Perception of Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) Students

Towards Technology as a Tool in Study Habit

Engbino M., Unabia E., Enerio J., Obiso J.

ABSTRACT
The research aimed to determine the contributions of technology to the Technical-
Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) student’s study habit. The researchers chose this topic
because they wanted to know if TVL students are able to utilize technology in their study
habit and in enhancing their skills. The research used Systems Theory and Social
Cognitive Theory. For collecting data, the researchers used in-depth interviews to 6 TVL
students while documenting it with a sound recorder. The interviewed consisted of
questions about their thoughts and experiences with technology. The researchers found
out that technology not only enhances their skills, but also it increased their productivity.
The keywords used for this research were: advantages, disadvantages, distraction,
information, students, skills, study habit, and technology.

1.0 Introduction
According to YourDictionary, study habits are the behaviors presented by a student
when preparing for an examination or learning academic material. These are regular
practices a student performs to further enhance their productivity, efficiency, and ability
to carry out particular evaluations. Technological advancements have given big
contributions to making information an easy thing to acquire, especially for our current
generation of students. Integrating technology to the educational system has further
developed its institution both positively and negatively. Technical-Vocational-Livelihood
(TVL) students often use different gadgets and computers to gain knowledge on a
specified information and to enhance their understanding on technology itself by
incorporating said technological advancements into their study habits.

Matthew Lynch (2016) stated that there’s no denying that technology have great
benefits for schools. However, any conversation that does not include the potential
dangers of the widespread use of technology would not be complete, he added. Pamela
DeLoatch (2015) said that technology makes people’s lives easier. Today’s students have
tremendous opportunities to learn and to connect by using it. She further disclosed that
with each advantage comes a potential cost. When people understand those costs and
can minimize them, people can keep the use of technology positive. Claudia Bravo (2017)
mentioned that technology have more positive than negative outcomes. Technology even
shaped our education system to become more systematic and beneficial such as making
it easier to present lessons and find information. However, technology can also negatively
impact the student’s behavior. Technology like computers and mobile phones often
distracts students from doing their responsibilities.
 Most of these professionals have profound knowledge when it came to stating their
cases in an understandable fashion. They always mentioned things about technology
controlling how certain students think and how it affects their academic performances,
both positively and negatively. The literature reviewed always answered the questions of
how but never tried to look on the perspective of why. A study habit is something students
practice every day to further improve how they take in information you acquire from a
credible source by making sure they understand said information through an analytical
processing of thoughts gathered by your curiosity. The aim of this research was to
examine if what people think technology’s contributions might actually be distractions to
these certain students’ study habit.

The researchers conducted interviews to selected students as they represented

each strand available for TVL track in the University of San Jose-Recoletos Senior High
School Department. The goal of the research was to know how TVL students were able
to utilize technology as a tool to further develop their understanding on a certain topic
when studying was a top priority. Recognizing why they chose to treat technology that
way helped students figure out why it affected their current study habit. Making them
understand that technology is a part of education, not education itself, helped them realize
why they practice that study habit and how it might affect their academic performance in
the long run. Interpreting whether their perception of a technological benefit was actually
a distraction will determine if technology negatively affects their way of improving in a
certain field of education. TVL students were specifically chosen for the research despite
other tracks also utilized technology because other tracks were academically oriented
which they rely on their knowledge rather than technical skills. Additionally, since TVL
students focus on skills, they learn and acquire knowledge differently. Technology such
as computers provided TVL students essential information not only in the Internet, but as
well as the technology and the product itself.
2.0 Theoretical Framework

Figure 1.0

This qualitative research talked more about how a certain behavior affect your
study habit as a student. Niklas Luhmann’s Systems Theory and Albert Bandura’s Social
Cognitive Theory were both helpful when the researchers tried to approach this particular
topic. Certain factors that these theories have presented to the researchers were effective
in trying to find an adequate closure to this study. In our interviews, the researcher utilized
the influence of both theories to gain sufficient feedback from the selected student
representative from each track of the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) strand.
Through the clout that these theories have created, knowing if technology was a
distraction to their study habit was our top priority.

Niklas Luhmann’s Systems Theory suggests that the researchers look at the
systemic perspective of the situation they’re trying to examine. It considers the social,
economic, cultural and political technological enhancements and changes as its
variables. An example of this was how people were using the internet as a platform for
productivity and efficiency. A click of a button could determine the validity or credibility of
the information presented by the source of said information. This helped the researchers
in approaching the topic in a way which can relate to the current tools available for the
students in finding the information needed to satisfy the standards given by the
curriculum.

Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory considers the personal and

environmental factors as its two variables. Both variables were connected to each another
and causes the learning process of a person, in this case a student, to develop overtime.
TVL students were more exposed to technology such as computers and cellphones, than
any other strand since the TVL strand itself doesn’t focus too much on the academic side
of education but rather its technical prospect. Interacting with the technological
environment provided by this strand helped TVL students enhance their individual skills
by making their selected track as their core subject. This, in turn, helped the students in
understanding how they can apply the variety of things they’ve learned in their respected
tracks and become more knowledgeable of the skills they want to develop as they
progress in their academic endeavors.

Both of these theories suggested that the researchers take on different

perspectives presented by TVL students with technology and the technological
environment that a TVL student is usually exposed in. The role of technology to different
aspects of life that makes it challenging was to improve students approach on it and to
make sure that their experiences helped develop a better understanding. The researchers
needed to relate the current technological advantages and disadvantages to ensure that
their questions create a bridge of communication from the interviewer and the
interviewee. Most of what these theories talked about was the state of a student when
developing their study habit, especially how our current technology has affected its
development. Both theories were helpful in formulating an acceptable conclusion to see
if technology was a form of distraction to the TVL students’ studies or if it has a positive
contribution to their study habit.
3.0 Research Design and Method
The study used in-depth interviews as its method in collecting data. This method
allowed the researchers gain insights into the respondent’s experiences and motivations
through focusing, understanding, and examining each of their perspective. The interviews
were conducted at the school buildings and in classrooms in the Basak campus of the
University of San Jose – Recoletos (USJ-R). The university only offers Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) and Home Economics (HE) in their Technical-
Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) track. USJ-R was used as a location to conduct the study
because it provided the researchers sufficient time and resources in finding the required
respondents. The in-depth interviews were done with the help of selected students from
the TVL track in USJ-R. The TVL students were chosen because they specialize primarily
on technical skills. The study was interested on the possibility of technology being a
distraction to the study habit in enhancing their skills. The study required TVL students
who are familiar with technology or who are usually exposed with technology. TVL
students having possession of either of the traits, assisted in receiving insightful response
for the interview.

The interview required three (3) student per TVL strand, which in total consisted of
two (6) respondents. There were three ICT students and one HE students from the 12th
Grade, and two HE students from the 11th Grade. They were not specifically chosen by
their grade level, but by their decision to participate and availability. Only three students
from each strand was chosen because each strand offered different responses according
to their experience and the researchers can easily categorize, compare and contrast it
due to being only a few of them. For the study, the researchers utilized a voice, a
questionnaire for the interview, and a laptop. The voice recorder was used in documenting
the interview containing all the responses and conversations the researchers had with the
respondents. It was mainly for reviewing the respondents' responses. The laptop was
used for searching information online and writing down important information. The laptop
assisted in finding other people’s opinions easier and faster regarding the topic. It was
also used for taking down important details or notes during the interviews. The
questionnaire contained questions regarding the respondent’s personal experiences with
technology and how it affected their study habit. The questions avoided yes-or-no
responses because the study does not require quantitative results. The questions in the
questionnaire are as follows:

QUESTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEWEE

As a TVL student:
 Why did you choose this strand?
 How effective is technology in enhancing your skills as a TVL student?
 What are technology’s advantages? Why does it give benefits?
 What are technology’s disadvantages? How were you able to overcome it?
  How does your past experiences of technology made it easier for you to learn
and study today?
 How different are the information you acquired in your school than in the
Internet?
 How did you apply the information you got from using technology to your study
habit? What were the outcomes?

4.0 Results and Discussions

The researchers interviewed three Senor High School Technical-Vocational-
Livelihood (TVL) – Information and Communication Technology (ICT) students, labeled
as Respondent 1, 3, and 4; and three Senor High School Technical-Vocational-Livelihood
– Home Economics (HE) students, labeled as Respondent 2, 5, and 6, to participate in
an in-depth interview. The questionnaire for the respondents contained questions about
their thoughts on technology, personal negative or positive experiences with technology,
and the reason why respondents chose their strand. The goal of the researchers was to
know if technology have contributions to TVL students study habit. The results of the
interview are the following:

