals in the end.

Through this study, the researchers intend to find out the impact and effects of

mobile phones on the learning of the Grade 12-ICT students of Palompon Insitute

of Tehnology.

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

This study is based on the Theory of Connectivism. According to Wikipedia,

Connectivism is a theory of learning in a digital age that emphasizes the role of

social and cultural context in how and where learning occurs. Learning does not

simply happen within an individual, but within and across networks. The phrase “a

learning theory for digital age” indicates the emphasis that connectivism gives to

technology’s effect to how people live, communicate, and learn.

Build in this definition, mobile phones play a significant role in how people

including students live, communicate, and learn. With the help of the Theory of

Connectivism, the researchers will be able to foresee that mobile phones as

products of technology affects the learning of the people especially students who

are the primary respondents.

Students'
Mobile Phones Recommendations
Learning

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram

 Figure 1 shows the flow of this study as to how mobile phones as instruments

for learning affect the Grade 12-ICT Students of Palompon Institute of

Technology.

Statement of the Problem

This research seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the impact of mobile phone use on learning of Grade

12-ICTStudents of Palompon Institute of Technology?

2. What are the positive effects of mobile phone on learning achievements

of Grade 12-ICT Students of Palompon Institute of Technology?

3. What are the negative effects of mobile phone on learning achievements

of Grade 12-ICT Students of Palompon Institute of Technology?

Hypothesis

There is a significant relationship between mobile phone usage of the

students and their learning in school.

Scope and Delimitation

The main focus of this research paper is describing the impact and the effects

of mobile phones as instruments for learning to the respondents who are the

Grade 12-ICT students of Palompon Institute of Technology. The study setting of

this research is also Palompon Institute of Technology.

Significance of the Study

 This study is mean to describe the impact of mobile phones on students’

learning in a secondary school. This would expose the students to the implications

of using mobile phones in school and for school purposes. This will serve as a

medium of information for the awareness of not just the respondents themselves

but also for:

 Students - This study helps students to be aware on the implications of usage

of mobile phones in school, the impact, and also the effects towards them.

 Teachers - This study helps the teachers to be informed of how mobile phones

affect the learning of their students.

 Future Researchers - This study is also meant for future researchers in order

for them to have an idea on how to engage with a closely related research like

this research study.

Definition of Terms

 Mobile Phones - a portable telephone used in making and receiving calls

and for entertainment.

 Instrument - a means for achieving or performing something

 Learning - a process of getting or modifying knowledge

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of summary of findings of research carried

out in the past on same directly and indirectly related topics. It is the genuine fact

that the completion of any research study can claim its originality after doing

proper literature review of his/her topic. The review of these much data provide the

research gap between researcher’s present study and related study which explore

the same or different information of the topic or study. It guides the researcher to

avoid duplication and provides useful suggestion for further research of given

topic.

Conceptual Literature

Stevenson (2018) stressed that the mobile phone is a device that can

significantly influence the behaviour of a young person, so when they have

opportunities to build relationships or work in a team, it takes that opportunity

away from them.

Students are using mobile devices for both academic purposes and for

support outside of the classroom. These findings are consistent with those of

previous studies investigating the use of mobile devices in higher academic

settings. Miller (2012) found that the capabilities of these devices encourage

learning and engagement. This is evident in students’ reports of using their mobile

devices to access course content and use ‘apps’ to support their learning. Notably,

these devices played a significant role in students

 Students reported that mobile phones enhanced their ability to

understand key concepts. The source presents students with the opportunity to

rehearse and reflect on lecture material in order to extrapolate key concepts that

may appear on their exams. The formatting requires students to interpret the

information in a manner that is concise and succinct, so as to translate well the

creation of data sets. Accurate surmising of information may be indicative of

understanding; however, these determinations as well as the effects on academic

performance are beyond the scope of this study. It can be confirmed that students

are seeking out electronic resources to supplement in class learning (Schuler et.

al (2012).

The use of mobile devices facilitates learning ‘anywhere, anytime’.

Furthermore, this finding is consistent with previous studies that found mobile

device use increased both speed and cohesiveness in group work (Miller, 2012;

Schuler 2012). The current finding not only supports this idea, but indicates that

this is also true for mobile device use outside of the classroom.

The portability of mobile phones coupled with their processing speed made

them the preferred medium for accessing to study outside of the classroom.

Further, students reported sharing their data sets with their classmates; therefore,

it can be concluded that the use of mobile devices in this context plays a role,

perhaps indirectly, in encouraging sharing and collaboration among students

(Miller, 2012; Schuler, 2009). These findings are consistent with Rossing et. Al

(2012) which found that use of mobile devices encourages participation and

engagement among students

Research Literature

Maphalala (2014) concluded in his study titled with “The Proliferation of Cell

Phones in High Schools: The Implications for the Teaching and Learning

Process”, that the benefits of the learners’ cell phone use outweigh the

disadvantages if properly managed. Technology and cell phones are valuable in

our daily lives today despite the fact that cell phones can be very disruptive to the

teaching and learning process in schools. Most of the schools do not have enough

resources such as computers to support the teaching and learning process.

