Title: Effects of Technological Devices Ownership on 10th Graders Academic Achievement

Technology has increasingly become an integral part of the society from doing simple tasks

to the most complicated ones. People from all ages use technology as a tool for information,

entertainment and communication. Likewise, with the growing technology around them, todays

generation of children have an understanding of how to use computers (Shields & Behrman 2000).

According to the Digital in 2017 Global Overview, more than half of the world's population now

uses the Internet and our country, the Philippines, has taken the global lead for social media users.

Also, in our country, about 60 million have access to the internet based on Entrepreneur

Philippines' (2017) calculations. Thus, the impact of digital communication and technological

devices has shaped the world furthermore. Just as technology has changed some aspects of our

daily lives, it is also undoubtedly changing education.

Today, students and teachers or other professionals rely greatly on the vast information

technology could offer. Almost all college students have access to the internet and majority own

computers and cell phones (Hakoama & Hakoyama, 2011; Smith, 2012; Smith & Caruso, 2010;

Smith, Rainie, & Zickhur, 2011). The global adoption of ICT into education has paved the way for

new technological tools to revolutionize an outmoded educational system (Bordar, 2010, pp. 179-

180). "Technology is a major catalyst for increasing learning" (lsernhagen, 1999, 30). Therefore,

the integration of technology into the field of education is visible and inevitable since we are now

in the 21st century. But the the promising integration of technology puts it into a question if owning

such devices would really increase students academic achievement.

Technological devices such as computers and cellphones influence the access to

educational outcomes (Visser & West 2005, Motlik 2008) and they also improve the quality and
types of instructional methods (Kukulska-Hulme & Traxler 2007, pp.184-86; Traxler, 2007, p. 7).

According to Subrahmanyam et al. (2000) and Subrahmanyam et al. (2001), the internet

contributes to the students development of cognitive and visual skills. However, there are some

studies that suggest that owning such devices have no effect after all. In a study conducted by

Robinson (2013), the results suggest that the home computers had no effect (either positive or

negative) on any educational outcome, including grades, standardized test scores, or attendance.

Blanton et al. (1997); Cole (1996) and Rocheleau (1995) believe that it is hard to point out the

causal relationship between internet use and student success. Likewise, Shields and Behrman

(2000) assert that the relationship is indefinite.

The varied results from previous studies make it difficult to generalize about the overall

influence of technological devices on learning. Since we are living in a diverse culture and society

is changing, more researches from different countries and periods are necessary. Thus, the main

purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ownership of cell phones, computers/laptops

and also having internet connections at home on the academic achievement of Grade 10 students

from three types of school in Angeles CityICT-integrated school, science high school and

national comprehensive school. The academic achievement of the student is determined by grades

since it is often used to measure learning and the efficacy of educational strategies and tools

(Coldwell, Craig, Paterson, & Mustard, 2008; Dumont, 1996; Plant, Ericsson, Hill, & Asberg,

2005). Another thing, due to the mixed results of researches on effect of technology on academic

performance, the goal of this present study was not only to explore the relationship between the

two but also to add greater clarity to the research.

devices on the average grade of Grade 10 students at Angeles City which represents their academic

achievement.

Specifically, the researchers seek to answer the following questions:

1. What is the socio-demographic of the respondents in terms of age, sex, religion,

and monthly income?

2. Is there a significant difference in average grade between those who own a personal

cell phone and those who do not?

3. Is there a significant difference in average grade between those who have an

Internet connection from a personal cell phone and those who do not?

4. Is there a significant difference in average grade between those who own a

computer/laptop at home and those who do not?

5. Is there a significant difference in average grade between those who have an

Internet connection from home computer/laptop and those who do not?

The study focuses on determining and explaining the effect of technological devices on the

academic performance of the students. In addition, the results of the study will be beneficial to the

following:

Respondents. The respondents will have awareness on the role of technological device on their

learning development as they will be informed on how it affects their performance in school.
Teachers or Instructors. The result of the study will enable the teachers to provide necessary

improvements on the teaching process and will encourage them to think of ideas that will give

proper guidance to the students. Likewise, this may also increase their competency.

Guidance Staff. The study may provide an evaluation on the use of technological device whether

it is effective or not.

Parents. The result of the study will help the parents be aware of the efficiency of technological

device on the academic performance of their children.

School Administration. The result of the study may encourage the school administration in

improving the schools rules and regulation and promote innovative learning styles which are

unconventional.

Future Researchers. The findings of the study will serve as a reference material and a guide for

future researchers who wish to conduct the same study or any study related to the use of

technological device.

The hypothesis will be raised in the study.

H1: There is a significant effect between technological devices ownership and the academic

performance of Grade 10 students in public schools at Angeles City.

HO: There is no significant effect between technological devices ownership and the academic

performance of Grade 10 students in public schools at Angeles City.