Technological Distractions & Disadvantages

Technology does not always generate positive contribution to those in need.
Respondent 1 and Respondent 4 were distracted because of playing video games.
Respondent 1 stated “In a bad way, addiction of playing video games can take most of
my time to study because we tend to go for more interesting and fun stuff to do”. the
respondent added “playing video games is fun and relaxing because you can play with
your friends”. Because of playing video games on their computer and mobile devices,
both of the respondents had trouble managing their time and concentration on studying.
On the other hand, Respondent 2, Respondent 3, and Respondent 5 were mostly
distracted by their own mobile phones. Firstly, Respondent 2 stated “Looking some of the
post that I found on Facebook can make me envious and depressed and because of this,
I can’t focus in school”. Secondly, Respondent 3 stated “Usually I get distracted by using
my Facebook account because I check my messages and chat with my friends”. Lastly,
Respondent 5 stated that “After arriving at home, I scrolled down to look at the posts on
my Facebook Newsfeed”. In the case of Respondent 6, looking for information online can
be sometimes time-consuming due to the amount of information shared online or the
internet connection’s speed and performance. Respondent 6 said “When searching for
answers online, it’s often difficult because there are a lot of websites and links to choose
from”. Respondent 6 then added “In school, most of the time the internet connection is
slow and it really takes a lot of time to load up results”. Technology

Pamela DeLoatch viewed technology as a tool of making lives easier, but it also
has its cost or disadvantages. With the technological advancement humans have today,
they created new ways of entertainment and sharing information. Thus, video games and
the Internet existed to provided that. In the case of Respondent 1 and 4, video games
have distracted them in their study habit because provided them with more interesting
and fun experience. This resulted them to lose concentration and time in studying. On the
other hand, on Respondent 2, 3, and 5’s case, social media has affected their ability to
study. Instead of studying, they were distracted to look at posts or messages from social
medias. One of them was even emotionally affected by some post witnessed. This
affected the respondent’s concertation because the respondent could not stop thinking
about it

Using the Social Cognitive Theory, one of the reasons why both Respondent 1 and
4 play video games was because they were influenced by what their friends were doing.
Because their friends had fun playing, Respondent 1 and 4 also wanted to experience it
on their own. They played the exact game and played how the game was demonstrated
to them by their friends. Similar to Respondent 1 and 4, still with the use of the same
theory, Respondent 2, 3, and 5 used social media because it’s what other people used
for socializing. Thus, they used it stay updated on the Internet and to stay connected with
other people like friends. Because trying get constantly updated, the respondents
redirected their attention to social media. Lastly, looking at the systematic perspective,
technology have improved through to the years due to mankind’s innovation. We found
ways to store our knowledge through the use of the Internet. Based on the Systems
Theory, for Respondent 6’s case, it was difficult for the respondent to find information
online because the internet connection was slow and the Internet also provided a lot of
information. This caused the respondent to be overwhelmed by the amount of choices
presented. Because of this, Respondent 6’s time was wasted due amount of people
continuously sharing information and ideas on the Internet.

Advantages from Technological Advancements

Technology have helped the respondents improve their skills through the
information found online. Respondent 5 and Respondent 6 used technology for research
for their culinary. “Technology is useful for my research purposes like on how to cook,
recipes, and the ingredients for me to know more about cooking”, Respondent 6 stated.
Their acquired knowledge such as the techniques from experts online was applied in their
Culinary class. When Respondent 3 and 4 used technology to practice and maintain their
skill in animation, it enabled them to improve overtime rather than being unproductive or
distracted. Despite the distractions, the respondents were able to overcome it by doing at
what they failed most – managing their time and self-control, and even by learning
something out from the distractions itself. Respondent 1 has improved his understanding
on certain situations in programming because he watched videos from experts on
YouTube. With its help, Respondent 1 was able to improve because he easily searched
for experts from the Internet to assist him. In video games, Respondent 1, 3, and 4 were
able to learn from the work of the professionals behind the process and result of the
product. Respondent 1 stated “Being in a technological environment allows me to further
learn and improve my skills because me as an ICT student, we need to be knowledgeable
about technology”
 Processes such as the development of the video game from its player’s feedback
and its developer’s response, allowed Respondent 1, 3, and 4 to learn from the
interaction. Furthermore, the result such as the art direction, cinematics, scripting, and
game design created by the professional allowed the respondents to gain insights by
observing what the professional had done were the aspects that stood out to the
Respondent 1, 3, and 4. The reason those aspects interested them was because as
students who are still learning and they think it’s best for them to learn from these
professionals for the them able become eventually professionals themselves. To
Respondents 2, 5, and 6, the social media helped them watch techniques in cooking and
food managing business from professionals with social media accounts. Lastly,
technology had helped all of the respondents in communicating and sharing information
online. Respondent 2 stated “It made it easier for me to study since I don't have to write
my notes anymore because of technology”. Today, lesson notes can be shared via e-mail
and Messenger because it can be easily be seen and shared to others and it also takes
them less time and effort.

