DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION

DIVISION OF PASIG CITY
RIZAL HIGH SCHOOL

FACTORS AFFECTING THE UTILIZATION OF TABLETS AND SMARTPHONES

IN TEACHING BY PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS
IN DASMARIÑAS CITY, CAVITE

A Research Proposal submitted

In partial fulfilment of the requirements in

PRACTICAL RESEARCH 2

Submitted by:

[Name]
[Grade and Section]

Submitted to:

Mr. Nathaniel B. Bacli

Teacher
 CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction
Electronic gadgets are pervasive in the recent times. What had been once
thought to be a perk of business executives and affluent people are now being utilized by the
masses for various purposes. These gadgets can be used for entertainment, for buying and selling,
and for communicating. Information had steadily become more accessible that it had literally
needed only a touch of a button or a few taps on a screen to gain access of relevant and
accurate sources.
The field of education is observed to be not far behind these developments in
information technology. Significant developments in computer and information technology in the
20th century such as portable data drives, office productivity software, most especially the Internet
have become useful to educators well into the 21st century. Subject matter topics as well as the
methods and techniques to teach them are now easily shared over the Web either in text or video
form. Educators and students around the world had benefited substantially through these
developments, and technologies for education are continually progressing.
Tablets and smartphones were once considered as equipment for business
executives and affluent people. However, the original purpose of the tablet computer is to
educate children. Alan Kay, among the proponents of the development of the tablet computer,
envisioned DynaBook in 1972, a “personal computer for children of all ages”, a device that can
be used by both the teacher and the child to streamline education. While the DynaBook never
went into production, it inspired electronics manufacturers to delve into the possibility of
producing tablet computers for office productivity, of which the companies and their products
had varying degrees of success. Early incarnations of tablet computers were bulky, expensive,
and not very user-friendly, which kept it away from educators and students alike.
Smartphones on the other hand were developed for office productivity and
business communications (Savage, 1995), but its current definition has expanded significantly from
its original purpose. Since the implementation of the iOS and Android operating systems for tablets
and smartphones in 2007, there has been a significant increase in phone capability and
functionality, and a significant decrease in cost for Android-powered phones.
The present features and capabilities of both tablets and smartphones encourage
developers to create programs that aid in educating children. The US Department of Education
have implemented the use of these devices in their schools. Even in the Philippines, there have
been institutions which deployed these devices, however sporadic. The present government has
expressed its desire for implementation of these gadgets to replace textbooks (Pal, 2011).
However, the Philippine education system as a whole had been slow in pursuing a
nationwide implementation. The burden then shifts to the teacher’s individual utilization of these
equipment, and another problem becomes evident. What keeps teachers from using these
equipment? What factors influence their individual use these gadgets for teaching? This study shall
attempt to determine the factors and study the trends that influence their utilization of tablets and
smartphones in teaching.

Background of the Study

This study shall attempt to determine the factors affecting the use of tablets and
smartphones in teaching by teachers from private high schools in Dasmariñas City.
 Dasmariñas City is the most populous city in the province of Cavite (PSA, 2010), and
is dubbed as the University City of Cavite due to the high density of educational institutions found
therein. There are 12 public and 140 private high schools in the city (Department of Education,
2015) to cater to the school-aged youth of the city. Most of the private high schools in the city
offer Grade 7 up to Grade 10, each class is managed by a teacher-adviser.
Due to the relatively affordable price of tablets and smartphones, one shall expect
that private school teachers have one or both of these devices. This opens up the possibility that
teachers use these devices in the preparation and presentation of their lessons, especially in the
private school setting.
Tablets and smartphones is at the forefront of current advancements in
educational technology. This study shall determine if the diverse profile of the private school
teachers has a hand in affecting the use of these devices. This study shall also investigate other
factors such as device and application familiarity, and the cost of operating and maintaining the
devices.
Identifying the factors that affect the teacher’s use of tablets and smartphones in
teaching is useful in formulating methods to make it practical or in creating countermeasures to
mitigate them. Reducing the adverse factors will create a conducive environment which will
enable Filipino educators to access, prepare, use, and share innovations brought about by this
technology.

Statement of the Problem

This study shall determine and understand the factors that affect the teacher’s
utilization of tablets and smartphones in teaching in private high schools in Dasmariñas City, Cavite
for the school year 2015-2016. Specifically, this research shall attempt to answer the following
questions:
1. What is the profile of the teacher respondents in terms of:
1.1 age,
1.2 sex,
1.3 years of teaching experience,
1.4 salary, and,
1.5 type of devices they use and the platform on which the devices run?
2. How familiar are the teachers in using their tablets or smartphones in terms of:
2.1 basic controls of the device,
2.2 device features and functions,
2.3 general utility applications, such as taking photos, playing media, or browsing the
internet, and,
2.4 educational and teaching-related technologies?
3. What is the cost of operating and maintaining their device in terms of:
3.1 the unit cost of the device,
3.2 network subscription costs, and,
3.3 cost of app purchases?
4. How do teachers utilize their devices in teaching in terms of:
4.1 in-class presentations,
4.2 marking or grading,
4.3 note-taking,
4.4 social networking,
 4.5 compilation of materials for research, and,
4.6 use of simple apps for focused reasons?
5. Will the teacher respondents’ profile, familiarity, and device costs have a significant effect on
the utilization of tablets and smartphones in teaching?

