CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
Background
“These days we have Smartphones, Smart cars, Smart boards, Smart
everything, but consider this: if technology is getting smarter, does that
mean humans are getting dumber?”
Rebecca McNutt
Humans always wanted to communicate or simply makes their life easier. In ancient
times people have used smoke signals, drums, and carrier pigeons to get a message from
one point to another. That is a clear example that it is very important to us humans to
communicate from far or other places. That is why Martin Copper invented the world’s
Mobile phone in 1932. As the year change, mobile phone also evolved at first it was just
with a non-colored until it became a built-in camera, music player, video player, file
storage, radio, internet and some with televisions as the students or humans wanted. In
our society, it is now considered that mobile phones are one of the needs not a want. Now
a days, Mobile phone is going to be an integral part of our daily life as well as college
life. Even a casual observation of today’s college students will reveal Mobile phones
being used, both overtly and covertly, in every possible campus setting, including the
classroom. Tindell and Bohlander, (2012) suggests that college students frequently use
the Mobile phone during class time despite rules against doing so. As Mobile phone
technology continues its rapid development, the device appears capable of contributing to
student learning and improved academic performance. For example, modern “Mobile
phones” provide students with access to many of the same education-enhancing
capabilities as an Internet-connected computer, such as online information retrieval, file
sharing, and interacting with professors and fellow students (Bull and McCormick, 2012;
Tao and Yeh, 2013). Conversely, recent research suggests that many college students
perceive the Mobile phone primarily as a leisure device, and most commonly use Mobile
phones for social networking, surfing the Internet, watching videos, and playing games
(Lepp, et al., 2013; Lepp, et al., 2015). If typically utilized for leisure rather than
education, then Mobile phones may disrupt learning within academic settings (Levine, et
al., 2007). Thus, the potential relationship between Mobile phone use and academic
performance is not clear. In support of the “Mobile phone as disrupter” hypothesis, a
recent study by Lepp, et al., (2013) found that immediate, portable Mobile phone use was
negatively associated with an objective measure of cardiorespiratory fitness in a sample
of typical U.S. university students. However, modern Mobile phones enable users to
access a variety of electronic media at almost any time and any place. Popular activities
such as playing video games, surfing the Internet, and monitoring social media sites are
now all easily accomplished with most Mobile phones. Although the Mobile phone is
likely to be on hand while university students are in class and studying, research
investigating its relationship to academic performance is limited. Intensive Mobile phone
use was related to school failure as well as other negative behaviors such as smoking and
excessive alcohol use. Thus, it is necessary to link each of these activities, independent of
Mobile phone use, to academic performance. Both theoretical perspectives and previous
empirical studies suggest that the recent rapid increase in Mobile phones has influenced

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multiple aspects of our daily lives, particularly those of Students. Thus, the aims of the
current study is to determine the influence of the mobile phone usage on academic
performance of students’ of SMBBGCE Larkana.
Rationale
As a student teacher with personal experience during the study at B.Ed (hons) the
researcher came across many challenges in the classroom and one of them is the usage of
Mobile Phones. The researcher found it difficult as a student teacher to identify the
impact of Mobile Phones in classroom on students learning.
Statement of the problem
The aim of this research is to find out how students are currently using their smart devices
during their learning, and how it effects students including classroom use and learning
activities. In addition, the aim is to find out how they utilize the learning tools provided
by Lahti University of Applied Sciences, with an emphasis on Reppu. How students feel
about using these tools on mobile devices in terms of usability, reliability, relevance and
personal preference will also be analyzed. The research will be used to theorize ways in
which the learning tools can be changed to improve the learning process of students and
whether integrating smart devices into teaching methods would be beneficial or not
General Objective:
To know about the impact of Mobile Phone on students’ academic performance at
SMMBBGCE Larkana.
Specific Objectives:
 To determine how often students use their phones in the classroom.
 To examine positive and negative impacts of Mobile Phones on students’
academic performance.
 To determine how mobile phone usage affects students’ studies.
Research questions
 What are causes why students use mobile phone?
 What are the positive effects of Mobile Phones?
 What are negative effects of Mobile Phones?
 What can be done to further support the use of mobile devices in the learning
process?

Justifications of the study

 The result of this study will help researchers, lecturers and students to know the
effect of Mobile Phones usages on academic performance.
 It is hoped that the findings of this study will benefits various educational
stakeholders.
 It would be useful to students in determinate many opportunities the mobile
phone technology provides in their academic lives.
 Lecturers would be guided on how integrating mobile phone technology will
create a richer environment for teaching and learning process
 Curriculum planners and polices makers would be aware of numerous possibilities
of mobile phone technologies in learning.

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Scope of the study
The study focused cause and effects of mobile phone to the academic performance of the
students of SMBB GCE Larkana, the respondent of this study are limited to the student of
the SMBB GCE Larkana.
Definitions of the key terms
Impacts: the effect of something on another things.
Mobile phones: is an electronic device used by students of SMBB GCE Larkana mainly
for communication of an academic and non-academic purpose.
Academic: an educator’s works at a college and university.
Performance: act of performing something.
Student: pupils who studies at institute

Basic Assumption:
The study is based on the assumptions that:
 Most students and lecturers in SMBB GOVT: College have mobile phones.
 Students’ demographic characteristics will directly or indirectly influence how the
mobile phone technology is used to support learning experiences.

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 CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

History of mobile phone:

The mobile phone was originally made for adults for business use (Aoki,
2018). This is extremely similar to the fixed telephone in the early 20th century, where
telephone engineers explained that the telephone was made for the business world and not
for social conversation (Flinchy, 2018). The growth of mobile phone technology is
demonstrated by the fact that in 2002 the number of mobile phone users worldwide,
surpassed those of fixed-phone users (Srivastava, 2011). It was been predicted that, by the
end of 2019, the number of mobile phone subscribers worldwide will reach 2 billion
(Deloitte Research, 2016).
According to Rich Ling, the mobile phone has fundamentally affected our society,
accessibility, safety, and security, co-ordination of social and business activities. It has
become the part of culture of every region in the world. The craze of mobile phone started
after 1980’s, but it has now touched the level of esteem. First, it was just for a status
symbol but now it has become a dire need of the day and is in the reach of everyone.
Although the cell phone is likely to be on hand while college students are in class and
studying, research investigating its relationship to academic performance is limited. In an
early study of the phenomenon, Sánchez-Martínez and Otero (2019) used a combination
of self-reported monthly Mobile phone expenses and frequency of use data to identify
intensive Mobile phone users in a large sample of Spanish high school students. In the
study, intensive Mobile phone use was related to school failure as well as other negative
behaviors such as smoking and excessive alcohol use. More recent studies operationalize
Mobile phone use as calling and texting while utilizing a variety of measures for
academic performance. For example, Jacobsen and Forste (2018) identified a negative
relationship between calling, texting, and self-reported grade point World Scientific News
(2019) average among college students in the United States. Similarly, Hong (2012)
found that calling and texting were positively correlated with a self-reported measure of
academic difficulty among a sample of female, Taiwanese university students. While
these studies provide a starting point for understanding the relationship between Mobile
phone use and academic performance, they neither use objective measures of academic
performance nor do they take into account the Mobile phone’s expanding capabilities
beyond calling and texting. Modern Mobile phones enable users to access a variety of
electronic media at almost any time and any place. Popular activities such as playing
video games, surfing the Internet, and monitoring social media sites are now all easily
accomplished with most Mobile phones. Researchers have linked each of these activities,
independent of cell phone use, to academic performance. For example, heavy video game
playing has been associated with lower (Jackson, 2016). Also, low levels of Internet use
have been associated with improved academic performance (Chen and Peng, 2018). Chen
and Tzeng (2018) found that among heavy Internet users information seeking was
associated with better academic performance, while video game playing was associated

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with lower levels of academic performance. Several recent studies have identified a
negative relationship between social networking site use (e.g., Facebook,
Myspace,Twitter) and academic performance (e.g., Rosen, et al., 2013; Stollak, et al.,
2011). In particular, Kirschner and Karpinski (2010) demonstrated that Facebook users
have a lower self-reported and spend fewer hours per week studying than nonusers.
Likewise, Junco (2012) found a strong, negative relationship between time spent on
Facebook and actual cumulative. These negative relationships have been found in
populations across the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia 2013).
Definition of mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device that can basically make and receive calls over a radio link
while moving around a wide geographic area. (Pew Research center, 2010). It does so by
connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator, allowing access to
the public telephone network. The ancient types of Mobile phones support limited
services and examples were shown in Fig. 1.1. Such as, calling, sending messages and
very few for taking pictures. However, the modern phones support very wide range
variety of other services apart from making and receive calls and examples were shown in
Fig. 1.2. These include; text messaging, MMS, e-mail, internet access, short range
wireless communications [(Infrared, Bluetooth, File Transfer Protocol, (FTP)], business
applications, gaming and photograph

Fig. 1.1. The Ancient Types of Mobile Phones

Source: Olanrewaju (2014) Field Work

Mobile phone is one of the most rapidly growing new technologies in the world (Rebello,
2010). In 2001, cell phone users were less than a billion worldwide with the majority of
the users from the developed countries. By the end of 2010, however, mobile phone users
had reached five billion worldwide with subscriptions from developing countries
outnumbering that of the developed countries (Kelly, 2009; Rebello, 2010). Obviously,
this increase includes a sharp increase in the number of cell phones used by the younger
generations. This area of interest was chosen because of the unregulated usage and over
dependent attitude on these devices especially among our secondary school students.
Interestingly, this is obviously imperative as Geser & Junco (2006); and Merson & Salter
(2010) had observed that the youth have consistently displayed higher level of

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attachment to their mobile phones which could serve as distractions to them because of
the time channeled to the phones.

Fig. 1.2. Other Ancient Types of Mobile Phones

Source: Olanrewaju (2014) Field Work

However, in recent years, different types of mobile phones have been produced by
different phone manufacturers. Each comes with different features for different/ specific
function(s). We have different variety of mobile phones as named by their manufacturers,
they include, Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sagem, Sendo, Siemens, T-Mobile, Thuraya,
Vodafone, Sony Ericsson, Bluebird, Alcatel, Blackberry, and so on. We now have those
that can make video calling, ping, take clearer pictures/photographs, surf the internet and
lots more. They are also built/ installed in/ with different capacities, mode of operation
and features/applications. For example, 17mega Pixel phones normally will produce
clearer pictures/photographs, Skype is an application for video calling, Blackberry and
other android enabled devices can ping. Some are android enabled; examples are, HTC,
Tecno, and so on which are basically the latest of all kinds of mobile phones widely used

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by both young and old, especially among students (Olanrewaju, 2015). A mobile phone is
a phone that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link while moving around
a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a
mobile phone operator, allowing access to the public telephone network. In addition,
modern phones also support wide range variety of other services such as text messaging,
MMS, e-mail, internet access, short range wireless communications (Infrared, Bluetooth),
business applications, gaming and photography. (Pew Research center, 2010)

Fig. 2.1. The Modern Types of Mobile Phones.