Therefore, cell phone use can mitigate for the shortage of resources in schools.

Schools need to embrace cell phones as an educational tool but they should put

watertight cell phone policies in place to ensure that technology benefits the

education of the learners in the 21st century and beyond.

Megan and Jomayra (2014) in ”Mobile Learning: How Students Use

Mobile Devices to Support Learning” begin to investigate whether mobile devices

are currently used to enhance or support learning in a graduate level Occupational

Therapy program in order to facilitate student achievement. Forty six participants

were administered a questionnaire containing Likert scale items and open-ended

questions to obtain information regarding frequency and quality of mobile device

use among students. The findings indicate that students are using their mobile

devices to enhance learning outside of the classroom.

Farooq (2017) in ”Mobile Phones for Teaching and Learning:

Implementation and Students’ and Teachers’ Attitudes” investigate the actual

academic use of mobile phones among students and teachers, their attitudes

toward using them as learning or teaching tools, and if there is a significant

difference in attitudes of the participants toward using mobile as learning or

teaching tools based on the job criteria (Student vs. Faculty Member).

John-Harmen, Ahmed and Laurent (2010) in ”Using Mobile Phones to Improve

Educational Outcomes: An Analysis of Evidence from Asia” reviews the evidence

of the role of mobile phone-facilitated earning in contributing to improved

educational outcomes in the developing countries of Asia by exploring the results

of six learning pilot projects that took place in the Philippines, Mongolia, Thailand,

India, and Bangladesh. In particular, this article examines the extent to which the

use of mobile phones helped to improve educational outcomes in two specific

ways: 1) in improving access to education, and 2) in promoting new learning.

Analysis of the projects indicates that while there is important evidence of mobile

phones facilitating increased access, much less evidence exists as to how

mobiles promote new learning.

Jeffrey and Scott (2013) in ”The Impact of Mobile Phone Usage on Student

Learning” examined the impact of mobile phone usage, during class lecture, on

student learning. Participants in three different study groups (control,

low-distraction, and high-distraction) watched a video lecture, took notes on that

lecture, and took two learning assessments after watching the lecture. Students

who were not using their mobile phones wrote down 62% more information in their

notes, took more detailed notes, were able to recall more detailed information from

the lecture, and scored a full letter grade and a half higher on a multiple choice test
than those students who were actively using their mobile phones. Theoretical and

pedagogical implications are discussed.

 Chapter III

Methodology

This chapter describes the research design, research environment, research

respondents, research instrument, the data gathering procedure of this research

and, the statistical treatment to be used in this study.

3.1 Research Design

This research study adopts the descriptive research design to find out the

impact and effects of mobile phones to ICT students. The general procedure of

describing had the chief purpose of the description of the students’ learning in

school that might have been affected by the use of mobile phones.

3.2 Research Environment

This research study is to be carried out and conducted in Palompon Institute

of Technology located at Evangelista Street, Palompon, Leyte. The 5.8-hectare

state college is chosen as a research setting because of its availability and

convenience which would be of great help in making the research study

successful.

3.3 Research Respondents

The respondents of this study are the 31 Grade-12 ICT students composing

20 girls and 11 boys enrolled in Palompon Institute of Technology for the school

year 2017-2018. The respondents are chosen mainly because mobile phone, as a

product of technology, is a part of the scope ICT (Information and

Communications Technologies) students study. With that, it is expected that these

students are reliable in responding to the study.

3.4 Research Instrument

Structured research questionnaires are to be used to gather information from

the respondents. The research questionnaires are composed of 2 sections. The

first section is composed of the respondents’ demographic data and the second

section is composed of questions concerning the impact, positive, and negative

effects of mobile phones to the respondents’ learning. The questionnaire is

designed based on a 5-point Likert scale, and is derived from Osharive Peter’s

study entitled “Social and Academic Performance of Students in Lagos” in the

year 2015.

3.5 Data Gathering Procedure

For a successful gathering of data and information from the respondents, the

researchers are to set a time allocation for the whole data gathering procedure.

The researchers will first ask for permission (orally or by letter) from the

department head or principal and the section adviser of the respondents to in

order to proceed with the giving of questionnaires. The researchers will then

provide questionnaires to students who were enrolled in Grade 12-ICT at

Palompon Institute of Technology as respondents of this study. During the time

allotted for handling of questionnaires, the researchers are to explain the parts of

the questionnaires with remarks of data confidentiality, that the data to be

gathered will be used for study purposes only, before handing to the respondents
the instruments. The researchers-respondents interaction will be done personally

and will be followed by retrieval of responses. The researchers will then collect the

questionnaires, ready for data analysis. This whole procedure will end with the

researchers having on-hand the 31 answered questionnaires provided to the

respondents.

3.6 Statistical Treatment

Responses to the questionnaire by the Grade 12 – ICT students are

statistically analyzed with the data requirements of the study. Students were also

analyzed using the data instruments of the study. Data statistics such as

frequency count, mean, percent and rank are considered.