Scope and Limitation

In order to obtain reliable research data, this study shall operate under the
following scope and limitations.
This study will be conducted in private high schools in Dasmariñas City, Cavite,
during the school year 2015-2016. Private high schools will be selected as they present provide a
convenient environment for teachers to use personal gadgets in teaching.
The respondents who will participate in this study shall be high school teachers in
private schools. The respondents must hold teaching loads in their respective schools regardless
of the subjects they were teaching. Support personnel who may have been using these devices
in presentations shall not be included as respondents as they do not have as much contact with
the students as staff members with teaching loads.
Devices shall be categorized according to their operating systems, which are
Android and iOS. This is due to a multitude of devices available under both platforms that share
the same general capabilities.
The independent variables that this study shall investigate will be the respondents’
profile, familiarity of the device, and cost. The teachers’ age, sex, years of teaching experience,
salary, and devices used shall be collected for profiling the respondents for this study. Familiarity
of the device will be indicated by the owner’s competence in using and adjusting the settings of
his device. The price of the device, the owner’s internet subscription cost, and app purchases shall
be taken as the cost.
Utilization of smartphones and tablets will be indicated by six indicators based on
the teaching-related practical areas suggested by MacNeill (2015). This shall be the dependent
variable in the study.
 CHAPTER 2
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Review of Related Literature and Studies

[insert text here]

Research Paradigm

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Profile of the Teachers Utilization of Tablets and

1. Age Smartphone in Teaching, in terms
2. Sex of:
3. Years of Teaching 1. In-class Presentation
Experience 2. Marking or Grading
4. Salary 3. Note-taking
5. Devices Used (by 4. Social Networking
Operating System) 5. Compilation of Materials for
Other Factors Research
1. Device Familiarity 6. Simple Apps for Focused
2. Cost Reasons

Fig. 1. Research Paradigm

As presented in the paradigm above, this study will strive to determine if there are
significant relationships between the profiles of the teachers, which are identified by age, sex,
years of teaching experience, salary, and the type of device they are using, and their levels of
utilization of tablets and smartphones in terms of in-class presentations, grading, note-taking, social
networking, compilation of materials for research, and use of simple apps.
Likewise, this study will investigate if there are significant relationships between the
teachers’ level of device familiarity and the device’s cost of operation and maintenance and its
utilization in teaching.

Research Hypothesis
This study offers the following proposed answers to the specific problems identified:
1. The profile of the teachers, indicated by age, sex, years of teaching experience, salary,
and devices used have no significant effect on their utilization of tablets and smartphones
in teaching.
2. The teachers’ familiarity with their device does not significantly affect their utilization of it
in teaching.
3. The cost of operating and maintaining the device has no significant effect to its utilization
in teaching.
Definition of Terms
Listed below are terms and concepts which are defined according to how they
are used in this study:
1. Apps – shortened form of the word application (Merriam Webster Mobile Dictionary, 2015),
refers to programs installed into a smartphone or tablet which enables the device to
perform tasks required by the user, such as gaming, office productivity, multimedia, and
the like. Apps may be obtained from the iTunes App Store for iOS devices and Google Play
for Android devices.
2. Cost – the market value of the device including the amount of resources needed to
operate and maintain it. Includes the cost of using a data plan or internet service to
download and install necessary apps.
3. Device Familiarity – refers to the ability of the user to competently operate his tablet or
smartphone, modify its settings, and install and use apps that increase their productivity.
4. Educational Apps – apps which purpose is for educating its user. Some may be utilized for
classroom tasks or supporting the education system. These are specifically categorized as
such in the App Store and Google Play.
5. Platform – the operating system that runs on a smartphone or tablet. It refers to either
Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android.
6. Salary – the amount a teacher receives after a specific pay period, excluding the bonuses
and additional compensation he or she may receive.
7. Smartphones – Phones that are capable of accomplishing various tasks. These phones
implement capabilities previously found only in personal computers and other gadgets,
such as office productivity, high-definition multimedia and gaming, location tagging and
GPS guidance, and internet connectivity. Operationally pertains to phones developed
after 2007 and are running either iOS or Android operating systems.
8. Tablets – Devices that share most of the capabilities of smartphones, albeit with a larger
screen size. They also run on iOS or Android operating systems. Tablet computers
developed before 2007 are excluded from this category.
9. Utilization of Smartphones and Tablets in Teaching – the use of the said device in teaching-
related tasks such as in-class presentations, marking or grading, note-taking, social
networking, compilation of materials for research, and simple apps for focused reasons
(MacNeill, 2015).
10. Years of Teaching Experience – refers to the number of years a teacher has in the teaching
profession in which he or she has taken teaching loads.
 CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter shall discuss the methods and actions to be taken to answer the stated
problem of this study. This chapter shall present the method of research to be used, the sampling
procedure and sampling size, the data gathering instrument, and the statistical treatment of the
collected data.