Source: Olanrewaju (2014) Field Work

The use of technology is a global imperative due to its contributions to human

existence and has enhanced the socio economic relations globally. Wireless
communication has emerged as one of the fastest diffusing media on the planet, fuelling
an emergent “mobile youth culture” (Castells, Fernandez-Ardevol, Qiu, and Sey, 2007).
Thus, increased popularity of cell and smart phones in recent years has attracted research
attention. Cell phones are seen as a mixed blessing. Teens say phones make their lives
safer and more convenient. Yet they also cite new tensions connected to cell phone use
(Pew Research Center, 2010).
As cell phones have become more available, they are increasingly owned and used
by teens. Further, as handsets become more loaded with capabilities ranging from
video recording and sharing, to music playing and internet access, teens and young
adults have an ever-increasing repertoire of use. Indeed, we are moving into an era when
mobile devices are not just for talking and texting, but can also access the internet and all
it has to offer (Pew Research Center, 2010).
Student Performance
Students’ academic gain and learning performance is affected by numerous factor
including gender, age, teaching faculty, students schooling, father/guardian social

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economic status, residential area of students, medium of instructions in schools, tuition
trend, daily study hour and accommodation as hostelries or day scholar. Many researchers
conducted detailed studies about the factors contributing student performance at different
study levels. Graetz (1995) suggested “A student educational success contingent heavily
on social status of student’s parents/ guardians in the society. Considine and Zappala
(2002) noticed the same that parent’s income or social status positively affects the student
test score in examination. According to Minnesota (2007) “the higher education
performance is depending upon the academic performance of graduate students. Durden
and Ellis quoted Staffolani and Bratti, (2002) observed that “the measurement of student

Learning styles and mobile learning

It is essential to know about different learning styles and to understand what the idea of
mobile learning is. Therefore, in this section of the thesis existing research will be
examined to discuss and review some of the key concepts and ideas related to this thesis.
Every person has their own learning style, which affects their motivation when learning
new information depending on how they are being taught or studying. eLearning
(electronic learning) takes students learning style into account by being designed with
optional activities that students can choose. These activities help to engage and motivate
students which encourages success. Applying this to mLearning (mobile learning) also
allows the learning to be more flexible and convenient for the student. (Dawson et al.
2011, 7.) If mobile devices are considered in learning processes, teachers can use them to
help engage students in learning and possibly improve their motivation towards the
subject. Mobile devices allow people to engage in activities and transactions in locations
and situations where it never used to be possible or it was much more difficult, such as
during a bus ride or even while walking. The device offers the usage of a computer but
with greater portability. As the mobile device offers convenience, it also generates a
dependency for the user. Because these devices have internet access, they allow the user
to have access to many things including emails, instant messages and social media. (Ker
et al. 2011 194.) By being able to view social media updates and messages instantly,
smart phone users are more inclined to check their device frequently (Chang et al. 2013,
375). With most students owning a mobile device, it is very tempting to use them in
lessons for things other than studying for example social media or instant messaging if
someone else is messaging them during a lesson. This can make them distracted and less
motivated to pay attention when the teacher is speaking. If some usage is integrated into
classroom activities, students may be less likely to be distracted as they are already
engaged with their school work.
Social media and mobile learning
Students are often users of social media and comfortable using technology to
communicate with their peers, with WhatsApp being one of the preferred instant
messaging applications used. Research has shown however that more often students will
try to solve problems themselves by searching online when they have a difficulty with
their course or studies. Students were also less likely to talk to teachers, students in other
courses or go to the support centre on their institution when they needed support. (Bullen
et al. 2016.) Lahti University of Applied Sciences has message boards available for
discussion on the course pages of Reppu, which are not always full utilised. Perhaps
encouraging students to use group chats in social media, such as Facebook or instant
messaging services such as WhatsApp, to discuss coursework would be beneficial to

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students as they can easily use them on their mobile devices and are likely already
familiar with them. They may also be able to have more informal discussion as the
communication channel would be unofficial and not moderated by a teacher or
supervisor. In some cases introducing teaching techniques using mobile devices has had
problems. Although introduction of these devices may open up possibilities, for example
being able to get a better understanding of course content from multimedia available,
some students, particularly older students, find it difficult to adapt to new study habits
when they are used to learning in more traditional ways. There is also a similar problem
where teachers are unable to use mobile devices to their full potential in learning if they
are not completely familiar with capabilities or if they utilize these devices without
actually changing their teaching methods to accommodate them. (Marez et al. 2015, 14.)
To fully benefit from teaching techniques that utilize mobile devices, it may be more
beneficial to introduce them to students at a younger age and ensure teachers are fully
trained in using the devices which they may be unfamiliar with. This has already been
taken into account in the new curriculum in basic education in Finland. In the future, this
generation of students who are well acquainted to the use of mobile devices in learning
may have higher expectations about utilising this technology. To encourage students to
use mobile applications that can aid their learning, the applications must be designed to
provide an enjoyable experience for the student. Applications should be user-friendly,
understandable, learnable and aesthetically pleasing to the user. The application should
not just be a copy of the desktop alternative but be designed to be effective on a smaller
screen with touch screen capability without compromising the usability available on the
desktop version where possible. (Ali et al. 2014, 14.) These principles could also be
applied to mobile versions of websites to ensure users get the best experience on
whichever device they use.
Uses of mobile phones
The usefulness of Mobile phones is numerous and this includes keeping contact with
friends, members of the family, conducting business and others. Many people possess
more than one mobile phone for different purposes, which could be for business purpose
or personal purpose. A number of people are also taking the advantage of multiple
subscriber identity module (SIM) cards for benefit of different calling plans since a
calling plan might provide cheaper local calls, long-distance calls, international calls, or
roaming. The following are other benefits;
Distributing content of mobile phone
In 1998, an example of distributing and selling media content through the mobile phone
was the sale of ringtones by Radiolinja in Finland. Later, other media content emerged
which includes news, video games, jokes, horoscopes, TV content and advertising
(Srivastava, 2005). In 2006, the total value of mobile-phone-paid media content exceeded
Internet paid media content and was worth 31 billion dollars. The value of music on
phones was worth 9.3 billion dollars in 2007 and gaming was worth over 5 billion dollars
in 2007 (Microfinance.com, 2010). The advantage of mobile phones is taken in many
countries to provide mobile banking services, such as ability to transfer cash payments
through safe SMS text message. This service also allows customers to hold cash balances
recorded on the SIM cards, deposits or withdraws cash. Some countries also use mobile
phone banking for loan disbursement and repayment (Microfinance.com, 2010). A couple
of cell phone can operate mobile payments through direct mobile billing schemes (Feig,
2011). This requires the co-operation of manufacturers, network operators and retail
merchants to enable contactless payments (Poulter, 2011).

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Mobile phone and its emergence
A research has shown that the mobile phone is expression of personality and a topic of
talk for 18-25 year-olds, and they must know outside the parameters of models (Heszler,
2004). Teenage users especially like to express their individuality by personalizing their
mobile phone. They are choosing a particular brand, color, size, or display logo and ring
tone. They continuously carry their mobile phone within reach and regard it as status
symbol and an important part of their daily lives. For adults the mobile phone has
likewise grown to become a highly personal utensil. They also individualize their mobile
phone by saving contacts, messages and important dates (Bauer et al, 2005). Another
research suggests that young people’s relationship to the mobile phone is consistent with
their general consumption styles. Moreover we can separate female and male styles. The
female style was an “addictive” use of the phone, and it was related to “trendy” and
“impulsive” consumption styles. The male style was characterized by technology
enthusiasm and trend-consciousness, and it was linked to impulsive consumption and
“hard” values (Wilska, 2003). In Hungary Nokia led awareness index, and Samsung has
the second place, in particular the girls like it. Siemens was also significant at that time,
which has since withdrawn from the Hungarian market. Mobile has an important role in
the life of young adults and among college students the mobile phone has full penetration,
but two-thirds of 10-12 year-olds also have this device (Szántó, 2005). The mobile phone
became the most popular product category, beside sportswear, and it appears as a status
symbol, an essential need and an icon of independence within the 11-12 age groups
(Horvath, 2004). The mobile phone still remains a status symbol for the children, and the
two most important attributes are the minutes on the card and the number of games in
device. A previous American study also suggests that college students use the mobile
phones for a variety of purposes. Mobile phone helps them feel safe, use it for financial
benefits or to manage time efficiently, and it helps to keep in touch with friends and
family members (Aoki and Downes, 2003). Global consumer trends achieve a rapid
breakthrough among the young urban consumers. It is very important for young adults to
be accessible anywhere and anytime, because the home of them is the place, where they
live. 96% of them have mobile phones and a minority of them also use advanced features,
like listening to music (26%), or download ringtones (23%). A higher percent of them use
instant messaging, radio or Internet via mobile phones (GFK-Hungary, 2008).

Mobile phone usage and features

Modern phones have a variety of features that simply were not possible years ago: Mobile
phones are not just for voice communication anymore (Ishii, 2006). College students can
access the Internet, send or receive text messages, check email, and even video chat with
others quite literally from the palm of their hand. In addition, students can access a
variety of social network sites (SNS) from their mobile phones. Scholars Boyd and
Ellison (2008) explained that SNS are online services that allow people to create a profile,
create a list of other users who share a connection with the user, and view the lists of
connections created by others within that system. For the purposes of the current study,
we use the technical term SNS in place of other terminology (e.g., social networking
sites) because SNS better conveys the way in which users communicate with others via
these systems. Boyd and Ellison noted that other terms, like social networking sites,
emphasize relationship initiation and users forming connections with others with whom
they might not normally have come in contact. However, the term SNS better conveys the
way in which users communicate with other people they have connected with. As Boyd

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and Ellison (2008) put it, „„They are primarily communicating with people who are
already part of their extended social network‟‟. Thus far, survey data indicate that young
adults are highly active users of SNS and other communication tools like text messaging.
Texting, the ability to send short messages to another person, is perhaps one of the more
popular features of modern cell phones. Roughly 94% of 18-34 year-olds report that they
send or receive text messages using their mobile phones, and 63% of this age group
access the Internet using their mobile phone (Zickuhr, 2011). There is little question that
students‟ communication habits regularly lead them to text while in class. Research
conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 14 to 17 year-olds
who text typically send and or receive roughly 60 text messages a day.
Furthermore, 64% of teens with mobile phones have texted in class, and 23% access SNS
via their phone (Lenhart, 2010). Campbell (2006) reported that young people ages 18_23
are more tolerant of mobile phones in the classroom when compared to older age
brackets. Essentially, „„Young people tend to have very positive perceptions of mobile
phones and regard the technology as an important tool for social connection‟‟ (Campbell,
2006, p. 290).Besides texting, accessing the Internet and SNS has become a prolific
communication activity among college students. Research shows that roughly 75% of
online adults (18_24 year olds) have profiles on an SNS, and 89% of online adults use
those sites to keep in touch with friends (Lenhart, 2009). In regard to teens, 77% of teens
report that they contact their friends daily via text messaging, and 33% do so via SNS
(Lenhart, 2010). Statistics from Facebook, which as of June 2011 had over 500 million
active users, documents that over 50% of the users log in each day (Facebook,
2011).According to Facebook’s own statistics, over 250 million active users access
Facebook through a mobile device, and people that use Facebook on their mobile devices
are twice more active on Facebook than non-mobile users). In short, one might
reasonably conclude that students‟ use of Facebook during class would be similar to rates
of texting. However, posting to Facebook and sending a text message do serve different
purposes. For example, a text message is typically sent to one recipient and is inherently
interpersonal in nature. A Facebook post, or a status update, is generally viewable by a
wider audience or even publicly available. Although texting and posting can serve
different purposes, the physical act of both activities on a mobile device is fundamentally
the same (i.e., users engaging in communication activities via their mobile device).
Because texting and posting both require the user to actively interact with her/his mobile
device, these potentially distinct communication activities would reasonably manifest in
similar ways and with similar effects.

