POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF GADGETS TO THE

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Submitted by:

Clariese E. Esperanzate

Summer Class 2021

Submitted to:

Danilo E. Despi, Ed.D.,CESO VI

I. Introduction

In the present era the introduction of modern technological gadgets has captured the
attention of global population. The dependency of people on these technological gadgets and
services provided by these has reached at such level that, without these, they can 't think a step
forward in the direction of their growth. The degree of dependency is leading to addiction of the
tech-devices and services. Youth is the most vulnerable group among the population to be
addicted to technology.
In the year where electronic gadgets are not yet invented like computers, students are not
yet engage in activities using technologies. Students rely on books and visit library facilities to
study, read their notes and review their school lesson. 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. They strive hard just to attain higher and better grades in their
education. Technology is the technical means people use to improve their surroundings. People
use technology to improve their ability to do work.
Classrooms around the world have implemented many forms of technology to enhance
student interest and achievement. Technology can be seen in many forms. From the basic four
function calculator or graphing calculator to assistive technology for students with learning
disabilities. "Technology is a major catalyst for increasing learning" (Isernhagen, 1999, 30).
Much has been written about how to use technology to increase student achievement. A number
of new technologies are emerging to support and enhance learning in our schools. Many of these
technologies are not used to replace traditional teaching methods, but instead used as simple
methodologies to enhance student learning (Riley, Beard and Strain, 47). Research has shown
both positive and negative effects on student achievement through the implementation of
technology. This area of research is very significant due to the changing world of technology.
Teachers and administrators are constantly searching for new ideas to make classrooms more
technology-friendly. Mastering technology can transform a classroom (Davis, 1997, 49). Can we
make better students through the use of technology? "Skills cannot be acquired through simply
teaching facts but, instead, can be acquired by providing the learner with an opportunity to
interact with the content, define learning goals, and explore new understandings through
authentic, challenging tasks" (Isernhagen, 1999, 30). The purpose of this study is to compare the
affects that technology has on student achievement. More specifically, the areas of inquiry
include positive and negative effects on student achievement and the various types of technology
that can increase or decrease a student's ability to do work in the classroom.
Mobile phones have become the most popular way to communicate with other
individuals. While cell phones have become less of a status symbol and more of a fashion
statement, they have created an unspoken social dependency. Adolescents and young adults are
more likely to engage in SMS messing, making phone calls, accessing the internet from their
phone or playing a mobile driven game. Once pervaded by boredom, teenagers resort to instant
connection, to someone, somewhere. Sensation seeking behavior has also linked adolescents
and young adults to have the desire to take risks with relationships, rules and roles. Individuals
seek out entertainment and avoid boredom at all times be it appropriate or inappropriate. Cell
phones are used for entertainment, information and social connectivity. It has been demonstrated
that individuals with low self— esteem use cell phones to form and maintain social relationships.
They form an attachment with cell phone which molded their mind that they cannot function
without their cell phone on a day-to-day basis.
The gadgets are very useful, they help us connect to each other, they make us learn new
things and discover new things. The reason why computer technologies are invented is to help
make people's life easier and to improve their way of life, especially the students. The gadgets
make our life better in many ways. Let's take for example the cellphone, many of you are "lost"
without it and when it comes to students this device is more than just a cellphone, it is also a chat
opportunity, an internet connection, a camera and more. Because mobile phone today has a lot
of features and they are not just devices made for communication between people. A negative
effect of this gadgets on students can be the fact that they can become obsessive and the students
can neglect everything else, like their social life, their family and friends. It is not a bad thing to
have a computer, but it is a bad thing to spend all your life in front of it pretending that
everything else doesn't exist. Otherwise, most gadgets have positive effects because they enable
us to do things faster and easier and they are also good when it comes to learning new things and,
let's face it, they make our life a lot easier.

