CHAPTER II

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Theoretical Framework

The most common online activities for children and adolescents include playing

games, navigating web sites, and communicating with others (Roberts et al., 2004). While

Internet technology evolves rapidly, current use is associated with visual input and tactile-

kinesthetic output via manual manipulation of peripheral devices. During Internet use, language

centers of the brain are active, particularly in online communication. Meta-cognitive abilities are

required for a variety of online activities including playing games and navigating web sites.

Internet games as well as synchronous communication increase cognitive processing speed

(i.e., reaction time). Internet games require simultaneous processing; online communication

requires successive processing. Internet games make extreme demands on visual and meta-

cognition skills. Navigating web sites builds knowledge base and contributes to concept

development. Figure 1 presents a theoretical framework for organizing the cognitive

requirements of typical online behavior in children and adolescents. Such requirements, when

satisfied, contribute to patterns of neurological activity which, particularly early in life, influence

neurological architecture and cognitive processes. According to Vygotsky (1978), human

cognition creates tools and then, in turn, is influenced by those tools. The Internet is the most

sophisticated tool that humans have yet to create and, as such, it may ultimately have greater

cognitive impact than any previous cultural tool. As always, new technology is associated with

apprehension and anxiety. For example, in the 19th century, “the telegraph enabled a young

woman, against her father’s wishes, to maintain a flirtation with a number of men on the wire”

(Quigley & Blashki, 2003, p. 311). The majority of households currently have Internet access

and those that do not are disproportionately characterized by low socioeconomic status. “In
1998, 74% of Canadian households in the highest-income group had computers, compared to

only 18% of households in the lowest-income group” (Canadian Council on Social Development,

2001, p. 4). The majority of children and youth spend a significant amount of time online and

those that do not are disproportionately characterized by low socioeconomic status (National

Center for Educational Statistics, 2003). Current anxiety surrounding children’s Internet use

should be for those whose cognitive processes are not influenced by the cultural tool (Henry J.

Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004).

Conceptual Framework

This study was conducted to determine the effect of using internet in student learning in

Crop Production.

The independent variable is internet use and the dependent variable is the effect of

student learning.

Definition of Terms

Internet. A global computer network providing a variety of information and communication

facilities, consisting of interconnected networks using standardized communication protocols

Use. The action of using something or the state of being used for a purpose.

Student Learning. statements that specify what students will know, be able to do or be able to

demonstrate when they have completed or participated in a Course or Program.

Crop Production.  is the branch of agriculture that deals with the production of crops for food

and fiber.
Age. the length of time that a person has lived or a thing has existed

Sex. either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and most other

living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions.

Related Literature and Studies

The use of internet grants its users great awareness of the importance of the world

around them. The internet is a platform for several types of information. It used by students

including secondary students (Akin-Adaeamola, 2014). Internet usage will continue to grow as

long as its users are not denied easy access (Olatokun, 2008). Recent statistics indicate that

the internet gives people the option to access information sites as well as other sites such as

social media sites, internet games, and cyber-sex (Siraj et al. 2015). A study by Ellore et al.

(2014) on the influence of internet usage on academic performance and face to face

communication revealed that as a result of the availability of internet, most students have had

access to internet on their cellphones. This helps students to broaden their academic

knowledge (Siraj, et al., 2015). The use of computer and access to online resources according

to Akende and Bamise (2017) are comparatively important to students. Yesilyurt et al. (2014)

showed that access to a home computer and internet connection contributes to students’

academic performance as well as self-learning skills. Considering access and usage of the

internet by secondary school students in Nigeria, Olatokun (2008) indicated that most students

believed the internet to be far better and convenient than their school libraries. The study

pointed out that students see the internet as a source for general knowledge, and it really helps

them improve their reading habits leading to an improvement in their academic performance.

Siraj et al. (2015) affirmed that students perceived the internet as a supplement for learning and

thus contributes to higher academic feat. Ogedebe (2012) agreed that majority of students
obtain relevant information such as academic materials from the internet. This suggests 6 that

students use the internet to enhance their study. Sahin et al. (2010) examined the use of

internet resources by university students during their course projects study. They argued that

the use of trustworthy internet resources is of vital importance for academic study, especially in

higher class courses which require an academic review of literature. Internet use for educational

purpose is found by Kim (2011) to be the habit of adolescent academic achievement. A similar

study conducted by Ruth and Adedotun (2015) posited that the source and access to

information can influence the academic performance of secondary school students.