Factors affecting the reasons for purchasing mobile phones

Literature abounds on the subject of reasons on the use of mobile phones but are mostly
in relation to its impact on society rather than on the individual (Tian,2009). (Tian, 2009)
have put the reasons into simple (convenience, personal efficiency and security) and
complex (information immediacy, contact-ability, social interaction and social control).
The subject of reasons that influence why people acquire and use mobile phones has been
blurred by its prevalence and impact on their everyday lives and becoming a necessity.
The mobile phone is now viewed as an extension of people’s personality, reflecting their
personal preferences and identity. (Tian, 2009).

Mobile phone technologies available for learning

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 According to Eteokleous and Ktoridou (2009), the benefits of mobile phones integration
into student learning on campus are useful with the mobile phone capabilities that are
easily supporting learning. Which are: SMSs (text messaging): Short Message Services
allow users to send/receive messages of up to 160 characters between mobile phones.
MMSs: Multimedia Messaging Service serves the same purpose as SMSs, but it allows
the inclusion of graphics. GPRS (General Packet Radio Service): This mobile data service
is available to users of specific phone types; it can be used for WAP service, SMS, MMS,
email, and access to the World-Wide Web. Wireless access points WAPs: There are two
types of wireless standards: Wireless Fidelity: (Wi-Fi) and WAP (Wireless Application
Protocol). They are primarily for internet access on mobile phones.
BLUETOOTH: A short-range wireless communication between PCs, PDAs, mobile
phones, camera phones, printers and digital cameras, and lots more. Bluetooth uses Radio
Frequency (RF) for communication between multiple devices within a 30-foot range. It
uses a globally available frequency band (2.4GHz) for worldwide compatibility. 3G and
4G phones: 3G technologies enable network operators to offer users services: wireless
voice telephony, video calls, broadband wireless data with data transmission capabilities
enabling speeds up to 14.4 Mbit/s on the download and 5.8 Mbit/s on the upload. The 4G
mobile phones provide up to 100 megabits per second transmission adequate for
multimedia operations (Barker, 2006).

Classroom attention and mobile phone usage

Recent studies exploring the effects of texting/posting on student learning outcomes have
relied on information processing theory (Mayer, 1996) as a basis for arguing that texting
can cause distractions that hamper student learning. Briefly, information processing
identifies attention, working memory, short-term memory, long-term memory, and
metacognition as key resources used by individuals when they learn new information.
Because learning is a process, diminished capacity with any single resource can impact
other resources. Thus, in the case of texting/posting, students‟ attention can be divided,
which can distract attention from ontask behavior. In turn, information processed in
working/shortterm memory may be incomplete or inaccurate, which could lead to
inaccurate or insufficient storage of information in long-term memory. A variety of
studies outside of the educational setting provide evidence that texting/posting can
impede information processing. For instance, Just, Keller, and Cynkar (2008) found that
simulated mobile telephone conversations disrupted driving performance by diverting
attention away from the task of driving. Other researchers found that drivers talking on a
mobile phone experienced visual distractions, such as failing to notice important visual
cues like traffic lights or the environment surrounding road intersections (Trbovich &
Harbluk, 2003). In general, these researchers concluded that „„distracting cognitive tasks
compete for drivers‟ attentional resources‟‟ (Harbluk, Noy, Trbovich, & Eizenman,
2007, p. 378). Although texting is considerably more covert than actual telephone
conversations, a growing body of literature suggests that it is equally problematic.
Kraushaar and Novak (2010) explored connections between classroom laptop usage and
course achievement. The authors recruited students who voluntarily installed activity-
monitoring software onto their laptops. This software recorded what programs were
running and the times that each program was in use. Kraushaar and Novak developed a
rubric to classify programs as productive or distractive towards the student. Productive
programs were those programs that were course related (e.g. Microsoft Office), while
distractive programs included web surfing, entertainment, email, instant messaging, and

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computer operations. „„Using a browser to view an active window containing a course-
related PowerPoint slide would be considered productive, while viewing an active
window for a Web site that was unrelated to the course would be considered distractive‟‟
(Kraushaar & Novak, 2010,p. 244). Their study found that 62% of the programs that
students had open on their laptops were considered distracting. In addition, and of
particular relevance to the current study, the researchers found that instant messaging was
negatively correlated with quiz averages, project grades, and final exam grades. In an
experiment testing whether texting negatively impacts students‟ ability to learn
information, Wood and colleagues (2012) observed a small but consistent negative effect
on exam performance when students engaged in simulated texting, emailing, or Facebook
posting. They reasoned that when students engage in multiple simultaneous tasks, like
texting and listening to lectures, one or both behaviors suffer. Similarly, Wei et al. (2012)
found support for a causal model identifying texting as a significant mediating variable in
the relationship between students‟ self-regulation, a key aspect of metacognition, and
cognitive learning. Specifically, when higher rates of texting behavior are present,
students tend to be less able to self-regulate their behaviors in ways that allow them to
succeed on performance assessments. Although each of these studies concluded that
texting can diminish learning because students‟ attention is divided, they did not identify
specific mechanisms through which the diminished attention/diminished achievement link
is made. By providing specific analysis of these mechanisms, teachers will have a greater
ability to explain to students how their grades could be impacted when they text or post to
Facebook during class. For example, when teachers want to explain the negative impact
of texting in class, they can perhaps be more detailed by noting specific ways in which
texting impacts student note taking and recall, and perhaps even work towards mitigating
these negative effects participation in activities done during learning in class. Lecture
Listening and Note taking is one of the most commonly practiced student behaviors; it is
also one of the most important. In a meta-analysis of 33 separate studies, Kobayashi
(2006) observed a large average weighted effect size of .77 when comparing the exam
scores of students who take and review notes with those who do not. Practically speaking,
students can score nearly one and one-half letter grades higher on exams when they take
notes (Titsworth & Kiewra, 2004). The types of notes students take are also important.
Makany, Kemp, and Dror (2009) found that when students took time to construct visual
non-linear notes, they recorded more complete notes and had a 20% jump in
comprehension assessment performance. Stated plainly, the quantity and quality of
students‟ notes has dramatic impact on their ability to retain and use information. Despite
the importance of taking notes, the classroom poses many obstacles to attaining a great
set of notes. „„During lecture learning, students must continuously and simultaneously
listen, select important ideas, hold and manipulate lecture ideas, interpret the information,
decide what to transcribe, and record notes‟‟ (Kiewra et al.,1991, p. 241). The challenge
of these tasks can be compounded in situations with difficult subject matter, large
enrollment classes that offer little opportunities for interaction, or student learning
preferences for non-auditory presentation of materials (Boyle, 2012). In fact, numerous
studies show that students are not very good note takers, generally recording less than
40% of the details contained in a lecture (Boyle, 2011; Kiewra, 1985; Titsworth &
Kiewra, 2004)

Time student spend on their mobile phone

13
 A study conducted by the International Center for Media & the Public Agenda (ICMPA)
asked two hundred students at the University of Maryland, College Park to abstain from
using all media for twenty- four hours.
The students were then asked to blog on private class websites about their experiences to
report their successes and admit to any failures. The students wrote over 110,000 words,
an indication of the severe addiction to mobile phone usage. (ICMPA, 2011). A research
conducted by Abuhassna (2006), concluded that the differences due to age and gender do
not appear to be particularly significant; most significant differences appear to be due to
the mobile devices used or technologies available. For example, the use or not of certain
technologies like social networking among students is high compared to downloading
Podcast or searching for answers during examinations; or the use of laptops/notebooks
and iPads/tablets. In their study titled “Smartphones: Fulfilling the Need for Immediacy
in Everyday Life, but at What Cost?” Lundquist (2014) stressed that smartphones fulfill
the demand for immediate access to social worlds. They conducted focus groups of
college students to explore their perceptions and attitudes regarding uses and abuses of
Smartphone technology. Overall, respondents believe more negatives than positives exist
and the powerful positive of “being in the loop” keeps them “attached” to their devices.
According to Stollak (2011), students who have smart phones were more likely to both
access social media tools and spend time engaging with others. From an educational
standpoint, this means there may very well be a “digital divide” between those who are
making connections with others, and those who might be left behind. Similarly,
professors may have to be wary of assigning projects involving social media to students
as some may have an advantage in completing the work than others. As it is demonstrated
by survey done by Grousopoulou (2008), gender differences exist, but they are not big.
Females appear to make more phone calls than male. Moreover, they take more photos
and record more sounds than their male peers. In addition, they listen more hours to the
radio than men and they tend to send and receive more messages from friends. On the
other hand, males tend to use more the computers and Internet, but they do not access the
Internet via their mobile devices. Furthermore, both groups find reasons in order to
reduce the usage of their mobiles, but men mention more reasons than women do. They
believe that loss of time and addiction are reasons of decreasing the use of the devices
(Selwyn, 2007). In her qualitative study (Jubien, 2013) concludes that graduate students
combine their personal lives with their student lives influenced by the use of smartphones.
This finding can be understood as a statement that students can have a classroom at home
or wherever making use of communication and educational applications offered by
smartphones. In addition, Jubien (2013) mentions another found finding about how
smartphones are influencing and changing educational practices. For example, changes in
the way to gather information, to receive instructions from teachers, to do homework, to
collaborate with classmates, among others. In his study (Sykes, 2014), found that with a
mixed method design that students using a smartphone application enjoyed and
performed very well in a course, so they exceeded their performance of a comparison
group (traditional course) with statistically significant differences. In addition to this
Tosta (2012), concluded that, smartphones are a phenomenon that has changed daily life
and learning styles of students, has forced changes in teaching strategies for teachers, and
has changed the rules and policies of educational institutions. In an observational study
of smartphone usage on the Stanford campus, (Ames, 2013) showed that the availability
of always-on connectivity meant that the students had to exhibit the techno-social
practices of balancing their extended networks with the immediate surroundings and to
limit the negative impacts of smartphone usage (e.g., social pressure, and multi-tasking).