Technology has always been advancing throughout the years. It has made a big impact on
people especially on lifestyle. One of the many things that are affected in the society; having
been a common source of information and entertainment. In our present generation, students are
obsessed using gadgets. They usually want to buy the latest release of these gadgets to satisfy
their desires in terms of entertainment and getting the newest of the new. As a result, students
tend to involve gadgets in their lives including in their studies. Students tend to use up more time
in using gadgets than on studying. This apparently affects the student's studying habits and
academic performance. In today's modern age gadgets has become a way of life. Gadgets
nowadays are a basic need for everyday lifestyle. It helps us a lot by doing things easier and
faster. Gadgets help students a lot by doing their projects more productive and progressive. It is a
small thing that anyone could have. Having a gadget may help one's be more productive and
intellectual. Nowadays, poor and rich have gadgets like cellphones. A cellphone is a wireless
gadget that most people these days communicate with. Gadgets nowadays are a basic need for a
student. Gadgets gave a big impact into the history of humanity because of its use. The history of
gadgets spans as far back as humanity itself- since hominids began creating tools to make their
lives easier. Humans have always created devices and appliances with specific practical purposes
that were initially thought of as novelties, due to unfamiliarity with and initial unwillingness to
accept the technology. Today, industry has augmented the creation of new gadgets.

It is said that electronic gadgets modify the world. It is now the most acquired by many.
This will show the true power of electronically gadgets. Electronic gadgets are the instruments
which can perform many activities at a time with vast speed and makes the hard work efficient
one. Some of them are in the following figure, there are many electronic gadgets which we are
using in our day to day life such as computer, T.V, mobile phones, pen drive, etc. available
easily. These instruments help us by making easy paper work, entertaining and for
communication. But not to limit only this, these instruments are proved useful in almost every
industry. Electronic gadgets operate many machines, ships, aero planes and industrial activities.
Also they are used to identify conditions for the performance of any works (Agrawal, S. (n.d.)
The Influence of Electronic Gadgets in Student Life according to Cynthia Roberson (n.d),

teaching and learning nowadays is really difficult for both teachers and students. Teachers expect
more to their students and students also expect more from their teachers, but with gadgets or
electronic devices in the system of education, it is not that difficult anymore for both teachers
and students, and with the help of this, it satisfies the growing list of technology standards and
mostly prepare students for the life beyond K-12 classroom.

Students' lives today are filled with technology that give s them access to information and
resources 24/7. Students are able to create multimedia content and immediately share it with the
world and participate in social networks where people from all over the world share ideas,
collaborate and learn new things. Outside of the classroom, students have the freedom to pursue
their passions in their own way and at their own pace. Opportunities for today's students are
limitless, borderless and instantaneous (Office of Technology, U.S. Department of Education,
2010) so it only logical that their learning environment should reflect their everyday lives. Mike
Muir, Bette Manchester and Jim Moulton (2005), authors of Learning with Laptops, explained
that laptop computers can accelerate, enrich and deepen basic skills, motivate and engage
students in learning, increase the visibility of tomorrow's workers and connect students and
schools to the real world. Just as pens and pencils were the predominant tools for knowledge and
learning during a large part of the last century, computers and internets are key tools for learning
and knowledge production for the 2 1 st century (Warschauer, 2005). Demski (2012) says, "If we
want our students to be able to find meaningful work and be contributing members of a global
society, then we need to prepare them for their future, not our past" (p.36).
 It is imperative that students can interact with technology and the internet because the
21 st century offers us far more options to learn and grow intellectually. In fact, today more than a
million people in the United States alone are learning online (Bonk 2010). Laptop computers and
wireless connectivity represents two of the fastest-growing technologies in schools
(Warschauer,2005). The opportunities that technology brings to the classroom open up walls so

that a classroom is no longer a closed system (Demski, 2012).

The Office of Educational Technology through the U.S. Department of Education is
recommending that students and educators have adequate broadband access to the Internet and
adequate wireless connectivity both inside and outside of school. Additionally, it is
recommended that ach student and educator have at least one internet access device, software
and resources for research, communication, multimedia content creation, and collaboration for
use both inside and outside of school (2010).
One to one computing (l: l), a scenario in which each student has an internet connected
computing device, has been deployed extensively in the past decade, with a belief that increased
access to computer resources would result in an increase of student learning and improvement of
teaching practices (Bebell and Kay, 2010; Cavanaugh, Dawson and Ritzhaupt, 2011; Drayton,
Falk, Stroud, Hobbs and Hammerman, 2010; Gulek and Demirtas, 2005; Lei and Zhao, 2008;
Penuel, 2006).

II. Statement of the Problem

This study will be conducted to determine the positive and negative effect of gadgets to
the academic performance of the students of Barcelona National Comprehensive High School.
1. What is the profile of the education students in terms of;

Age
Gender
Year level
General Average
 2. What are the positive and negative effects of gadgets to the academic

performances of the students of Barcelona National Comprehensive High

School?