Notwithstanding the importance attached to internet use and academic performance, Olatokun

(2008) in Nigeria maintains that secondary school students use the internet for leisure rather

than educational purposes. According to Olatokum(2008) the students usd the internet primarily

for communication, entertainment and leisure (reading and sending e-mails, online chatting,

instant messaging, playing games and downloading music videos, and reading newspapers).

Similarly, Sahin et al. (2010) noted that while university students frequently use email and

forum/chat-line in their daily life, they do not use them in their studies. Ngoumandjoka (2012)

found that the internet is not mostly used for academic purpose rather for recreational activities.

A similar work by Singh et al. (2013), brings to fore that students are more into the use of the

internet but in reality they are using it mainly for non-academic purposes like mailing, gaming

and social networking. This led to losses in their study schedules. This brings to the fore the

controversy among empirical studies on the influence of internet use on the academic

performance of students. 7 The activities done by secondary school students on the internet

have been scaled by AkinAdaeamola (2014). The study revealed that the topmost activity done

by secondary school students is chatting, followed by downloading, watching videos online,

surfing the web, using the internet to study for school work, looking for other websites such as

sports websites, reading news online, games websites and lastly online shopping. Statistically

40% of students spend most of their time chatting on social media daily while 14.4% of students
use the internet for academic purpose daily (Akin-Adaeamola, 2014). This agrees with the

findings of Bragdon and Dowler (2016) that there is a particular interest given that college

administrators, faculty, parents, colleges’ students and others support the advantage of using

technology in higher education, but the reality is that this technology is often being used for non-

academic purposes. Students’ demographic variables are believed to have an influence on

internet use and hence academic performance. Demographic analysis revealed that males had

higher frequency of internet use in general than females (Akende and Bamise, 2017).

Subsequent comparative analysis revealed that male college students spend more time on the

internet compared to female college students (Ellore et al., 2014). Rabiu et al. (2016) identified

the mobile phone as one of the gadgets used in accessing the internet which impacts on

academic performance. They found that phone usage significantly influence academic

performance among male and female senior high school students. A case study on Labone

Secondary Schools in Ghana shows that approximately girls use the internet once a week whilst

boys use the internet once a day on average or several times daily (Akin-Adaramola, 2014). In

contrast, Mami and Hatami-Zad (2014) found no significant difference between boys and girls

with regards to internet addiction. On the part of Aitokhuehi et al. (2014), female computer

literates tend to perform better than 8 male computer literate students. Kim (2011) examines the

effect of internet use on academic achievement and behavioral adjustment among South

Korean adolescents and found girls more likely to use the internet to watch online educational

classes and blog more frequently and longer than boys. The study reported that boys mostly

use the internet for playing games. A correlation analysis on students’ socio-economic

background, access to internet and performance found no significant relationship between

student’s socio-economic background and access to internet (Adegoke, 2013). The study found

that students from low economic background surf the net through their friends phone, their

friends pay for them at cybercafés and at times they could afford to pay at the cybercafé for

themselves. According to Osunade (2003), students are capable of paying for internet access.
Adegoke’s (2013) study revealed that socioeconomic background contributes significantly to

student’s achievement while internet use has no significant contribution to student’s

achievement. Rather, when the two socio-economic background and internet use were

combined, they had a significant contribution to students’ achievement. Kim (2011) added that

parent-child relationship (closeness and conflict) were found to be vital to youth adjustment, and

plays a significant role in the association between adolescent internet use and academic and

behavioral outcome. Furthermore, controlled use of the internet can have positive influence on

students’ academic performance. Research has shown that the use of the internet has positive

impact depending on the type and how it is being used (Torres-Diaz et al., 2016). In exploring

the influence of internet usage on academic performance, Ellore et al. (2014) discovered that

most university students have control over the use of internet. Kakkar (2014) opined that

internet usage can be beneficial 9 to students in their academic set-ups and may not cause

potential harm to their mental health if used in moderation. As the internet has become an

integral part of today’s life, Singh et al. (2013) observed that it should be used as a tool for

communication and acquiring of knowledge rather than habit forming addiction. Colleges and

universities are therefore urged to educate students about the possible negative impacts of high

rate of recreational internet use on academic success (Bragdon and Dowler, 2016).