14
Also Oulasvita (2012) stressed that the use of mobile devices may lead to the
development of a checking habit that involves brief and frequent content consumption
(e.g., checking emails and Facebook updates). Nevertheless, one of the most important
concerns associated with mobile phone use is that it may become uncontrolled or
excessive, which has an impact upon daily living. Among the most common negative
outcomes resulting from overuse of the mobile phone, one could cite financial problems
(Billeux, 2008) or sleep disturbance (Thomee, 2011). Nowadays, excessive use of the
mobile phone is often considered a behavioral addiction, along with other nonchemical
addictions such as pathological gambling, compulsive shopping or video-game addictions
(Choliz, 2010). This mainly results from pioneer studies (mostly conducted in Asia and
Australia) that identified symptoms of addiction to the mobile phone in young adults and
adolescents (e.g cravings, mood regulation expectancies, lack of control) (Toda 2004).
More recently, surveys conducted in Switzerland revealed that a significant proportion
(about 30%) of the participants overtly perceived themselves as “addicted to the mobile
phone” (Billieux, 2008).
Can people live without cell phones?
Notwithstanding on enormous number of cellphone owners, there are people who live
happily their lives without cellphone or HHDs. Once talented musician wrote, “I never
thought of myself as being handsome or good-looking or whatever.” The talented singer
and musician, who is free of stigma, and who created such amazing songs to empower
millions people around the world and …doesn’t have a cell phone. In today’s world, it is
normal that people have one or more cell phones. However, there are still some
individuals who refuse to use cell phones. They prefer to live a good old-fashioned
lifestyle, without staring at the screen and to be disturbed by texts, calls, facetime, etc.
There are also some celebrities who don’t use cell phones, and they probably don’t care
what other think about it. For example, Sir Elton John is completely against the use of
technology, and he is for a global shutdown of the Internet. He thinks it is possible to live
without technology. Sarah Jessica Parker is another celebrity who doesn’t use cell phones
and prefer emails to phone calls. She is afraid that her voicemails may get lost in a full
voicemail box. Another example is Christopher Walker. During filming, the famous
actor gets a cell phone from the producers to be reached out. However, at the end of
filming, he always gives it back. The legendary actor also doesn’t own a computer and
doesn’t use the Internet. Another legend actor, Tom Cruise doesn’t use cell phones
because of Scientology. A fashion star Karl Lagerfeld doesn’t use computers and phones,
and he is probably the only person in the fashion industry who used computers for
decorating and not for chatting online. Simon Cowell prefers to avoid cell phones.
However, he has one basic for emergency calls. The one of the famous producers in the
music and TV business is not interested neither cell phones nor newest apps. Warren
Buffet believes “you shouldn’t get rid of the things unless you had them for 20 or 25
years.” The powerful business magnate has a very old and basic Nokia flip cell phone. A
billionaire in real life, he lives a very modest life in a three bedroom home.
It happens that a person who doesn’t own a cell phone on purpose is often stigmatized by
society causing sympathy or considered a socially impaired. Anne Fonte in her article
“Hold the Phone: What It’s Like Not to Own a Cell Phone” said “Cell phonelessness
becomes is no longer neutral. It becomes abnormal, antisocial, and a threat to others. Cell
phones are no longer just a choice you might make, like deciding who to vote for or
choosing not to have children or plastic vs. paper. According to the Pew Research Center,
91 percent of American adults now have cell phones, and in the last couple years I’ve

15
noticed the mania ratcheting up to a full-blown obsession. People work, sleep, walk and
drive with their cell phones. Each year, cell phones play a part in more than 1.6 million
car crashes. Forty-four percent of cell phone owners sleep with it next to their bed, so
they don’t miss any calls or texts during the night. They take them out during movies, in
the middle of conversations, and even during sex. Sixty-seven percent of cell phone
owners check their phones even when they haven’t rung. I can no longer simply agree to
meet a friend at a place on a certain date without confirming on the phone several times,
and if we do manage to meet up, their phone will inevitably be involved in our
discussion.” Alex Morritt said “The more time we spend interconnected via a myriad of
devices, the less time we have left to develop true friendships in real world.

Impact of mobile phone on education

A) Positive impact
Although much of the public debate is against it, there are pros associated with
allowing cell phones in school. These advantages should not be ignored since cell
phones in schools can actually add value to the educational experience, rather than
simply be a detriment to it.
Instant Communication
Although you hope that you will never have to do this, you sometimes need to get
in contact with your school-aged child while they are in class. This could be
because of a death in the family, an accident or other family emergency that may
require his or her attention and/or attendance. By being able to call your child
directly, you also help alleviate the workload of the school's administrative team.
This is particularly useful during recess and lunch hours when students aren't in
class and may be difficult to find. The problems with knowing where your
children are after school could also be reduced if parents had the ability to call
them and vice versa. Text messages can make communicating easy and discreet.
Learning Aid
Students who have a smartphone can use various applications that are designed to
assist in learning and designed just for students. Many of these smartphones have
programs that are similar to what is found in a laptop or desktop computer. Being
able to quickly look up facts on the internet is possible on many phones. If a
student needs assistance with classwork and does not have access to a computer, a
smartphone can be used in a snap.
Memory Aids
Most cell phones have a camera these days, so children can use these to take
pictures of things in class. This is great for science class, for example, where they
may be exposed to certain creatures, plants and other things that they probably
won't encounter anywhere else. This is much more effective that simply producing
a quick sketch. Pictures can also be useful for any sort of step-by-step process, so
that they can later review the photos to better understand the procedure in
metalwork, woodwork or other hands-on courses.
Calendar

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Nearly every mobile phone has a built-in calendar function and this can be very
useful for kids who have a hard time remembering test dates, assignment due
dates and other such details where time is of the essence. By putting these in a cell
phone organizer and assigning an alarm, they'll never forget again! After all,
paper-based agendas and notebooks can be easily lost, forgotten, overlooked or
scribbled over.
Voice Notes
The voice recording feature of cell phones can be beneficial to students who
would like a quick way to keep track of what they need to do. After all, students
may not always have immediate access to a notepad, so using a cell phone to "jot
down" important information can be helpful.The photos to better understand the
procedure in metalwork, woodwork or other hands-on courses.

GPS Tracking
GPS tracking can be a benefit of cell phones to parents who want to be able to
keep tabs on their children's whereabouts. GPS tracking a cell phone can provide
peace of mind to concerned parents and teachers if a student is reported missing or
has gone somewhere of concern.
Store Emergency Contact Information
Important phone numbers can be easily stored in cell phones. For students, this
can be important in case they become sick while at school or are in an emergency
situation. Their cell phone can contain important numbers such as their parent's
work, doctor's office, dentist, who to call in case of an emergency as well as
numbers of close family members and friends.Allowing students to carry cell
phones gives parents the ability to contact their children whenever necessary. This
can include during family emergencies or when a student may need to arrange a
different method of getting home. Likewise, students can contact their parents to
arrange a ride home when ill, or they can request a forgotten book or project be
brought to the school.
Remember to Weigh Both Side
Students bringing a phone to school has both positive and negative consequences.
Many schools have set rules in place regarding cell phones and whether they are
permitted in the school or classroom. Parents can decide whether their child
should bring a phone to school - as long as it is not against the rules - and set
appropriate guidelines regarding the use of the phone.

10 POSITIVE IMPACTS OF MOBILE PHONES.

Parental contact. The amount of time it takes to reach a parent during an

emergency can be significantly reduced if the child has a cell phone. Finding
“Mom” or “Dad” listed on their contact list and making the call from the site of
the emergency would be much quicker than having to notify the teacher or office
and having them look the information up in their system.

17
1. School closures. If there is a weather related emergency, and the school needs to
close, it would be a lot less hassle for the school, if the students could contact their
parents themselves. It would be much faster than standing in line ata school phone
or the secretary having to make calls or activate a calling tree.
2. Scheduling. Most phones now have calendar options on them. This is an easy
way for students to keep track of their assignments and upcoming tests. Since
teenagers are never very far from their phones it would be easier for them to
manage their work electronically, than trying to keep track on a piece of paper that
could get lost or damaged.
3. Research. Keeping students from surfing the web during class time could easily
be managed by having a policy that they are turned off. This being said the
internet on cell phones can be a useful tool for research on different projects.
4. Reduced workload for secretarial staff. Parents can send messages in regards to
being late or reminder for appointments via text message or voicemail to their
children and thus eliminate or reduce the amount of messages being passed to
students by the office.
5. Emergencies. If there is an emergency at school that would require calling the
police, fire or ambulance services the response time is much shorter for an
observing student to use their cell phone rather than finding one at the school.
6. Note taking. If a student is slow in taking notes from the board or projector they
can use their in camera phone feature to take a picture of the notes, they didn’t
catch, so as not to miss anything.
7. Keeping tabs. Every parent’s worst nightmare is not knowing where your child is.
Many cell phone providers now offer a tracking option that will allow you to
locate where your child is (or the nearest cell phone tower). This way if the school
calls and says your child is absent, and you cannot reach them, you are able to
track them down to make sure they are safe.
8. Forget something? Whether it is their lunch, soccer gear or homework
assignment, we all know that kids will be kids and that forgetfulness is a part of
human nature. Allowing kids to have a cell phone at school will make contacting
parents much easier with a quick call or text during a break rather than having to
get permission to go to the office to make a call that could take much longer if
there is already a line waiting.
9. Peace of mind. Knowing that you are able to reach your child at a moment’s
notice will give any parent the peace of mind they need in order to send them out
of the nest. After 9/11 we all tend to be more cautious and protective with our
families and this is just another way to have that reassurance.Mobile phones easily
promote collaborative and different types of learning through their wireless
connection to the internet. Their adoption in learning processes by the higher
institution management as student - learning and communication device tools is
useful. In the classroom mobile phones motivate students to be more engaged to
the lesson promoting learner-centered participation. This indicates the dynamic
support that the mobile phone has brought to students‟ learning practice.
According to Barker, Krull, and Mallinson (2006), the impacts of mobile phone
technologies on learning are portability, collaboration and motivation enhancing
students, parents and teachers‟ education system. The mobile phone portability
enables student learning to be ubiquitous in obtaining or retrieving course
information through their mobile phones as they are carried from class to class or
wherever. Their portability can improve a wide variety of learning settings,
namely a field trip, the classroom, or outside the campus (Krull 2006).