The study will take place at Angeles City. Particularly, it will involve three different types

of schools which are under the program of National Comprehensive High School, Science High

School, and Information and Communication Technology High School. These schools are Angeles
City National Trade School (ACNTS), Angeles City Science High School (ACSHS), and Claro

M. Recto Information and Communication Technology High School (CMRICTHS) respectively.

The technological devices that will be involved in the study are as follows: personal cellphone,

computer/laptop, and internet connection from cellphone and computer/laptop. Ownership of these

devices will only be studied not the frequency, duration of usage, or other such factors. For the

respondents, 40 students in one particular section of each school will be asked to participate, which

may be viewed as a restriction that limits the generalization of the results.

Moreover, the collection of data will happen between the late August and mid-October

which marks the second quarter of the academic school year. It will happen throughout those days

so that the researchers will be able to have the necessary information needed for the study. The

study will not include the effects of the usage of technological devices with respect to the teachers

nor instructors rather it concentrates on the students. Likewise, the results of this study cannot be

simplified to all of the students in other schools that have access to technological devices; but

rather it is an examination of the significant effect of technological devices can have on student

achievement.

The 21st century requires that individuals are technologically literate. Technology invades

every aspect of our daily lives. Therefore, technology use in society and education is not new. "The

Internet enables society to address these educational challenges by bringing learning to students

instead of bringing students to learning" (Web-based Education Commission 2000, 1). "Evidence

indicates when technology applications are used effectively and efficiently; they can support

higher-order thinking skills by engaging students in genuine, complex tasks within collaborative

learning contexts" (Means 1993, 2).

commonly owned devices. Thus, in recent years, computers have been used extensively for various

reasons by wide user groups. Over the past few years, due to improvements in technology,

computers, and related technologies have become cheaper and more sophisticated. Lauman (2000)

stated that not only is the number of computers in education growing exponentially, but also the

number of computers in the home is growing at a rapid rate (p.196). Therefore, various studies

have sought to determine the effects of technological device accessibility on student achievement.

Researchers led a study in West Virginia at Hundred High School regarding the effect of

technological advancement on the academic achievement of the students, and it indicated ideal

outcomes. The said school was funded by the E-rate program in order to avail and be part of the

NETSchools program where every student and even the teachers had the opportunity to use an

individual laptop in their class. The researchers observed that student participation and subject

interest had increased dramatically. After just six months, 80% of the students preferred using the

Internet in order to access learning materials compared before that their only resource center is the

school library which contains outdated writings. . Over the course of that first year, the 144

students at Hundred High scored higher and ranked above the national mean in every subject, as

well as in total basic skills on the SAT (Web-based Education Commission 2001, 12).

Positive results were also yielded in the study of Espinosa, Laffey, Whittaker, and Sheng

(2006). They examined the contribution of technology in early childhood development using the

information provided by the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. The outcomes revealed that

having these devices significantly strengthens the cognitive foundation of every learner, yet the

researchers advised that parents should empower the instructive utilization of technology to

enhance academic achievement.

Australian middle schools, particularly in science classrooms, they found out that the usage of the

laptop as a learning aid is an effective way to increase learners aptitude and attitude towards

inquisitive thinking. Their study was intended to evaluate the adequacy of laptop integration,

learners ability and accomplishment results. Students impression of the classroom condition were

likewise used to decide this viability. Spektor-Levy and Granot-Gilat (2012) also examined the

effects of laptop use and the results showed that there is a positive effect of learning with personal

laptops and the availability of ICT-integration on students achievements and competencies.

A survey was conducted by Spiezia (2011) whether the integration of ICT really affects

the academic performance of a student using PISA 2006 and he also found out that final scores in

science increase depending on the frequency of computer usage. Moreover, the utilization of

mobile phones were also addressed together with other focuses if such use contributes significantly

to the enhancement of academic performance in distance education (Viljoen & Preez, 2009).

Meanwhile, Flores (2009) have used the results or information of a particular test taken by

the students in Andalucia, Spain to assess the difference of computer usage at home and at school.

He then finds a constructive outcome of ICT-integration on the academic success of both cases. It

concludes that computer usage at home has a positive effect while computer use at school does not

influence the results. On the other hand, Papanastasiou et al. (2003) stated that students who have

computer access at home and at school library have larger amounts of science proficiency while

those who use computers an hour per day had better math scores than the others (Lee et al., 2009).

In particular, the increasing use of computers and other technological devices have

developed in other areas. However, not all the consequences have been positive. Studies have also
documented no relation between computer use and academic achievement. For example, no

relationship was found between time spent on the computer at home and GPA in a sample of

adolescents (Hunley, Evans, Delgado-Hachey, Krise, Rich, & Schell, 2005). Also, home

computers had no effect (either positive or negative) on any educational outcome, including

grades, standardized test scores, or attendance (Robinson, 2013).

The evidence about the role of the computer in student achievement is inconclusive. Some

findings as Angrist and Levy (2002), Cuban (1993), Oppenheimer (1997), Kirkpatrick and Cuban

(1998) and Wenglinsky (1998) are in the line of a negative effect of computers on the student

performance. The hypothesis formulated by the researchers suggests that the broadened use or

over-reliance on personal computers might bring an adverse effect on the learners ability to focus,

exertion of effort and thinking of creative works. It is also speculated that Internet usage could

bring distractions among students. According to Rabiu et al. (2016), research results suggest that

computer use has no significant impact on the learners academic performance.