Research Design
The descriptive method of research shall be utilized in this study, due to the nature
of the variables that will be studied. This method will help in profiling the respondents and in
determining their levels of device familiarity, perception of device cost, and utilization of the
device in teaching. This method also shall help identify if the stated independent variables have
any effect on the respondents’ utilization of their devices in teaching.
Calderon and Gonzales (1993) refers to descriptive research as the method of
describing and interpreting what is. It is primarily concerned with conditions of relationships that
exist and the effects that are being felt. It also involves the interpretation of the meaning or
significance of what is described. Thus, this approach makes it suitable for this study.

The Respondents of the Study

Teachers in private high schools will be the respondents for this study. They will be
selected as the private high school system normally allows the free use of various technologies
such as tablets and smartphones in teaching their students.
According to the City Schools Division Office of Dasmariñas City, Cavite, there are
140 registered private high schools in the city as of school year 2015-2016. However, the Division
Office did not publish the current population of private high school teachers in the city in the same
school year. By estimation, if a typical private high school will offer four classes with 8 subjects per
class, it would yield a total of 4480 available teaching positions assuming that there is one teacher
per subject.

Sampling Procedure
This study will use systematic random sampling in determining the population
sample. Due to the unavailability of the exact teacher population, this study shall instead include
20% of the total number of private high schools, which is 28 schools. Four high school teachers shall
be selected from each of the participating schools. Two male and two female teachers shall be
selected to give equal representation of the sexes in the study.
The total sample size will be at 112 private high school teachers.

Research Instrument
A questionnaire will serve as the main data gathering instrument for this study, due
to its simplicity and reliability. This study will utilize an original questionnaire based on the indicators
of the variables being studied.
The questionnaire will consist of four parts:
The profile of the teacher respondents will consist Part 1 of the questionnaire. In this
part, data concerning their age, sex, years of teaching experience, monthly salary, and type of
device platform will be collected.
 Part 2 will be used to collect data on the respondents’ device familiarity. This has
four sub-parts, namely, basic controls of the device, device features and functions, general utility
applications, and education and teaching-related technologies.
Part 3 consists of the indicators for device cost, namely actual cost of the device,
network subscription cost, and cost of app purchases.
Part 4 will be about the respondents’ utilization of the device in teaching. This will
be measured in terms of in-class presentations, recording and computing student marks or grades,
making, storing, and retrieving notes and reminders, communicating and interacting with
students, browsing and compiling materials for research, and using education or teaching-related
apps.

Data Gathering Procedure

To collect the necessary data for this study, the researcher shall select 28 random
schools from the current list of registered private high schools in Dasmariñas City. Once the schools
were selected, letters seeking the permission to conduct research shall be sent to the school heads
of the said schools.
Once approved, the researcher will select four respondents, two male and two
female, to participate in the study by answering the questionnaire. The researcher shall also
explain how the questionnaire should be answered as well as what the questionnaire is for.
Personal data that will be gleaned from the research will be protected and will be used only for
this study.
Should a school head refuse to give permission to conduct the study in their school,
the researcher shall select another school at random to replace the prior selected school.

Statistical Treatment of Data

The following statistical tools shall be used to analyze the gathered data.
1. Frequency percent distribution will be used for the teacher respondents’ profile.
2. Weighted mean and standard deviation will be used for describing device familiarity,
device cost, and utilization of the device in teaching.
3. Chi square test of independence will be used in identifying if the variables age, sex, years
of teaching experience, monthly salary, and type of device used have an effect on the
utilization of the device in teaching.
4. Pearson’s r coefficient of correlation will be used to determine if device familiarity has an
effect on the utilization of the device in teaching.
5. Pearson’s r coefficient of correlation will also be used in determining if device cost has an
effect on the utilization of the device in teaching.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Calderon, J. & Gonzales, E. (1993). Methods of research and thesis writing. Valenzuela, Metro
Manila: National Book Store
Merriam-Webster Mobile Dictionary (2015). Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster

Related Studies

Savage, P. (1995). Designing a GUI for business telephone users [Electronic version]. Interactions,
2(1), 32-41.

MacNeill, F. (2015). Approaching apps for learning, teaching and research. In Andrew Middleton
(Ed.), Smart learning: Teaching and learning with smartphones and tablets in post
compulsory education (255-257). Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Hallam University

Related Literature

Pal, A. (2011). High school students find learning exciting with use of iPads. Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Retrieved February 14, 2016, from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/32989/high-school-students-
find-learning-exciting-with-use-of-ipads