18
 Collaboration Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter accessed on
students‟ mobile phones allow students to form groups to distribute and add
together their knowledge, and share information with ease, and this could result in
a more successful collaborative learning.

B) Negative impact
However, along with these positive impacts, there are negative aspects to young people’s
mobile phone use. Unfortunately the countries like Pakistan, India and Bangladesh have
strong cultural values, rules and customs that are easily fettered by the western cultural
onslaught. Our youth is concentrating on some bad choices. The telecommunication
companies in our country have been inclined towards introducing new and attractive
packages for youth like Moblink (ladies first, happy hours), Warid (zem series), Ufone
(public demand, prepay life panch ka pandra, u circle) Telenor (talkshawk Aone, djuice)
and Zong‟s life package. All necessary and normal interactions can be dealt with during
daytime but the companies offer the packages that start after end of family or business
communication. My feeling is that these packages are more likely to spoil and destroy our
youth than to do anything else.In our youth segment the majority is student community
that is spell bounded by these packages. They are losing the essence of their studies. They
are getting away from their goals, destinies and motives.By talking whole night with
opposite sex, they are getting psychologically weak and pressured. There are many other
physical distortions also arising due to spending the precious time which is needed
compulsory rest, relaxation, relief and mental health. They are going far and far away
from the hold of families. They tell lies and have false communication with their parents.
They are betraying the decisions, trust and expectations of their parents. It is interesting
to note that there are few common family rules about young people‟s use of the mobile
phone. In fact, many young people (58%) reported that there were no rules set by their
parents about their mobile phone use, and only 12% reported that their parents used
removal of their mobile phones as punishment ([12]). In [5]study concluded that 26% of
young mobile people reporting being threatened, with the phone being confiscated, as a
form of punishment in New Zealand. It has been found that some young people‟s sleep is
disturbed when friends call them on their mobile phone to talk or when a text message is
deposited [16]. There have also been anecdotal reports of young people texting under
bedcovers at night and using their mobile phones as their alarm clock and torch. Probably
because of the sleeping issue it has been found that the most common rule set by parents
(56%) was that children have to leave their mobile phones out of their rooms at night. Ten
percent of young people also reported that their parents frequently had to ask them to stop
using their mobile phone late at night with 12% saying that this was the most common
disagreement between them and their parents
In today's technological world, cellular phones have become an integral part of day-to-
day life. People of all ages rely on them for both communication and entertainment.
However, some people disagree on whether cellphones are appropriate for certain places,
such as the classroom. It's important for parents, teachers and students to understand the
detrimental effects of cellphones in schools.
Consider cellphones' impact in the classroom.
Cheating
Information. This is facilitated by "exam cheat equipment" such as inconspicuous ear
pieces that students can purchase online.
19
Cyber-Bullying
Before cellphones, bullying was limited to physical or verbal abuse. Now, mobile phones
can take pictures and videos, creating a trend called "cyber-bullying." Students have used
their phones to embarrass their peers or teachers. For example, students may record
school fights and post them online. Teachers are not immune to the bullying. Kids might
record their teacher losing his temper, then post it on sites such as YouTube. Common
sense would dictate that these acts can be humiliating to the victims and harmful to the
school's reputation.

Texting
Texting in class has become a serious concern for educators. Dr. Patricia Fioriello,
moderator of the High School Mediator website, warns that students can't focus on the
lesson if they are busy sending messages on their phones. She also explains that this
behavior negatively impacts the class environment. It distracts teachers and students who
are trying to concentrate on the lesson. If a student is focused on texting, he is unable to
absorb the information being demonstrated.
Sexting
Unlike texting, which is a nuisance, "sexting" involves sending sexually provocative
pictures or messages. It is no secret that teenagers are powder kegs of raging hormones,
constantly learning about their sexuality. However, these self-taught lessons come at a
price. While sexting between two people can seem harmless, there is no guarantee that the
recipient will keep them private. Once a photo is sent, it can be forwarded to any number
of people or uploaded online. The ensuing backlash can result in ridicule, bullying and
even suicide. "Psychology Today" cites the cases of Jessica Logan and Hope Whitsell,
who both killed themselves after suggestive pictures of them were circulated around the
school. Logan graduated, but committed suicide soon after. Whitsell was suspended for
the picture, but she could not face the constant harassment that she endured at school.
Policies
Although the disadvantages of cellphones in schools are quite apparent, the decision to
regulate or ban them is up to each school. Some institutions prohibited mobile phones and
pagers near the turn of the century. Many schools allow the devices because of external
pressure from parents who claim that cellphones are important for emergency
communication. National School Safety and Security Services recommends that only
teachers and staff carry cellphones for use during a crisis.
Disadvantages of Allowing Cell Phones In High Schools

The topic of cell phone usage in schools is a hot one, and there seem to be many different
opinions of people.
Kids are always under pressure to do well in school. As a result, the occasional student
may cheat on a test. Mobile phones are capable of more than just calling and texting.

20
Students can easily gain Internet access through their phones during an exam.
Additionally, they can listen to recordedThe disadvantages of allowing students to have
and use their cell phones while in school.
Distractions
The most obvious reason is that cell phones will be a distraction for students. Whether
they’re taking selfies or texting in class, cell phones can be very detrimental to a student’s
ability to pay attention in class. It can be very tempting to check your Instagram in class
instead of listening to a lecture, and allowing students to have cell phones in class is
inviting this behavior. Bullying
Giving students access to cell phones during school opens the door to cyber bullying.
While it can happen after school hours as well, cyber bullying will be even more
accessible if cell phones are allowed in school. With cameras built into most cell phones,
photos can be snapped during the day without other students knowing, and those photos
can end up on the Internet. Cyber bullying may be much harder to control if cell phones
are allowed in schools.
Cheating
Putting cell phones and test times together can result in student dishonesty. Cell phones
make it very easy for students to share answers, take photos of quizzes or tests, or look up
answers online during testing. Some students may take photos of their notes or textbooks
in order to reference them during testing. Cheating can become a big problem in schools
where cell phone usages is allowed, even with strict rule enforcement.
Inappropriate Use
Many parents have rules about cell phone usage, but it’s harder to enforce those rules
when your child is away from home. It’s easier to view inappropriate sites, and send lewd
texts or sexual photos while students are in school than it is to do at home because of the
lack of individual supervision students receive while at school.
Interruptions
Not only can cell phones cause distractions for individual students in class, but they can
also interrupt the entire class. A ringing, beeping, or buzzing cell phone can disrupt a test,
lecture, or study period. You can’t count on every student to make sure the cell phone is
on silent at all times, and there will definitely be interruptions throughout the day. Mcneal
and Hooft (2006) point out that even though cell phones are popular their use in the
learning environment has been met with some resistance from students and educators
mainly based on the fact that they are “a source of irritation, delinquency and even crime”
(Katz and James E: 2008) .Proponents of cell phone use strongly feel that cell phones are
inappropriate tools for learning as they are actually harmful.
Commonly cited negative effects of cell phone use in education include, chatting and
texting when students should be studying. As Cumiskey (2005) notes, public use of cell
phones transforms our roles from social participants to observer or user. In other words,

21
it’s not just the student using a cell phone who is affected but also the one who is studying
closer to the user thereby constituting a disturbance to proximate others. Kawasaki
(2006), Jeen -Hynn et al (2008) and Ling‟s (2005) reported how students who are
preoccupied with their mobile phones tend to experience psychological distrurbances,
depression, lower self-esteem and interpersonal anxiety when they study without their cell
phones. Helszer (2004) reports on how some Education administrators spend much time
and energy developing policies and procedures to keep cell phones out of education at the
expense of developing sound policies that integrates cell phone use as knowledge
construction and data tools. For example, Gilroy (2004) pointed out that 85% of
professors‟ surveyed in Germany stated that they wanted cell phones banned from tertiary
education mainly because of students cheating in tests, accessing unfiltered internet sites
and secretly taking pictures without permission. Cell phone use has also been found to
reduce students thinking abilities and shortening the attention span of students so
dramatically that students struggle to read anything longer than a social network posting
(Young:1996). Research has concluded that m-learning works best when used as part of a
blend (Brown: 2005, McHugh and Hall 2006) that is, as a supplementary tool that is used
in combination with traditional methods such as, lectures, paper based materials and other
ICT tools. As defined by Tuckman [5], performance as the obvious expression or
demonstration of sympathetic, ideas, skills and knowledge of a person and planned grade
clearly indicate the performance of a student. So student’s academic performance are
given more emphasis and keeping in view all the factors adversely or positively impacts
on their academic performance. Majority of students use smartphones for leisure purposes
and only few uses for educational development purposes. A research was conducted by
[6] to study the relationship between academic performance and Facebook usage. Sample
were taken from population of 219 university students and they found that Facebook
users had lower Grade Point Averages and they were online most of the time and utilized
very less time for their studies in comparison with students who did not use Social
Networking Services (SNS). Only 26% of students reported that SNS impacted positively
and helped to grow in their lives and 74% said that it had adverse impact like
procrastination, lack of concentration or distraction and poor time management. In their
research titled “Smartphone Addiction in University Students and Its Implication for
Learning” Lee et al [7], found that the higher the addiction level is, the lower level of self
-regulated learning the students have, as well as low level of flow when studying. Further
interview for smartphone addiction group was conducted, it has been found that the
smartphone addict—learners are constantly interrupted by the other applications on the
phones when they are studying, and does not have enough control over their smartphone
learning plan and its process. Grosseck et al [8] and [9], in their study found that the
majority of students spend significant time on Facebook more for social uses (to stay in
touch with friends and family, to share / tag photos, to engage in social activism,
volunteering etc.) and less for academic purposes, even if they take part in discussions
about their assignments, lectures, study notes or share information about research
resources etc. In their research concerning Online Social networking (OSN) Paul et al
[10], their results revealed a statistically significant negative relationship between time
spent by students on OSN and their academic performance. The time spent on OSN was