3. Is there a significant difference between the positive and negative effects of

gadgets to the academic performance of the students of Barcelona National

Comprehensive High School?

4. Does the usage of gadgets can really make students’ grades high or low?

5. What interventions are needed to improve the students’ academic performance?

III. Assumptions

1. The students’ general average differ from each other.

2. There are positive and negative effects of gadgets to the academic

performances of the students of Barcelona National Comprehensive High

School.

3. There is a significant difference between the positive and negative effects of

gadgets to the academic performance of the students of Barcelona National

Comprehensive High School.

4. The usage of gadgets can make students’ grades high or low.

5. There are interventions needed to improve the students’ academic

performance.
IV. Significance of the Study

This study will be a significant endeavor in knowing the positive and negative
effects of gadgets to the academic performance of students of Barcelona National
Comprehensive High School. This study will be beneficial to the;
a. Students
This study will be beneficial to the students, where they will be aware in their studies
especially when it comes in using their different gadgets. It is important for them to
remain aware of their responsibilities while using their favorite gadget because many
academic and researchers believe that excessive use of the sophisticated gadgets have the
potential to become an addiction. It is significant for them that excessively use of their
gadgets to the point that they are addicted to it. It can be a guide to them on how to control
the usage of their said gadgets.

b. Parents
This study will help parents for them to know the impact of gadgets to the academic
performance of their children. Also it helps them limit the usage of gadgets to their
children if they found out in the study the different results about the usage of electronic
gadgets. It is also beneficial for them to be reminded of their important role as parents.
They would make constant follow-up on their children's study time.

c. Teachers
This study will provide additional knowledge about the effects of gadgets to the
academic performance and techniques for them to limit or to continue the usage of
gadgets in their class. This study will help them understand their students better. This is
also important because it would help teachers examine whether the use of electronic
gadget has negative implication on student’s subsequent performance on their study
habits. Thus, they can impose discipline in the classroom when it comes to the usage of
gadgets.
 d. School Heads
This is beneficial for them to impose disciplinary actions for students who were
addicted and abusing the use of gadgets especially to those students whose grades and
school attendance are greatly affected.

e. Future Researchers
It is beneficial for our future researchers because it is also one way where they can get

ideas and information for their thesis study which is related to this topic. It is also a way in

which they can enhance their skills and knowledge in leading their group and sharing their

skills, knowledge, opinions and views.

V. Scope and Delimitation

This study focuses on the positive and negative effects of gadgets to the academic
performance of the students of Barcelona National Comprehensive High School. The
study limits the coverage on the selected students of Barcelona National Comprehensive
High School only. This study aims to prove the effectiveness of using gadgets that could
confine the interest of the students and enhance their knowledge. The primary data
gathering method to be used is the researchers-made questionnaire to determine the
positive and negative effects of gadgets to the academic performance of the students of
Barcelona National Comprehensive High School. The study considers every aspect of
students' personal information that has an impact on their academic performances
(through the usage of gadgets) such as their monthly family income, their gender, and age
and year level.
Each of the students or respondents will be given some questionnaire to answer.
This research uses a purposive and convenience sampling in which an equal representation
for gender and year level among the respondent is applied.
VI. Definition of Terms:

To facilitate better understanding, the following terms were defined conceptually and

operationally;

a. Academic Performance — is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution

has achieved their short or long term educational goals.

(www.merriam.com)

 As used in the study, this term refers to the performance showed by a particular

person in the field of study or education.

b. Positive — is the opposite of negative. Involving advantage or good, relating to

positivism. (https;//wyyy„yocabulary.com)

 As used in the study, this term refers to the useful, clear and good effects to

someone or something.

c. Negative — a word or statement that expresses denial, disagreement, or

refusal.(www.merriam.com)

 As used in the study, this term refers to the harmful or bad effects towards

someone that can distract a person in his/her focus about something they're

doing.

d. Students — is a learner or someone who attends an educational

institution.(https://en.m.wikipedia.org)

 As used in the study, this term refers to the one who's attending the class, doing
homework and projects in order to achieve his/her goals.
 e. Gadgets — an often small mechanical or electronic device with a practical use but

often thought of as a novelty. (www.merriam.com)

 As used in the study, this term refers to the use in dealing with something especially
when it comes in communication or in gaming.