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Chapter 1

Introduction/Background

In the year where electronic gadgets are not yet invented like computers, students are not

yet engage in activities using these. Students rely on books and visit library facilities to study, read

their notes and review their school lessons. During those years, despite the lack of computers and

hi-tech gadgets students still achieve high and good grades and the students are still focused on

their studies.As years passed, industrial evolution occurred and great changes and improvements

happened one of these changes is the invention of electronic gadgets that then enhanced throughout

the past years. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, children have been called generation

M for their media consumption, and the question is what are the effects of this to the students

learning habits?

Here in Fatima College of Camiguin there is no doubt that students here are very fond of

using gadgets especially the smartphones since they can always count on these technologies

when it comes to their studies because learning can be easily accessedwith the help of these

technologies or it can also be because they can access social networking sites, and any kind of

games which is very famous in this generation. Such impacts depend on how students use

technology; it can either be positive or negative.

In the bright side, students can use the search engines for them to gather certain

information regarding to their lessons or home works which enables them to access information

in a far more quicker way. This is no doubt that technology is indeed a help to every students.

Once a resource has been found, they can just quickly search the entire document by typing in a

key word, rather than having to look in a book’s index

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The things that had been mentioned above may sound as positive as it may be but despite

those positive sides of the use of technology, it does also have a negative side or the dark side.

With the use of websites that helps student’s homework, students might lose the interest when it

comes to studying because they will become dependent on these sites. Modern technology can

easily divert the students’ attention from studying to playing or using gadgets. Which results to a

poor academic performance because instead of studying there are instances that students will be

tempted to access any games as a source of entertainment. And since students nowadays are

really becoming more and more hooked up in using gadgets they really tend to neglect their

studies and the outcome would be that they will end up being unproductive in regards with their

studies. Some students cut classes or worse refrain from going to school because of getting

addicted with these gadgets.

The reason why the researchers came up with this study because we all know that modern

technology is very rampant and famous to the youth in this generation. The researchers have

witnessed how students pay so much attention to their gadgets and because of this the

researchers would like to know if gadgets affect their academic performance. This study aims to

know the different impacts of technology to the grade 10 students’ academic performance in

Fatima College of Camiguin.

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Statement of the Problem

Problem: Learning habits among students are disturbed by modern technology.

Due to the increasing rate of the use of modern technology some of the students nowadays are

very poor in their academic performance because of the applications that they can access through

these gadgets. Students also do not have to think logically since answers to certain questions are

provided in an instant.Specifically our problem answers the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of the following characteristics:

1.1 Gender;

1.2 Ownership of personal gadgets (i.e., smart phone, tablet, laptop);

1.3 Duration of use of personal gadgets?

2. What is the effect of the habitual use of personal gadgets to the learning habits and academic

performance of Grade 10 students in Fatima College of Camiguin?

Hypothesis

Problems 1 and 2 are considered as hypothesis – free.

Objective and Purpose

In the light of the specific problem of the study, the following objectives and purpose

were considered as guide of the study:

1. To gather and create a profile of the respondents in terms of gender, ownership of

personal gadgets, and the duration of use of personal gadgets;

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2. To determine the effect of the habitual use of personal gadgets to the learning habits

and academic performance of Grade 10 students;

3. To promote awareness to the effects of the habitual use of personal gadgets to the

Grade 10 students in terms of learning habits and academic performance.

Significance of the Study

The result of the study is hoped to be beneficial to the following persons or institutions:

Students. The result of the study would benefit them being the main end-users of this

study. From the findings, I provides awareness and may the immediate and vital needs regarding

the use of gadgets among students be addressed and be given priority in the form of policy –

making and instructional strategies.

School. Results of the study will provide baseline information to the the school

administrators, faculty and staff for policy – making and program development regaring the use

of personal gadgets in school.

Teachers. They will be provided with baseline information on the effects of the use of

personal gadgets on the students’ academic performance, thereby allowing them to explore

creative strategies to positively use smart gadgets in the teaching-learning process. Moreover, the

findings maybe useful in the development of appropriate measures to positively manage its usage

in the school vicinity.

Parents. This study will provide baseline information and give awareness to the parents

for the possible intervention for time management of their children when it comes to using

gadgets.
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Researchers. The researchers will have factual data and directly assess their own

learning habits and academic performance coupled with their time management in gadget usage.

These will give them the opportunity to be able to make necessary adjustments so as to the

suitability of the positive effects of personal gadgets to their studies.