22
found to be heavily influenced by the attention span of the students. Specifically, we
determined that the higher the attention span, the lower is the time spent on OSN. Further,
attention span was found to be highly correlated with characteristics that predict or
influence student behavior, such as their perceptions about society’s view of social
networking, their likes and dislikes of OSN, ease of use of OSN, etc. According to
Salehan et al [11], As the penetration of mobile phones in societies increases, there is a
large growth in the use of mobile phones especially among the youth. This trend is
followed by the fast growth in use of online social networking services (SNS). Extensive
use of technology can lead to addiction. This study finds that the use of SNS mobile
applications is a significant predictor of mobile addiction. The result also shows that the
use of SNS mobile applications is affected by both SNS network size and SNS intensity
of the user [12, 13]. The relationship between Facebook use and grades was examined in
a large sample by Junco [14], and reveals that unlike previous research, his study used
university records to collect GPA data. Time spent on Facebook was negatively related to
overall GPA. Time on Facebook was also negatively related to time spent preparing for
class. Some Facebook activities were positively and some negatively related to outcomes.
As per [15], smartphone poisoning means connection to poisoning phenomena habitually
using a smartphone without special purpose for and showing anxiety and restlessness
without a smart phone. According to [16-18], an increasing reliance on cell-phones
among young adults and college students may signal the evolution of cell-phone use from
a habit to an addiction. Although the concept of addiction has multiple definitions,
traditionally it has been described as the repeated use of a substance despite the negative
consequences suffered by the addicted individual. A research done by Junco [19], shows
that Females tend to see technologies like Mobile phones and Internet as tools of
communication – as a means to maintaining and nurturing relationships. Men, on the
other hand, tend to see the Internet and related technologies as sources of entertainment.
As per Chakraborty et al [20], although various etiological theories could be used to
explain which cell-phone activities are most likely to lead to addiction (e.g., Escape
Theory), Learning Theory seems particularly appropriate. Learning Theory emphasizes,
among other things, the rewards gained from various cell-phone activities. According to
[21], the regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Extroversion, neuroticism and
Openness to experiences are all positively correlated to FBA (Facebook Addiction). Also,
there is negative relationship between FBA and Academic performance. Smartphone’s
addiction is a major impact on academic and social life. As per Sarwar et al [22], surveys
show that Smartphone addiction is interfering with our night‘s sleep. According to the
survey, 33% of mobile workers admitted that they check their phones for email and
message throughout the night. Nearly 50% of those surveyed said, they wouldn‘t even
think of going to bed without have their Smartphone‘s tucked under their pillows [23, 24].
According to [25] and [26], smartphone abuse is increasing in the 21st century as more
and more adolescents enjoy exploring their Smartphone’s in their free hours. Smartphone
overuse can be a sign of Smartphone addiction. According to the research done by
Lapointe et al [27] their results revealed that four smartphone user profiles. In two of
these profiles, users are exhibiting addictive behaviors. In the first group, the users'
profile corresponds to that of other types of additions. In the second group, known

23
definitions of addiction do not apply and the characteristics of these users are very
different. Their results then suggest that adopting traditional conceptualizations of
addiction will not be sufficient to define, understand and manage IT addictive behaviors.
As per research done by [28], the organizations expect their employees to respond to the
emails immediately even after working hours, due to that employee feel compelled to
respond to official emails. Many Smartphone users engage in continuous monitoring of
their work related emails, which creates compulsive routines of chronic checking and in
the long run it is responsible for increased stress. There are evidences that Smartphone
usage is responsible to blur the distinctions between the work and family life. The
Smartphone causes the employees to take the work into the home domain. As a
consequence, the blurring work and family life might lead to a worsened work–family
balance. According to [29], the use of the Internet has become a part of life of every
student and a mean to search for the information as and when it is needed. These days,
use of mobile phones for internet purposes has become a routine and number of mobile
consumer accessing the Internet is surpassing fixed line internet users. The Smartphone
with the capability of always connected makes it much easier for the students to avail this
type of education facility and makes the Smartphone a perfect fit device for distance
learning. As per [30], text messaging plays an important role in college student’s life, too.
A survey conducted at the University of Colorado and several other universities in 2010
found that text messaging and emailing are two of the most commonly used functions on
smart phones among college students, followed by reading news, watching videos and
reading books.

24
 CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The preceding chapter identified the problem of study and reviewed the relevant
literature. In this chapter the methodology will be set forth.
Strategy
The overall strategy of this research was survey. A research design is used to structure
the research, to show how all of the main parts of the research project. Survey research is
commonly used to measure the attitudes, opinions, achievements with any number of
variables in natural settings in educational research. There are two types of survey
research design, first is longitudinal and second is cross-sectional, which are widely used
with the samples in present study we have adopted the survey research with cross-
sectional research design.
Population
The population of study comprised of Prospective teachers of SMBB Govt.
College of Education Larkana. According to the census of Pakistan 1998, Larkana had a
population of 1,927,066 of which 28.70% were urban.
The current total population of Larkana District is estimated about 2,527,066 (2019)

Sampling
According to the view of Best and Kahn, a large sample is an ideal in order to serve as
a reasonable and satisfactory representative of the population about which the researcher
wants to generalize and small sample is ideal to be selected with regard to economical
requirements with reference to the subject availability, expenses in both time and money,
and complexity in analyzing the data.
According to Sudman, there should be at least 20 members in each cell and around
about 50 for each critical variable.

25
 It was not possible to carry out a census, as the population was very huge and
spread; therefore, the researcher adopted stratified random sampling design. The rules
of classification connected to control, gender, and town wise area of the college were
followed. 50 was total size of the sample. 40 were female prospective teachers and
twenty 10 male of the selected college.
Research Instruments
The next measure was to collect and sort-out the data for solving the problem under
study, after specifying the population and drawing the sample. Unlimited techniques are
obtainable for collecting data, these techniques adopted in questionnaire.
A questionnaire consisting of twenty items was designed. The items were drawn
from related literature, relevant content field, with consultation of the experts and
personal observation of the investigator to ensure the validity of the questionnaire.

Pilot Study
An instrument that yields consistent results over time is said to be reliable.
According to Specter (1981) the reliability of an instrument places an upper limit on its
validity. The reliability of the questionnaire was censured by keeping the words clear,
meaningful and using simple language. The suggestions of experts were welcomed for the
refinement of each and every item before to make questionnaire finalize.
A pilot study was conducted on a small sample (n=10) from female prospective
teachers of the SMBBGCE Larkana, during the course of research some items of
questionnaire were amended and some of them dropped.
Validity refers to the accuracy of a measurement. An instrument is considered to
be valid if it measures accurately. Thus the reliability and validity of the questionnaire
were found satisfactory.

Procedure
In this process the researcher is directly concerned with responded for the purpose of
questionnaire. This procedure is also time taking and less productive because she has to
investigate questions completely.
According to John W. Best questionnaire is the best process through which researcher
gets his objects and means properly and he can measure the answers and results clearly.
By this she can make reliable reports on the basis of assumed data to his problem under
study.

Plan of data analysis

To analyses the data, two types of analytical techniques were used. First, qualitative
analyses of the interview code of behavior were made and the results were designated in
the chronicle form. The technique was quantitative which involved both descriptive and
inferential statistical procedures. Tables with the frequencies and percentage were used
for description of data. In addition, for item-by-item analyses with techniques of
percentage was used.

26
 CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter will present the findings it is divided into three sections.
Section I: Composition of the sample
Section II: Answers of the Research questions
Section III: Item by Item analysis

SECTION I: COMPOSITION OF THE SAMPLE

Table 1.1.1 Demonstrate the distribution of SMBB Govt: College Of Education
Larkana Students by ages
Distribution of Students of SMBB GCE Larkana by age
TABLE 1.1.1
Age 15 to 20 20 to 30 Above 30
Total 10 40 0
Percentage 20% 80% 0%

27
 Above 30

20 to 30

15 to 20

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

It is cleared from the table that out of 50 Students, 20% were 15 to 20 years old,
80% were 20 to 30 years old and 0% was above 30.

Distribution of Students of SMBB Govt: College of Education Larkana

by experience
Table 1.1.2 Demonstrate the distribution of Students of SMBB GCE Larkana by
Experience
TABLE: 1.1.2
Experience Less than 10 years More than 10 years
Total 43 7
Percentage 86% 14%

More than 10 years

Less than 10 years

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

28
It is cleared from the table 1.1.2 that out of 50 students, 86% students have experience
less than 10 years and 14% Students have experience more than 10 years.

Distribution of Students by marital status Students of SMBB Govt:

College Of Larkana

Table 1.1.3 Demonstrate the distribution of Students of SMBB GCE Larkana by marital
status.
TABLE: 1.1.3
Marital status Married Unmarried
Total 2 48
percentage 4% 98%

Unmarried

Married

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

29
 It is cleared from the table that out of 50 Students, 4% were married and other
98% were unmarried.

Distribution of Students of SMBB Gov. College of Education Larkana

by Academic qualification
Table 4.1.4 Demonstrate the distribution of SMBB Gov. College of Larkana by Academic
qualification.
TABLE: 1.1.4
Academic Graduate Post graduate
qualification
Total 40 10
Percentage 80% 20%

30
 Percentage

Total

qualification

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

It is cleared from the table that out of 50 students 80% students were graduates and 20%
students were post graduate.

ITEM NO: 01
Mobile Phone helps me to easily contact the teachers.

Item#01 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 33 8 4 4 1
Percentage 66% 16% 8% 8% 2%

31
 SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

ANALYSIS: Item number 1 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 66% respondents, strongly agreed by 16% respondents, undecided by 8%
respondents , disagreed by 8% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 2% respondents.
Hence it shows that lack of parental support in education leads a child to drop out.

ITEM NO: 02
Mobile Phone helps me to get in touch with my classmates for study purpose.

Item#02 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 29 19 0 1 1
Percentage 58% 38% 0% 2% 2%

32
 SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

ANALYSIS: Item number 2 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 58% respondents, strongly agreed by 38% respondents, undecided by 0%
respondents, disagreed by 2% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 2% respondents.
Hence it shows that lack of parental support in education leads a child to drop out.

33
ITEM NO: 03
My academic performance has been increased due to Mobile Phone technology.

Item#03 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 31 12 2 4 1
Percentage 62% 24% 4% 8% 2%

SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

ANALYSIS: Item number 3 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 62% respondents, strongly agreed by 24% respondents, undecided by 4%
respondents, disagreed by 8% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 2% respondents.
Hence it shows that academic performance has been increased due to mobile phone
technology.

34
ITEM NO: 04
The Mobile Phone has helped to improve the level of the quality of education.

Item#04 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 36 9 1 3 1
Percentage 72% 18% 2% 6% 2%

SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

ANALYSIS: Item number 4 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 72% respondents, strongly agreed by 19% respondents, undecided by 2%
respondents, disagreed by 6% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 2% respondents.
Hence it shows that mobile phone has helped to improve the level of quality of education.

35
ITEM NO: 05
Using a Mobile Phone helps me to study more efficiently.

Item#05 A SA U SD D
Respondent
s 26 15 2 5 2
Percentage 52% 30% 4% 10% 4%

SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

ANALYSIS: Item number 5 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 30% respondents, strongly agreed by 30% respondents, undecided by 4%
respondents, disagreed by 10% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 4% respondents.
Hence it shows that mobile phone has helped students to study more efficiently.

