CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES

A cellphone is any portable telephone which uses cellular network technology to

make and receive calls. The name comes from the cell-like structure of these networks.

It is all about the technology used to transmit your calls, rather than what the handset

itself can or cannot do. As long as a phone can transmit a signal to a cellular network, it

is a cellphone.

The term 'cellphone' is interchangeable with the terms Cellular Phone and Mobile

Phone. They all mean the same thing. The term smartphone has come to mean a

cellphone which offers more advanced features than just calls, SMS messages, and

basic organizer software. Often, when talking about mobile phones, cellphone is used to

describe a simple feature phone, whilst smartphone is used to describe more advanced

touchscreen phones.

Cellphones can be a powerful participation tool in the classroom. For instance, it

helps the students to do all things easier. Students can be more active in their activities,

by using cellphones on taking pictures on the lesson. This way, a teacher can quickly

determine the overall understanding of a topic and adjust their lesson plan accordingly.

Another way cell phones can boost participation in the classroom is by inviting

students to use facebook throughout the lesson. Teachers allowing this to encourage

the students who are shy to ask questions to ensure that good questions don’t missed

or forgotten.
 Cell phones can be very helpful in the classroom. When it comes to double

checking spelling, word definitions, or even to look up alternative word choices, apps

like the Merriam-Webster Dictionary App and the Webster’s Thesaurus App are quick

and easy-to-use resources. For students studying foreign languages, there are many

useful foreign dictionary apps available for free, like Conjugate Spanish Verbs that can

ensure the right way to conjugate a certain verb. Additionally, the students can look up

news online via cellphone and share or contribute it to the classroom discussion.

Lastly, cell phones can help students stay organized and on top of tasks,

homework, projects, and deadlines. For example, myHomework App is a cross-platform

app that students can access on any device that offers a traditional paper planner.

In terms of keeping notes organized, Evernote is a convenient app that students

can use to transcribe, students can easily type up their notes when they study at home,

and the teachers can take pictures on their lesson and share it to his/her students

who are also using the app. The teachers can also use this app to update the students

who missed the lessons.

The biggest problem of teachers in regards to cellphones is that the student uses

it while they are teaching, like texting a friend, playing an online games, and surfing on

facebook.

Based on a study, among undergraduate students total usage of cellphones,

measured in number of minutes per day and not limited to school time, was "a

significant and negative predictor of college students' academic performance, which

was objectively measured as cumulative GPA." Moreover, the abundant use of mobile
technology among young people largely explains the inadequate use of information and

communication technologies (ICT) in both personal and school environments.

Consequently, actions have been taken that contribute to more responsible use of this

type of technology in students' personal, school, and social lives.

According to the study performed by Dakota Lawson and Bruce B. Henderson

performed a study to examine the relationship between mobile phone use in class and

information comprehension. The study involved 120 students from an introductory

psychology course, mostly first-year students. The result showed that students who

were texting in class had significantly lower test scores even when the material that was

presented was simple: mobile phone use in class impairs students’ comprehension and

performance. This study was performed after several similar studies in the past and

corroborated their results..

A 2017 collective study, published by Applied Cognitive Psychology, indicated

that college students retained less knowledge when allowed to use or possess a cell

phone during lectures. During the experiment, students who were not allowed access to

a cell phone tested better than those who had access to cell phones.

Based on Dr. James Derunian who conducted a study involving a hundred

participants at the University of Gloucestershire, 45% of students believe that

cellphones can help to their education. One of those benefits is providing such

academic support in digital access to textbooks, it allows the students to engage more

deeply with the information presented. Still, Derounian mentioned that there could be

"an element of social desirability conveyed in the student views given."

 On an article by Emma Henderson, who is a journalist for the United Kingdom

(UK) publication The Independent, describes phantom vibrations caused by "learned

bodily behavior," where the part of the body to which the phone closest becomes very

sensitive.

As a result, even the slightest vibrations can cause a person to believe that the

phone has vibrated when, in reality, it has not. These are known as phantom vibrations.

Nine out of ten people claimed to have felt these phantom vibrations in their pockets,

raising serious concerns about the overuse of cell phones and the resulting dependency

that people develop. Therefore, breaking the habit of frequently checking one's phone

can not only be beneficial for students but also convey more respect towards the

professors and teachers whose lectures are constantly interrupted by cellular

distractions.

