University of the Immaculate Conception

College of Pharmacy and Chemistry

Fr. Selga Street, Davao City, Philippines

RELEVANCE OF USING SMARTPHONES IN THE

COGNITIVE PROCESS OF THE STUDENTS

A research paper
presented to Mr. Angel Constantine Bajana
Faculty of College of Pharmacy and Chemistry

In partial fulfilment of the requirements in the

subject Mathematics in the Modern World

by

ALVAREZ, VINZ CHRISTIAN M.

APILLANES, RITHCEL JOY O.
MADROÑO, CAMILA CORINNE L.
PANDIAN, NYLIECA
PINEDA, NOVEA GRACE M.

October 2019
 University of the Immaculate Conception
College of Pharmacy and Chemistry
Fr. Selga Street, Davao City, Philippines

RELEVANCE OF USING SMARTPHONES IN THE

COGNITIVE PROCESS OF THE STUDENTS
Vinz Christian M. Alvarez, Rithcel Joy O. Apillanes, Camila Corinne L. Madroño,
Nylieca Pandian, Novea Grace M. Pineda

Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the academic use of smartphones among the students. A
survey was
conducted by distributing a structured questionnaire among Business Studies undergraduate
program students. The mean,
standard deviation, Chi square value showed that there is a statistically signicant difference
at the p level indicating
positive perspectives towards academic use of smartphones The academic use, advantages, and
impact of smartphones have
been proved to be positive. Comparison of students’ opinion about academic advantages and
impact of using smartphones
by gender and age was also carried out using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests. These
tools were not statistically
signicant although they had positive perceptions towards smartphones as academic support
tool.
The aim of this study is to investigate the academic use of smartphones among the students. A
survey was
conducted by distributing a structured questionnaire among Business Studies undergraduate
program students. The mean,
standard deviation, Chi square value showed that there is a statistically signicant difference
at the p level indicating
positive perspectives towards academic use of smartphones The academic use, advantages, and
impact of smartphones have
been proved to be positive. Comparison of students’ opinion about academic advantages and
impact of using smartphones
by gender and age was also carried out using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests. These
tools were not statistically
signicant although they had positive perceptions towards smartphones as academic support
tool.
This study aims to investigate the relevance of using smartphones in the cognitive
process of students. A survey was conducted by distributing a structured questionnaire among
selected first-year Pharmacy Students in the College of Pharmacy and Chemistry at the
 University of the Immaculate Conception
College of Pharmacy and Chemistry
Fr. Selga Street, Davao City, Philippines
University of Immaculate Conception. Results show that most of the students use their phones
for academic use such as research projects, watch educational videos, reviewing their studies
and taking down notes with a score of 26%. Results also show that smartphones are effective in
their cognitive process with a score of 27%. These findings lend empirical evidence that
Smartphones are relevant in the cognitive process of students improving the full range of higher
quality education.

Introduction To investigate the impact of smart phones

Smartphones are the type of mobile
phones with multipurpose computing with
many features like high hardware and
operating system, Software, Internet and
Multimedia functionality with basic phone
functions and many more up-gradation. This
hand-sized product is needed for every
category of people like teenagers, adults,
students, old people, and even children also.
By using smartphones, our works are much
easier and more possible.
According to Statistica Research
Department on “Mobile phone internet user
penetration worldwide from 2014 to
2019”—in 2015, 52.7 percent of the global
mobile phone population accessed the
internet from their mobile phone. This figure
is expected to grow to 61.2 percent in 2018.
As of February 2017, mobile devices
excluding tablets accounted for 49.73
percent of web page views worldwide.  In
2020, the number of smartphone users
worldwide is projected to reach 2.87 billion,
up from 2.1 billion in 2016.
Smartphones are a necessity to
people nowadays especially to students who
need quick access to information. Students
can do a quick search of a certain topic to
satisfy their academic needs and encounter
more knowledge that piques the interest of
the students.
Research Methodology
on university
students in the United Arab Emirates,
following questions
were raised
To investigate the impact of smart phones
on university
students in the United Arab Emirates,
following questions
were raised
To investigate the relevance of
smartphones in the cognitive process of
students, the following questions were
raised:
RQ1: For what kind of purposes do they use
smartphones?
RQ2: What is the impact of smartphone in
the cognitive process of learning?
A. Participants of the Study
A total of 50 selected first year
Pharmacy Students were involved in the
study.
B. Research Setting
In this research, data were collected
at the University of Immaculate Conception.
This is also due to the accessibility of
classrooms.
C. Research Method and Design
 University of the Immaculate Conception
College of Pharmacy and Chemistry
Fr. Selga Street, Davao City, Philippines
This study was a survey research 1 5 1 2 3 1
design because it served to answer the
Table 2. Agreement
questions and the purposes of the study.
Likert scale was also employed.
Then after tallying the results, we
proceed to the actual formulation.
Results
The mean is the average of the data,
30%
which is the sum of all the observations
divided by the number of observations. 25%
26%
20%
1+2+3+ 4+ 5
Mean= 15%
5
10%