36
ITEM NO: 06
I use dictionary /calculator of Mobile Phone during class.

Item#06 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 18 8 2 21 1
Percentage 36% 16% 4% 42% 2%

SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25

ANALYSIS: Item number 6 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 36% respondents, strongly agreed by 16% respondents, undecided by 4%
respondents, disagreed by 42% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 2% respondents.
Hence it shows that majority of students do not use dictionary or calculator during class.

37
ITEM NO: 07
Mobile Phone Usage can lead to increase in information skills.

Item#07 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 28 7 4 11 0
Percentage 56% 14% 8% 22% 0%

SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

ANALYSIS: Item number 7 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 56% respondents, strongly agreed by 14% respondents, undecided by 8%
respondents, disagreed by 22% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 0% respondents.
Hence it shows that mobile phone usage can lead to increase in information skills.

38
ITEM NO: 08
I use Mobile Phone during class to enhance my understanding about a topic.

Item#08 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 17 3 2 23 5
Percentage 34% 6% 4% 46% 10%

SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25

ANALYSIS: Item number 8 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 17% respondents, strongly agreed by 3% respondents, undecided by 2%
respondents, disagreed by 23% respondents, and strongly disagreed by10 % respondents.
Hence it shows that using mobile phone during class enhance students understanding.

39
 ITEM NO: 9
Using social networking sites on Mobile Phone helps me with my homework.

Item#09 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 24 13 5 8 0
Percentage 48% 26% 10% 16% 0%

SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

ANALYSIS: Item number 9 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 48% respondents, strongly agreed by 26% respondents, undecided by 10%
respondents, disagreed by 16% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 0% respondent.
Hence it shows that using social networking sites on mobile helps students in their
homework.

40
ITEM N0: 10
The teachers encourage us to use the Mobile Phone for study purpose.

Item#10 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 40 3 2 5 0
Percentage 80% 6% 4% 10% 0%

SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

ANALYSIS: Item number 10 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 80% respondents, strongly agreed by 6% respondents, undecided by 4%
respondents, disagreed by 10% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 0% respondents.
Hence it shows that almost all students are agreed that their teachers encouraged them to
use mobile phone for study purpose.

41
ITEM NO: 11
The Mobile Phone has put negative impact on students’ moral values.

Item#11 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 21 2 7 15 5
Percentage 42% 4% 14% 30% 10%

SD

ANALYSIS:
D Item number
11 has been
attempted by
U 50 respondents
in which it was
agreed by 41%
SA
respondents,
strongly
agreed by 4%
A
respondents,
0 5 10 15 20 25
undecided by
14%
respondents,
disagreed by 30% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 10% respondents. Hence it
shows that mobile phone has put negative impact on students’ moral values.

42
ITEM NO: 12
The Mobile Phone is a waste of time for students.

Item#12 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 16 4 6 16 8
Percentage 32% 8% 12% 32% 16%

SD

SA

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

ANALYSIS: Item number 12 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 32% respondents, strongly agreed by 8% respondents, undecided by 12%
respondents, disagreed by 32% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 16% respondents.
Hence it shows that the half of the respondents are disagreed that mobile phone is waste
of time.

43
ITEM NO: 13
The students use Mobile Phone in examination hall as a source of unfair means.

Item#13 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 23 6 3 12 6
Percentage 46% 12% 6% 24% 12%

SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25

ANALYSIS: Item number 13 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 46% respondents, strongly agreed by 12% respondents, undecided by 6%
respondents, disagreed by 24% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 12% respondents.
Hence it shows that many students use mobile phone in examination hall as unfair means.

44
ITEM NO: 14
Students tease the fellow mates by sending missed calls through unknown numbers.

Item#14 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 16 5 7 17 5
Percentage 32% 10% 14% 34% 10%

SD

SA

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

ANALYSIS: Item 14 number has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 32% respondents, strongly agreed by 10% respondents, undecided by 14%
respondents, disagreed by 34% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 10% respondents.
Hence it shows that of the students tease the fellow mates by sending missed calls
through unknown numbers.

45
ITEM NO: 15
Mobile Phone is responsible for students’ low academic performance.

Item#15 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 21 4 4 17 4
Percentage 42% 8% 8% 34% 8%

SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25

ANALYSIS: Item number 15 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 42% respondents, strongly agreed by 8% respondents, undecided by 8%
respondents, disagreed by 34% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 8% respondents.
Hence it shows that half of the respondent agreed that mobile phone is cause of low
academic achievement.

46
ITEM NO: 16
Mobile Phones should be banned in the classroom.

Item#16 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 21 11 1 14 3
Percentage 42% 22% 2% 28% 6%

SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25

ANALYSIS: Item number 16 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 42% respondents, strongly agreed by 22% respondents, undecided by 2%
respondents, disagreed by 28% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 6% respondents.
Hence it shows that majority of respondent are agreed that mobile phone should be
banned in the classroom.

47
ITEM NO: 17
I am distracted by my Mobile Phone during study.

Item#17 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 22 2 6 14 6
Percentage 44% 4% 12% 28% 12%

SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25

ANALYSIS: Item number 17 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 44% respondents, strongly agreed by % respondents, undecided by 12%
respondents, disagreed by 28 % respondents, and strongly disagreed by 12% respondents.
Hence it shows that mobile phone distracts the students from study.

48
ITEM NO: 18

I often fail to get enough rest because I interact with my Mobile Phone.

Item#18 A SA U SD D
Respondent
s 16 6 18 15 5
Percentage 32% 12% 36% 30% 10%

SD

SA

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

ANALYSIS: Item number 18 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 32 % respondents, strongly agreed by 12 % respondents, undecided by 16 %
respondents, disagreed by 30% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 10% respondents.
Hence it shows that half of the respondents agreed that they don’t get enough rest when
they interact with their mobile phone.

49
ITEM NO: 19
Using social networking sites on my Mobile Phone badly effects my study timings.

Item#19 A SA U D SD
Respondent
s 26 4 6 11 3
Percentage 52% 8% 12% 22% 6%

SD

SA

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

ANALYSIS: Item number 19 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by 52% respondents, strongly agreed by 8 % respondents, undecided by 12 %
respondents disagreed by 22% respondents, and strongly disagreed by 6% respondents.
Hence it shows that using social networking sites on mobile phone badly effects students’
study timings.

50
ITEM NO: 20
I think that I am addicted of my Mobile Phone.

Item#20 A SA U D SD
Respondents 13 5 7 18 7
Percentage 26% 10% 14% 36% 14%

SD

SA

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

ANALYSIS: Item number 20 has been attempted by 50 respondents in which it was

agreed by26 % respondents, strongly agreed by 10 % respondents, undecided by 14%
respondents, disagreed by 36 % respondents, and strongly disagreed by14 % respondents.
Hence it shows that half of the respondents are addicted of mobile phone.

51
 Answers of the research questions

Qno:01 What are causes why students use mobile phone?

Ans: As cell phone technology continues its rapid development, helpful tools for study
and can be a hurtful source of distraction depending on the attitude and use pattern of a
student. The author, however, suggests that the mobile phone designers must take into
account how young people use cell phones for educational purposes. Currently education
is making a move toward the use of more technology within classrooms ranging from
elementary to the collegiate level. In high schools and colleges, devices being used most
commonly for educational purposes not only mobile phone but also laptop and tablets.
These devices are being used in hopes of enhancing student’s academic performance.
Students are using devices for activities such as,
 Taking notes
 Researching
 For communication
 Causes for using calculators and calendar
These device are to improve educational experiences for the students.

Qno:02 What are the positive effects of Mobile Phones?

Ans: Using cell phones as a learning tool will positively affect classroom grade.
Now-a-days, Cell phones is going to be an integral part of our daily life as well as
university life and culture. Even a casual observation of today’s university students will
reveal cell phones being used, both overtly and covertly, in every possible campus setting,
including the classroom. Tindell and Bohlander, (2012) suggests that university students
frequently use the cell phone during class time despite rules against doing so. As cell
phone technology continues its rapid development, the device appears capable of
contributing to student learning and improved academic performance.
For example, modern “Smartphone” provide students with immediate, portable access to
many of the same education-enhancing capabilities as an Internet-connected computer,
such as online information retrieval, file sharing, and interacting with professors and
fellow students (Bull and McCormick, 2012; Tao and Yeh, 2013). Conversely, recent
research suggests that many university students perceive the cell phone primarily as a
leisure device, and most commonly use of cell phones have positive effect on students
such as,
 cell phones has influenced multiple aspects of our daily lives
 Using mobile phone have positive impact, using cell phone in classroom for,
studying, and doing homework.

Qno:3 What are negative effects of Mobile Phones?

Ans: Mcneal and Hooft (2006) point out that even though cell phones are
hupopular their use in the learning environment has been met with some
resistance from students and educators mainly based on the fact that they
are “a source of irritation, delinquency and even crime” (Katz and James

52
E: 2008) .Proponents of cell phone use strongly feel that cell phones are
inappropriate tools for learning as they are actually harmful.
Commonly cited negative effects of cell phone use in education include,
Cheating
Information. This is facilitated by "exam cheat equipment" such as inconspicuous
ear pieces that students can purchase online.
Cyber-Bullying
Before cellphones, bullying was limited to physical or verbal abuse. Now, mobile
phones can take pictures and videos, creating a trend called "cyber-bullying."
Students have used their phones to embarrass their peers or teachers.
Qno:4 What can be done to further support the use of mobile devices in the learning
process?
Many students are already using their mobile devices during lessons. Therefore, they
should be encouraged to use them for learning purposes more than personal use. It is
impossible for teachers to control what their students do yet it could be beneficial to
integrate mobile devices into lesson plans. Using quiz applications like Kahoot or
having information available to students on their mobile devices in the form of pdfs
for example may stop students being distracted by their mobile device as its use will
support their learning in the lesson. Other activities such as taking photos or making
videos are also useful as it allows the students to learn in different ways that they may
find more interesting.

Peer discussion should be encouraged in students. Applications such as WhatsApp

and Facebook can be used by students to collaborate on projects and may also help
students to make new friends. The use of discussion boards on Reppu could be
encouraged by teachers as all students would benefit from peer discussion on there as
all enrolled students can view the message boards of a course. However, some
students may be discouraged by teachers being able to view their questions and prefer
private messaging with other students available in the mentioned third party
applications. Course or project team group chats could be set up so that students can
discuss their courses in more informal and relaxed way.