Future researchers. The result of the study will provide baseline data for researchers

who will someday embark a parallel study.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study is only limited on the effects of smart gadgets to the students’ learning habits

and academic performance and it focused only to the Grade 10 students in FCC who will be the

respondents and it is within the campus only. It further focused on the variables gender,

ownership of personal gadgets and the duration of use of personal gadgets. Furthermore, this

study was conducted during the School Year 2017 – 2018.

Operational Definition

For clearer reference and understanding of the study the researcher conceptually and

operationally defined the following terms:

Duration of Use. In the study, this phrase refers to the number of hours spent by students

in using their personal gadgets.

FCC. This acronym as used in the study refers to the Fatima College of Camiguin as the

research locale of the study.

Gadget. This term refers to the mechanical or electronic device or tool, especially an

ingenious or novel one used to access the internet and make communication easier.
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Gender. This term refers to the biological classification of the respondents as to male or

female.

Modern Technology. This term refers to the improved product of application of science.

It may be the same with the technologies before but it was designed to make works easier.

Ownership of Personal Gadget. In the study, this phrase refers to the state of having

owned a personal gadget such as smart phone, tablet, etc.

Personal Gadgets. In the study this term refers to the smart phones, tablets, and/or laptop

that are commonly used by the students in accessing the worldwide web or internet.

Smart phones. A smart phone is a cellular telephone with an integrated computer and

other features not originally associated with telephones, such as an operating system, Web

browsing and the ability to run software applications.

Students. This terms as used in the study would refer to the Grade 10 students in Fatima

College of Camiguin.
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Conceptual Framework

Independent Variables Dependent Variable

The effects of the habitual use

of personal gadgets to the
The perceived effects of using
learning habits and academic
personal gadgets
performance of Grade 10
students in Fatima College of
Camiguin

Moderator Variables

1. Gender
2. Ownership of Personal
Gadgets
3. Duration of use of
Personal Gadgets

Figure 1. The Schematic Diagram of the Study

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The study was based on the premise that modern technology plays a vital role in the life

of the students. This modern technology will be accentuated with the use of personal gadgets as a

tool to access technological information and data worldwide. As such, it was viewed that the

technological evolution at present times affects the lives of the millenials, the students, which

could be a factor for the development of learning habits and improvement of academic

performance.

Figure 1 show the schematic diagram of the study where the independent variable was the

perceived effects of using personal gadgets. On the other hand, the dependent variable was the

effects of the habitual use of personal gadgets to the learning habits and academic performance

of Grade 10 students in Fatima College of Camiguin. Further, these variables could be affected

by the moderator variables. These moderator variables could help explain these perceived effects

of the use of personal gadgets.

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Theoretical Framework

Educational learning theories have their value and can be applied to Instructive settings.

In a classroom situation it would be difficult to assert that only one learning method should be

implemented. The constructivist learning theory seems to fit well with instructional technology.

Jerome Bruner, constructivist theorist, asserted that students learn by engaging in the learning

and constructing their knowledge through their experiences. Students ‘learning builds from prior

knowledge and understanding, whggile building new ideas and concepts through engaging in

learning activities. Bruner highlighted three principles of constructivism: Instruction must be

concerned with the experiences and context that make the student willing and able to learn

(readiness), 2. Instruction must be structured so that it can be easily grasped by the student (spiral

organization), and 3. Instruction should be designed to facilitate extrapolation and or fill in the

gaps (going beyond the information given)(Bruner,2010, p. 1).The active process of engaging in

an activity adds to an individual’s learning. Technology instruction utilizing Web 2.0 tools fits

well with the constructivist learning theory. The interactive technological tools allow students to

move at their own pace. The students also have the ability to discover and seek more information

and knowledge as soon as they are ready. Bruner was not the only theorist to purport a

constructive learning theory. Dewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky have all added to the guiding

principles of constructivism. Dewey’s theory was developed prior to technological instruction,

yet he saw that education and the curriculum would constantly need to be revamped to meet the

needs and interests of the students and society. He wanted students to be engaged in the learning

“using scientific method to intelligently solve problems rather than transmitting bodies of

information”(Gutek, 2005, p. 348). He advocated for collaborative and hands on learning “using

inquiry methods; and the need for process-based learning activities”(Gutek, 2005, p. 348).
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Dewey was calling for a constructivist learning method of instruction. Constructivism engaged

students in the learning process hoping to make the attainment of knowledge more meaningful.