Mobile Phones As Distracting Tools In The Classroom: College Students Perspective

Abstract

There are more than six billion users of cell phones worldwide. The need for people to connect with others frequently is apparent in our society. People use mobile phones everywhere and every time, to call and text friends, surf the web, visit social sites and attach themselves to their communication devices at all times. As the use of mobile phones has proliferated in academic settings in recent years, new challenges are faced by institutions of higher education and their faculties. Research indicates that increasing use of mobile phones by the students in the classroom causes a big distraction, although all of the college students have their own mobile phones and all of them regularly bring their devices to courses. The prevalence and inconvenient usage of mobile phones in colleges has prompted college administrators to create policies to manage mobile phone use during the school day. Also there is a lot of support for mobile phones to be banned from colleges, but such rules are not accepted or enforced in universities. Actually, college students must have the ability to consider the advantages and disadvantages of their behaviors. This study enlightens the situation about use and abuse of cell phones during courses. This paper presents the result of a study conducted on 300 college students from faculty of business administration at Sakarya University to gain a better understanding of the frequency and manner of cell phone use in college classrooms. Focusing on the use of text messaging during courses, students reported on their own and others' use of cell phones. The current research reveals that minority of the students use their smartphones during class time to enhance learning, such as using their smartphones as computers to look up relevant information pertaining to the lesson, as cameras to take pictures of information on the blackboard or screen, as calculators, and so forth. However, majority of the students use their smartphones during class time for personal use not related to learning. One of the most striking result of this study shows that majority of the students distract their classmates and they will continue to behave this way, unless the administrators take precautions. ÖzetDünya çapında 6 milyonu aşkın cep telefonu kullanıcısı bulunmaktadır. İnsanların sıkça birbirleriyle iletişim kurma ihtiyacı duyduğu gözlenmektedir. İnsanlar her zaman ve her yerde, arama yapmak, mesajlaşmak, internette dolaşmak, sosyal paylaşım sitelerini takip etmek amacıyla cep telefonu kullanmakta ve iletişim cihazları ile bütünleşik halde yaşamaktadır. Son yıllarda cep telefonlarının eğitim ortamlarında hızla çoğalmasıyla beraber yükseköğrenim kurumlarını ve fakülteleri zorlu bir durumla karşı karşıya bırakmıştır. Bu araştırmada, üniversite öğrencilerin sınıflarda cep telefonu kullanmasının dikkati büyük oranda dağıttığının, buna rağmen öğrencilerin tamamının cep telefonuna sahip olduğunun ve hepsinin cihazlarını ders esnasında da yanlarında taşıdığının altı çizilmektedir. Cep telefonlarının yaygın ve uyguns...

Smartphone usage patterns in public universities in Malawi: student perspectives

“…The issue of students accessing social media platforms when a lecture is in session is not a new one. Ugur (2015), Olufadi (2015) and Hossain (2019) had similar findings in their studies. The implication is that students spend a considerable amount of time on their smartphones networking with friends and not necessarily for academic purposes.…”

“…Often the policy would state that students can use their mobile phones in class or in the library as long as they do not disturb the learning environment. Studies by Ugur (2015) and Fernandez (2018) show that the majority of participants were aware of guidelines restricting usage of mobile phones during classes. Ugur (2015) reported that authorities were considering banning use of mobile phones in the classroom.…”

“…Studies by Ugur (2015) and Fernandez (2018) show that the majority of participants were aware of guidelines restricting usage of mobile phones during classes. Ugur (2015) reported that authorities were considering banning use of mobile phones in the classroom. Contrary to the findings of Ugur (2015), studies conducted by Fernandez (2018) and Chukwuere (2018) showed that students were against banning usage of mobile phones in classrooms as a majority of them used this tool for learning purposes.…”

“…Ugur (2015) reported that authorities were considering banning use of mobile phones in the classroom. Contrary to the findings of Ugur (2015), studies conducted by Fernandez (2018) and Chukwuere (2018) showed that students were against banning usage of mobile phones in classrooms as a majority of them used this tool for learning purposes. Matto and Kazungu (2018) however concluded that mobile phones should be prohibited in lecture rooms or switched off to prevent students chatting during lectures.…”

Ortaokul Öğrenci̇leri̇nde Akilli Telefon Bağimliliğinin Çeşi̇tli̇ Deği̇şkenler Açisindan İncelenmesi̇

“…Elde edilen bulgulara göre, ortaokul öğrencilerinde akıllı telefon bağımlılığının hem akademik başarıya hem de algılanan akademik başarıya göre manidar bir farklılık göstermediği saptanmıştır. Literatüre bakıldığında, yapılan çalışmalarda daha çok doğrudan akademik başarı dikkate alınırken sınırlı sayıda algılanan akademik başarının incelendiği araştırma olduğu göze çarpmaktadır (Bae, 2015;Dirik, 2016;Elmas, Kete, Hızlısoy ve Kumral, 2015;Kır ve Sulak, 2014;Lepp ve diğerleri, 2014;Martinotti ve diğerleri, 2010;Meral, 2017;Uğur ve Koç, 2015;Yıldırım, 2018;Young ve Case, 2004). Öğrencilerin akademik başarısında herhangi bir düşüş söz konusu olduğunda bunun kaynağının ne olduğunun iyi araştırılması büyük önem taşımaktadır.…”