Students should be made of and encouraged to use the Moodle application the view
Reppu as it may solve a lot of the issues students have using Reppu in browsers on
their mobile devices. There should also be some level of consistency in the way
information and assignments are laid out on course pages on Reppu. This would make
it easier for students to navigate and find the information they need.
It could also be possible to create an application that helps gamify studies as
suggested by one of the students surveyed. This could be used as a project for students
to collaborate on and if successful could make learning become a more fun
experiences and less monotonous.
Students should also be encouraged to utilize the recently released LAMK
application. It would be useful if the LAMK application could be connected to
Lukkarit so that any changes to the schedule there are shown in the application or
notifies users. If teachers need to change the schedule for whatever reason it would be
more convenient if they had a method to change the schedule which notified all the
enrolled students on their mobile devices. This would save the teacher from writing an
email and students from needing to persistently check their school email account.

53
 CHAPTER FIVE
ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

Findings of the study.

A SA U D SD
NO Statement
1. Mobile Phone helps me to easily contact the 33 8 4 4 1
teachers. 66% 16% 8% 8% 2%

2. Mobile Phone helps me to get in touch with my 29 19 0 1 1

classmates for study purpose. 58% 38% 0% 2% 2%

3. My academic performance has been increased 31 12 2 4 1

due to Mobile Phone technology. 62% 24% 4% 8% 2%

4. The Mobile Phone has helped to improve the 36 9 1 3 1

level of the quality of education. 72% 18% 2% 6% 2%

5. Using a Mobile Phone helps me to study more 26 15 2 5 2

efficiently. 52% 30% 4% 10% 4%

6. I use dictionary /calculator of Mobile Phone 18 8 2 21 1

during class. 36% 16% 4% 42% 2%
.
7. Mobile Phone Usage can lead to increase in 28 7 4 11 0
information skills. 56% 14% 8% 22% 0%

8. I use Mobile Phone during class to enhance my 17 3 2 23 5

understanding about a topic. 34% 6% 4% 46% 10%

9. Using social networking sites on Mobile Phone 24 13 5 18 0

helps me with my homework. 48% 26% 10% 16% 0%

10. The teachers encourage us to use the Mobile 40 3 2 5 0

Phone for study purpose. 80% 6% 4% 10% 0%

11. The Mobile Phone has put negative impact on 21 2 7 15 5

students’ moral values. 42% 4% 14% 30% 10%

12. The Mobile Phone is a waste of time for 16 4 6 16 8

students. 32% 8% 12% 32% 16%

54
13. The students use Mobile Phone in examination 23 6 3 12 6
hall as a source of unfair means. 46% 12% 6% 24% 12%

14. Students tease the fellow mates by sending 16 5 7 17 5

missed calls through unknown numbers. 32% 10% 14% 34% 10%

15. Mobile Phone is responsible for students’ low 21 4 4 17 4

academic performance. 42% 8% 8% 34% 8%

16. Mobile Phones should be banned in the 21 11 1 14 3

classroom. 42% 22% 2% 28% 6%

17. I am distracted by my Mobile Phone during 22 2 6 14 6

study. 44% 4% 12% 28% 12%

18. I often fail to get enough rest because I interact 16 6 18 15 5

with my Mobile Phone. 32% 12% 36% 30% 10%

19. Using social networking sites on my Mobile 26 4 6 11 3

Phone badly effects my study timings. 52% 8% 12% 22% 6%

20. I think that I am addicted of my Mobile Phone. 13 5 7 18 7

26% 10% 14% 36% 14%

55
Description the findings of the study
On the basis of analysis and interpretation of the data received from the
students through questionnaire and, the main finding and conclusion reached
through this study are as follow:
1. Majority of students 66% agreed that mobile phone helps them to
easily contact the teachers while other few students 10% were
disagreed with this statement
2. The study found that the 58% agreed that mobile phone helps them to
get in touch with their classmates for study purpose.
3. About 62% agreed that mobile phone positively helps them in
increasing their academic performance
4. Most of the students 72% of college had opinion that mobile phone
has helped to improve the level of quality of education whereas 14%
disagreed.
5. Moreover 52% students use mobile phones to do their study more
efficiently.
6. About 52% students use it as a dictionary/calculator in the classroom
and other 44% are disagreed with the statement.
7. Majority (66% of college students) are agreed that mobile phone can
lead to increase in information skills.
8. Furthermore 56% students are disagreed that they don’t use mobile
phone during class to enhance their understanding about topic while
other 40 % are agreed with the statement.
9. Majority (more than 70%) students are agreed that they use social
networking sites on mobile phone to get help in their studies, other
quarter are disagreed with the statement.
10.Almost all students of college are agreed that their teachers
encouraged them to use the mobile phone for study purpose.
11.Approximately 42% of students are agreed that mobile phone has put
negative impact on students’ moral values.
12.Around 48% students were disagreed with the statement that mobile
phone is waste of time for them.
13.Moreover, around 50% students were disagreed that they don’t use
mobile phone in examination hall as a source of unfair means while
46% agreed and 4% of the students said they don’t know.
14.More than 40% respondents agreed that they send missed call from
unknown numbers to tease their fellow mates.
15.Approximately 42% were disagreed from the statement that mobile
phone is responsible for students low academic performance other
50% were agreed.
16.Majority more than 60 % students were agreed from the statement that
mobile phones should be banned in the classroom.

56
17.However about 48% respondents were agreed that mobile phone
distract them during their learning other 40% were disagreed while
12% respondents said that they are undecided.
18.About 44% respondents were agreed that they don’t get enough rest
because they interact with their mobile phone 36% said they don’t
know while other 40 % were disagreed.
19.A majority of students about 60% were agreed that using social
networking sites on mobile phone badly effects their study timings.
20. Up to 50% respondents were disagreed with the statement that they
are addicted of their mobile phone.

57
FINDINGS OF THE RESEARCH QUESTION
Based on the data presented, analyzed and interpreted, the researcher is able to come out
with the followings findings. The first analysis reveals that mobile phone usage has the
significant influence on academic performance among students of SMBBGCE. This was
evident because all the answers from the items indicate a positive response hence the
highest percentage agreed that mobile phone usage affects and enhances students’
academic performance. The second finding shows that mobile phone usage has the
positive influence on academic performance of students because the device appears
capable of contributing to student learning and improved academic performance. The
third finding shows mobile phone negatively effects on students when they use it
inappropriately such as for the cause of cheating in exams. The fourth finding shows that
to further support the use of mobile phone in learning the encouragement and proper
guidance is necessary.
CONCLUSION
It is generally agreed that mobile phone usage has profound influence on
student academic performance and achievement. The research however set to
find out the impact of mobile phone usage among on academic performance
among public secondary schools in Oju local government area of Benue
state. From the result of the analysis, it is therefore concluded that the use of
mobile phone among secondary school students in Oju local government
area had the significant relationship on their academic achievement. It is in
this regard that the researcher draws the attention of the teachers, proprietors,
principals as well as government to take priority in the provision of
instructional materials since they boost student performances.
Recommendations
Based on the finding of the study, the following recommendations have
been made;
i. Students should take a more active role in the learning process and take
an interest in using mobile phone technologies to improve educational
experiences. Science students should be encouraged by their teachers to
make more use of chat rooms, such as Viber and WhatsApp for group
discussions, share images through Bluetooth for explaining scientific
concepts and processes, use video conferencing for face-to-face group
discussions, read eBooks and download scientific materials from the
internet.
ii. Teachers should encourage students in the use of mobile phone
technologies in their learning. These technologies can provoke the
interest of the students and make learning more interactive. As a result,
teachers should explore different ways in which mobile phone
technologies can be used in teaching and learning. For example, mobile
phone learning through tutoring, games, quizzes, podcasts (audio/video)

58
and e-books. This will make students more aware of the possibilities of
these technologies and therefore will try to exploit their full potential.
iii. To engage students effectively and meaningfully, teachers should
provide course content and other learning materials online, so that
students will get the opportunity to download this information onto their
phones in order to access it at any time or anyplace instantaneously. This
will allow students to be fully prepared for lessons as well as
supplementing and reinforcing information that has already been taught
in class. Teachers can also formulate automatic alerts to their students on
important information, such as quiz dates, additional required readings as
well as links to helpful websites. These mobile phone technologies will
go a long way in supporting students' learning, therefore increasing their
academic performance.
iv. Curriculum planners and policy makers should consider students'
learning styles in the use of mobile phone in learning. Instruction should
be designed in such a way so as to connect with multiple learning styles
that are appropriate for mobile phones. Teachers have a role in
identifying their students' learning styles hence should encourage
matching mobile phone technologies and resources to these styles. This
includes integrating sound, visuals, music and games into the learning
environment.
v. Content developers and programmers should come together to design
and develop educational mobile phone applications that can be used in
learning various topics in science in order to provide tools for authoring,
manipulation, and communication. These applications should be simple
for easy navigation for both students and teachers. A rubric for selecting
applications should be developed and distributed to teachers so as to
provide specific criteria for effective learning. An online database should
be established to provide relevant educational applications for teachers
and students.
vi. An opportunity should be given to teachers to discuss each mobile
application so that suggestions can be made on how to effectively use the
application in science learning. This is especially supportive in science
classes where there are several complicated concepts. The interactive
elements of the applications on the mobile phones will permit students to
develop a better understanding of these complex concepts. The ICT
coordinators in each of these schools should coordinate all these activities
for better monitoring and implementation. This will assist in improving
students' academic performance.

59
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APPENDICES

63
 APPENDIX NO
Impact Of Mobile Phones On Students’ Academic Performance
(A Case Study) At Shaheed Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto
Government College Of Education Larkana

Questionnaire
(To be filled by Prospective Teachers)
Name of respondent: ___________________

Responses: A=Agree, SA = Strongly Agree, U= Undecided, D= Disagree, SD

=Strongly Disagree

A SA U D SD
NO Statement
1. Mobile Phone helps me to easily contact the
teachers.

2. Mobile Phone helps me to get in touch with

my classmates for study purpose.

3. My academic performance has been

increased due to Mobile Phone technology.

4. The Mobile Phone has helped to improve the

level of the quality of education.

5. Using a Mobile Phone helps me to study

more efficiently.

6. I use dictionary /calculator of Mobile Phone

during class.
.
7. Mobile Phone Usage can lead to increase in
information skills.

8. I use Mobile Phone during class to enhance

my understanding about a topic.

9. Using social networking sites on Mobile

Phone helps me with my homework.

10. The teachers encourage us to use the Mobile

Phone for study purpose.

64
11. The Mobile Phone has put negative impact
on students’ moral values.

12. The Mobile Phone is a waste of time for

students.

13. The students use Mobile Phone in

examination hall as a source of unfair means.

14. Students tease the fellow mates by sending

missed calls through unknown numbers.

15. Mobile Phone is responsible for students’

low academic performance.

16. Mobile Phones should be banned in the

classroom.

17. I am distracted by my Mobile Phone during

study.

18. I often fail to get enough rest because I

interact with my Mobile Phone.

19. Using social networking sites on my Mobile

Phone badly effects my study timings.

20. I think that I am addicted of my Mobile

Phone.

Thank you for your cooperation 

65