Where: 1+2+3+4+5=Sum of all data 5% 8% 7% 6%

5=Number of questions 0%
Always Often Sometimes
2%
Rarely Never
Sample size= 50 Table 3. Results in Frequency

Before proceeding to the actual In table 3, the data showed that 26%
formulation, the researchers come up first by (26.2%) of the population answered
tallying how many students were able to "Always" on the survey questionnaire,
answer the best of their choice. which means that most of the students
frequently use their smartphones for
Likert Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 academic purposes such as research projects,
watch educational videos, reviewing their
5 36 34 20 21 20 studies and taking down notes . Followed by
Often with 8% (7.6%), Sometimes with 7%
4 5 16 4 5 8
(7.2%), Never with 6% (6.2%) and Rarely
3 2 0 6 18 10 with 3% (2.8%). In similar research done by
Md. Emran Hossain, S.M. Zabed et al.
2 0 0 9 3 2 (2016, August 1), she and her team found
1 7 0 11 3 10 out that on average, students had a positive
perception and usage of smartphones in their
Table 1. Frequency academic lives.
Likert Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5
5 28 30 26 23 27
4 10 16 14 9 12
3 1 3 5 11 9
2 6 0 3 4 1
 University of the Immaculate Conception
College of Pharmacy and Chemistry
Fr. Selga Street, Davao City, Philippines
30%
25% 27%
20%
15%
10% 13%
5%
6%
3%
0%
Strongly ... Agree Neither
Agre...
Strongly
Dis...
Disagree
Table 4. Results in Agreement
In table 4, the data showed that 27%
(26.8%) of the population strongly agreed
that smartphones had a positive impact on
their academic endeavors. This is followed
by Agree with 12% (12.2%), Neither Agree
or Disagree with 6% (5.8%), Strongly
Disagree with 3% (2.8%) and Disagree with
2% (2.4%). In a similar study conducted by
Yu Zhonggen, et al. (2017, April 19), their
team proved that there was a significant
increase in learning outcomes from the
students and there was a decrease in
cognitive load of the students resulting in a
decrease of stress levels.
Implication
Smartphones for students helps them
to prepare for their future by enhancing their
learning process. One can solve their
doubt just by a click. Smartphones can make
learning easy as one can search helpful
content and can learn from educational
videos.The implication from the given data
is that smartphones allow the students to
grab more knowledge in their academic
lives. Smartphones are a powerful tool that
the student can use in order to enhance
cognitive thinking and improve knowledge
aquisition.
References
Rameshkhan (2017, July 7) “Importance of
Mobile Phones to Students” retrieved from
https://medium.com/@Rameshkhanji93/imp
ortance-of-mobiles-phones-for-students-
9c4bbb18fe3#targetText=Mobiles
%20phones%20made%20it
%20much,Education%3A&targetText=The
%20only%20needed%20things%20are
2%
%20mobile%20phones%20and%20data.
HRishi Computer Education (2019, May 30)
“Advantages of Smartphone in Education”
retrieved from
https://www.hrishiblogbuddhi.com/advantag
es-of-smartphone-in-education/
Statistica Research Department (2015,
August 31) “Mobile phone internet user
penetration worldwide from 2014 to 2019”
retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/284202/m
obile-phone-internet-user-penetration-
worldwide/
ACADEMIC USE OF SMART PHONES
AMONG
THE STUDENTS OF BUSINESS
SCHOOLS IN
UAE - A STUDY
Sophia Johnson*, N. Radhakrishnan**
Sophia Johnson, N. Radhakrishan (2016,
November 4) “Academic Use of