In the survey on Uk, there are no cellphones ban in schools, 50% of schools had

banned the cellphones. According to study by the London School of Economics that

students had been improved when the policies was implemented. The policy of banning

the cellphones in school normally helped the students to get a higher score on exam but

also reduce the temptation on using cellphones for non-scholarly purposes.

Secondary schools are introducing new, strictly if the student if the student under

the age of 16 will have their cellphone away from them for the entire day after scientific

evidence has demonstrated that they are active in the school environment without

cellphones. Their cellphones must place in the registered locker when they arrive at

school and they are not allowed to get that once school has finished. With this

happening, schools have found a positive impact on the students: more students are
active outside, along with greater numbers attending clubs and social events. Nick Gibb

told The Times, “I believe very strongly that children should be limiting their own [phone]

use at home. Every hour spent online and on a smartphone is an hour less talking to

family, and it’s an hour less exercise and it’s an hour less sleepy. And of course it is a

lack of sleep that research is showing can have a damaging effect on a child’s mental

health”.

The school did notice that the positive impact was greater for students under the

age of eleven rather than the older students. The students that were caught using their

cellphones during class hours will be given punishments such as detention, expulsion or

warnings. With this, the children will know how to limit themselves on using their

cellphones and they will be more focus on their school lives along with other social

activities. In the past, some United States schools installed mobile phone jammers

prevent cellphones from working on campuses.

However, the sale and use of jammers is illegal in the US under the Federal

Communications Act of 1934, because jammers cut off 9-1-1 calls and can disrupt air

navigation if they are used near airports. In 2012, the Federal Communication

Commission (FCC) became stricter in enforcing the ban on jammers. Mt. Spokane High

School in Washington state once installed a jammer to prevent students from calling

and text-messaging but removed the device after it decided that it was “probably not

legal” under federal law. In 2015, a Florida science teacher received a five-day unpaid

suspension for installing a jammer in the classroom.

The New York City Department of Education at 2005, impose a city-wide ban o

mobile phone in public schools. The ban was “inconsistency enforced, with some
schools allowing student to carry their phones as long as there phones as long as there

are no staff members see them, and the other school they have a metal detectors at the

doors to maintain the strict ban.” That was according to The New York Times. Banning

the cellphones was unpopular among the parents because it hinders the communication

of and the children. Mayor Bill Blasio fulfilling a campaign about the city-wide ban at

2015, school principals in consultation with teachers and parents may set rules on using

cellphones during instructional time and lunch breaks that is under the new policy. While

the neglect rule is that phones must remain hidden, “require the students to put their

cellphones on their backpack or other designated places, they are allowed to use it but

only during lunch or instructional purposes” elected by the principals. De Blasio said that

the policy shift would allow parents to stay in better touch with their children, especially

in case of an emergency. The New York City Schools Chancellor, Carmen Fariña,

supported this policy by noting that the change means that students in schools with

metal detectors would no longer have to pay outside vendors to store phones for them

during the schools today.

When the student asked which type if phone-restriction policy they prefer they

tend to support the side that allow them to bring their mobile phones on to the school

campus and allowing them to reach their parents if any problem occurs. In response to

the issue of parent-student communication, parents also argue that there is not a

replacement for mobile phones and therefore that phones are an essential device for

students to have accessible, raising concerns about a child in danger or not feeling safe

not being able to contact a parent and receive assistance. Parents also believe that

giving a child a phone teaches responsibility.

 Now the use of cellphones is allowed in school as learning tools. However, the

collective use of cellphones in schools poses other technological challenges. Some had

been reported for allowing the students to use cellphones at the same time slows down

school bandwidth speeds’ so that some schools have phones from accessing the school

Wi-Fi.

In Australian schools mobile phones are devised to be used only in case of calls

to parents or guardians and that only if the parent or guardian allows the phone to be

used during school activities such as school excursions, camps and extra-curricular

activities at school.

Mobile phones with camera are entirely banned within certain sections such as

changing rooms, bathrooms, gyms and swimming pools and also it is restricted within

school premises. Students are only allowed to use their cellphones if they have their

permission or the person is under 18. If a student is found with a mobile phone or

devices within these areas, they will be confiscated; and, depending on the situation,

charges or consequences will be given.

Mobile phones are not allowed to be used for sending harassing or threatening

messages. If a student does commit such an act, higher authorities will become

involved, including the police since this being a violation of privacy and harassment.