Pamela DeLoatch stated that the disadvantages can be minimized to make the
effects more positive. That was the case with Respondents 1, 3, and 4 where they used
their time in playing with video game to learn at the work of developers or the
professionals behind it. This interested them because they were familiar with animation
and programming. The respondents can still be distracted but also, to add contrast, it
also given them some advices. According to Claudia Bravo, technology has more
advantages than disadvantages. In the case of Respondent 2, 5, and 6, they used social
media despite being a potential distraction, however, they utilized it in their study habit to
watch experts to help them to learn more about culinary and food management. If ever
they had problems with technology, they used technology to find solution.

By using the Systems Theory, the research determined that Respondent 1’s
improvement was due to the technological advancement. Because of the Internet,
Respondent 1 was able to find information from experts through watching videos where
the expert would demonstrate. Similar with the case of Respondent 1, Respondent 3 and
4 got their knowledge from the experts, in this case from the developers of the video
games. Video games existed because of the advancement of technology which enabled
humans to use their skill and creativity. By using the Social Cognitive Theory, Respondent
2, 5, and 6, use technology to watch experts because as a student, they don’t know much
and they want to imitate what people who have more knowledge them.
5.0 Conclusion
Technology provided the Senior High School Technical-Vocational-Livelihood
(TVL) students benefit such as information online that increased their productivity and
enhanced their skills. Information in different forms such as videos, articles, blogs, and
photos has allowed them to apply and enhance their capabilities by the acquired
information to further improve their skills. Technology has made their study habit more
effective because they have applied what they gained from the technology they used.

Product of technology such as video games and the Internet, generated some
disadvantages. The respondents in the research were often distracted by video games
that granted them an enjoyable experience. Usually the cause of why they play video
games was due to their friends. Due to video games being enjoyable, it consumed most
of their time. Therefore, managing their time in playing is more than that of studying.
Similar to video games is the social media, in comparison, to how they distracted the
respondents. The respondents were more interested at using the social media because
they were able to look at posts from friends and idols. Additionally, the respondents have
trouble in finding information online because they were too many choices and it’s difficult
for them to determine which is the best or the most factual.

However, despite the disadvantages, the respondents were able to overcome this.
The respondents from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strand were
able to learn from video games. The respondents got insights from the game’s process
and overall result demonstrated to them while playing it. Processes and results related to
animation and programming stood out to the ICT respondents who were still learning. To
Home Economics (HE), blogs and videos from professionals helped them learn
techniques in managing food and cooking businesses. Additionally, the HE respondents
used the Internet to find recipes and procedures. In general, all of the TVL students
interviewed in the research benefited from technology in using it as a tool in their study
habit because technology has provided them with information that wasn’t taught or can’t
be acquired from their school.

Based on the information gathered by the researchers, TVL students often used
different gadgets and computers to gain knowledge on a specified information and to
enhance their understanding on technology itself by incorporating said technological
advancements into their study habits. They rely in the information provided by different
experienced individuals and experts, such as teachers in school. They don’t just improve
their skills but also maintain them to meet certain standards in different fields of education.
Thus, the researchers recommended that teachers in school should provide links or
information to where they got the information they discussed to their students. This
method will assist students since they are able to access this if they needed more
information or explanations, and they are able to review it during free time or after school
hours.
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Bravo, C. (2017). Technology in Education. Medium. Retrieved from

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classroom-533daa5fa376

DeLoatch, P. (2015). The Four Negative Sides of Technology. Healthy Options.

Retrieved from https://www.healthyoptions.com.ph/newsdigest/raising-smart
kids/the-four-negative-sides-of-technology

Lynch, M. (2018). The Dark Side of Educational Technology. The Edvocate. Retrieved
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Study Habits. (n.d.). In Your Dictionary: Definitions, grammar tips,

word game help and more from 16 authoritative sources. Retrieved from
https://www.yourdictionary.com/study-habits

Zhen, T. H. (2009, February 12). Contemporary Social Theory: Luhmann’s System

Theory. Retrieved from http://blog.nus.edu.sg/sc4201/2009/02/12/luhmanns
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