Smartphones Among the Students of
Business Schools in UAE-A Study” retrieved
from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/31
4284460_ACADEMIC_USE_OF_SMART_
PHONES_AMONG_THE_STUDENTS_O
F_BUSINESS_SCHOOLS_IN_UAE_-
A_STUDY?
fbclid=IwAR2T4yJY4wq47ovXJVQNRfIky
 University of the Immaculate Conception
College of Pharmacy and Chemistry
Fr. Selga Street, Davao City, Philippines
yh4WsElbj6cFPGTeSkZ4qn20Xn8DsOf3O
0 Apillanes Jr. and Marocel O. Apillanes. She
Md. Emran Hossain, S.M. Zabed Ahmed
(2016, August 1) “Academic Use of
Smartphone by University Students: A
Developing Country Perspective” retrieved
from
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/do
i/10.1108/EL-07-2015-0112/full/html
Yu Zhonggan, et. Al (2017, April 19)
“Student’s satisfaction, learning outcomes,
and cognitive loads with a mobile learning
platform” retrieved from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108
0/09588221.2018.1517093?
journalCode=ncal20
L. Kibona, G. Magaya (2015, April 4)
“Smartphones’ Effect on Academic
Performance of Higher Learning Students”
retrieved from http://www.jmest.org/wp-
content/uploads/JMESTN42350643.pdf
AUTHORS
Vinz Christian M. Alvarez 19 years of age,
born and raised in Bislig, Surigao del Sur on
May 14, 2000. First born son of Analiza M.
Alvarez and Alvin Rey M. Alvarez. He
spent his elementary education up to his
Senior High School education in De La
Salle John Bosco College where he
graduated last March 2019 and now
currently taking up Bachelor of Science in
Pharmacy at the University of Immaculate
Conception.
Rithcel Joy O. Apillanes 19 years old, born
on April 21, 2000 at Diatagon, Lianga,
Surigao del Sur. Daughter of Rogelio C.
studied her Primary Education at Diatagon
Catholic High School and Senior High
School at Bayugan National Comprehensive
High School. She’s currently taking up
Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy at the
University of Immaculate Conception.
Camila Corinne L. Madroño 18 years old,
was born in Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis
Oriental, Philippines on May 14, 2001.
Daughter of Carmelyn L. Madroño and
Clitos Edgar B. Madroño. She finished her
Primary Education at Bayabas Central
Elementary School and her Secondary
Education at Solomon P. Lozada National
High School, Bayabas, Surigao del Sur.
She’s currently taking up Bachelor of
Science in Pharmacy at the University of
Immaculate Conception.
Nylieca M. Pandian 18 years old; born on
January 25, 2001; raised in Sta. Cruz Davao
del Sur. Daugther of Mr./Mrs. Jimmy S.
Pandian and Jackielyn M. Pandian. She
spent her elementary education at Sta. Cruz
Elementary School; secondary education at
Sta. Cruz National High School last April 7,
2019 and is currently taking up Bachelor of
Science in Pharmacy at the University of
Immaculate Conception.
Novea Grace M. Pineda 18 years of age,
born on November 24, 2000 at Wao, Lanao
Del Sur and currently living at Banisilan,
North Cotabato. Daughter of Louie Pineda
and Judes Pineda. She finished her Primary
Education at Wonderland Adventist
Elementary School, Her Junior High School
at Banisilan National High School and
Senior High School at University of
 University of the Immaculate Conception
College of Pharmacy and Chemistry
Fr. Selga Street, Davao City, Philippines
Mindanao, Matina Campus. She’s currently taking up Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy
at the University of Immaculate Conception.