Due to bullying, privacy and harassment issues being a major issue in Australia, if a

student or teacher does break this law, it may leave them with a criminal record, leaving

them at a disadvantage in the future.

 Mobile phones are discouraged in terms of their use within the classroom unless

they can be appropriately incorporated into the learning environment. "We want to

ensure mobile phones and other smart devices complement students' learning, and are

handled at school in an age-appropriate way," said Premier Gladys Berejiklian in an

ABC news article.

According to Premier Gladys Berejiklian, “Technology should be there to help a

child learn. It should not be there to upset them or make them feel uncomfortable.”

Australian educational institute that phones should really ban in the classroom or only

allowed to be used for certain amounts of time. But the New South Wale government

has banned phones completely from its primary schools since 2019.

Behind those banning phones is to stop bulling online and physically and to

remove distractions from the classrooms. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told Seven’s

Sunrise that, “Mobile phones, unfortunately, are not only distractions but also causing

stress for young children, and we can’t have that continue.” Removing the access of the

students to phones during the day unless the guardian request the student needs to use

it and the teacher will have the phone kept with him somewhere the student is still able

to access it before and after school.

In a radio interview, DepEd Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla explained that the

prohibition of cellphone use during class hours is mandated by the DepEd Order 83

series of 2003 or the order "Prohibiting Students of Elementary and Secondary Schools

from Using Cellular Phones and Pagers during Class Hours. According to Sevilla, the

government started with the prohibition of cellphone use in 1999.

 Emphasizing that phones are easily used today to spread nude photos, Sevilla

urged the parents to consider their children's age in relation to using or owning phones.

She made the remark recognizing the recent issues concerning high school students

sharing online nude photos and videos of their classmates. There is a means or ways

on how we can properly communicate this order depending on the school as long as we

have an agreement with their parent-teacher associations," (Sevilla, 2019), adding that

the DepEd will also focus on the implementation of its anti-bullying policy. When asked

about DepEd's readiness for the opening of classes, Sevilla assured the public that all

their 800,000 public school teachers are prepared to receive about 25 million public

school students on Monday. She added that concerns and problems related to the first

day of classes may be reported to DepEd's action and command center. (PNA)

The Philippine News Agency is a web-based newswire service of the Philippine

government under the supervision of the News and Information Bureau (NIB) of the

Presidential Communications Office (PCO). HE REGIONAL memorandum prohibiting

cellphone use inside the schools has gained support from the Benguet provincial

government. During the State of Provincial Address, Governor Crescencio Pacalso

have noted the distraction of the use of the electronic gadget during class hours.

With the technology, it could be a big help but at times also, it could be a

distraction if this is used during classes. It would be a distraction not only to the students

themselves but also to the whole class. But this is also a big help, in terms of what the

school division superintendent is saying if they are using it for research in relation to

their studies, it will help but outside that I think it would be detrimental to the education

system. (Pacalso, 2019)

 Department of Education (DepEd) Benguet Schools Division Superintendent

Marie Carolyn Verano said with the prohibition of the gadgets they are collecting

comments from the different schools prior to schools who have also activities using the

gadgets. Under the memorandum, school officials and parents are mandated to discuss

the memo during PTA general assembly, Homeroom PTA meeting and to be included in

the student code of conduct, school manuals, child protection policy or anti-bullying

policies.

The use of cellular phones and other mobile devices specifically text messaging,

gaming, watching, chatting through Social Network messaging applications have

diverted the attention of the students from their studies, causing disturbance to classes.

Released last month, the regional memorandum prohibits the use of mobile use and

wearable technologies within the school premises.

It is also a reiterration of DECS orders No. 70 s. 1999 and 26, s.2000 and DepEd

order no. 83, s.2003. Violations of the memorandum result to appropriate sanctions

provided in the school's student code of conduct or manuals in child protection policies

and anti-bullying policies pursuant to applicable DepEd rules and regulations

However, this study therefore seeks, to find out the impact of the use of

cellphones on students’ academic performance. Taking students of secondary schools

as case study at public schools.

The study was carried out in order to understand and bring to fore if the students’

academic performance is affected due to the time channeled to the phone during

class hours which has a general perception as a medium of distractions to

students. The retrieval of the information gotten from this study was done with

structured questionnaires administered to have a grounded knowledge opinions of

the students simultaneously with the data gathered during the course of this

study. The analysis of the students’ perception showed that the internet enabled phone

usage does not affect the academic performance of the students but distractions by the

usage of phone were notably admitted.