Mathematics School Based Assessment

Disadvantages and advantages of using smartphones for

school/ academic purposes.

Name of students: Reon Smith (group leader)

Registration numbers: 1000522790, 10000520185, 1000520100, 10000521190

Teacher: Ms. Haughton-Cummings

Center: Jamaica College

Center number: 100052

Territory: Jamaica
 Table of contents

Title Page

Acknowledgment 3

Project Title 4

Introduction 5

Method of collecting data 6

Presentation of Data 7

Analysis of Data 11

Discussion of Findings 12

Conclusion 14

Appendix: Questionnaire 15

Bibliography 17

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 Acknowledgment

Firstly, thank God for giving us life and the elements of conducting this research.

Secondly, our teacher Mrs. Cummings whose expertise helped to perfect our SBA. Lastly, thanks

to our parents for providing the necessary instruments to complete our school-based assessment

comfortably. All the help is appreciated.

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 Project Title:

Disadvantages and advantages of using smartphones for school/ academic purposes.

4
 Introduction

This research was carried out based on the topic, “Do smartphones increase productivity

in schools?” For years it has been a very disputed topic, where most schools island wide did not

permit the use of smartphones in schools, but due to the pandemic which started in March 2020

there was an immediate shift to online school, an article from The Gleaner titled, “Education

during and after the pandemic” published on March 26, 2020 states, “In the past two weeks,

there have been multiple announcements suspending attendance at schools and universities. In a

weird way, as far as education goes, COVID-19 has forced us to act as paragons of the 21st

century by discovering and embracing more technologically intensive methodologies of

teaching.”

It is clear how smartphones became of great significance to the learning process. The

objectives of this research are:

● To investigate the effectiveness of smartphones in learning.

● To find out the advantages as well as disadvantages of having smartphones in schools.

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 Method of Data Collection

The instrument of data collection used in this research is a questionnaire. According to

Dictionary.com, a questionnaire is a list of questions, usually printed, submitted for replies that

can be analyzed for usable information. A questionnaire is easy to compete, easy to analyze, and

cheap. It is suitable for this research because the information gathered is based on a survey of 24

high school and college students in the Kingston area. The questionnaire will be issued on

October 23, 2021, and expected to be completed and returned the latest one week after which

would be October 30, 2021. The questionnaire will be issued via emails and WhatsApp

messaging.

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 Presentation of Data

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Calculations:

20
‘Yes’ was answered by 20 respondents: 24
×100 = 83%

4
‘No’ was answered by 4 respondents: 24
×100 = 17%

8
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Calculations:

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Some features aren’t accessible: 24
×100 = 8. 3%

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Distractive: 24
×100 = 87. 5%

1
Causes blurred vision: 24
×100 = 4. 2%

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 Analysis of Data

The data in this column chart depicts that 19/24 (79.2%) of respondents use their

smartphones to do schoolwork and 5/24 (20.8%) said they did not. In the pie chart, 80% of

students think smartphones are effective in school while 20% find them not be effective.

The bar graph shows data that10/24 (41.7%) of students use their smartphones to

research the topics taught, 7/24 (29.2%) use them to submit assignments, another 7/24 (29.2%)

use them to take notes, and 0% use smartphones to record a class they want to review.

The data depicted in this pie chart shows that 87.5% of the respondents found their

smartphones to be a tool of distraction, 8.3% say some features aren’t accessible and 4.2% said it

causes their vision to get blurred.

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 Discussion of Findings
Based on the data collected from the survey conducted, the responses to number six of

this questionnaire, “Do you use a smartphone to do schoolwork?” showed that 19 out of 24

(79.2%) respondents said ‘yes’ and 5 out of 24 (20.8%) answered ‘no’. This is a clear indication

that most of the respondents use their smartphones to carry out their daily online studies. This is

because smartphones are cheaper than laptops, easily accessible and easier to carry. In question

seven of the questionnaire, it was asked to state whether or not their smartphones have been

effective in an online school. 80% of the respondents answered ‘yes’, leaving only 20% of the

respondents saying ‘no’. This information was displayed using a pie chart. This has clearly

suggested that more people think phones are effective in online learning. This also suggests that

smartphones are one of the most common and effective types of devices used to carry out online

learning. Question 7b, “In what ways does your smartphone help with your schoolwork?”, was

displayed using a column chart and 41.7% of students use their smartphones to research the

topics taught, 29.2% use them to submit assignments, another 29.2% use them to take notes, and

0% use smartphones to record a class they want to review. Although all of these options were

productive, the results suggests that majority of the students use their smartphones to research

topics taught, as well as an equal amount of students used their smartphones to submit

assignments and take notes. However, none of the respondents used their smartphones to record

class.

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 Last but not least, question 8, “What is the main disadvantage of smartphones to you in

learning?”, was represented using a pie chart. This graph showed that 88% of the respondents

found their smartphones to be a tool of distraction, 8% said some features aren’t accessible and

4% said it causes their vision to get blurred. This graph illustrated that most of the respondents

found their smartphones as a tool of distraction. This could be a major issue because of the

temptation of using other social apps on the smartphone. Due to the data obtained from the

respondents, it has been concluded statistically, that smartphones can be used to increase

productivity in learning however it use still has its disadvantages.

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 Conclusion

From the findings of this project, it can be concluded that smartphones do aid in the

online learning process. Its effectiveness was proven where 72.9% of students said they use their

smartphones to do school activities and submit assignments. It’s also a tool of note-taking which

is very beneficial. Although it has disadvantages such as being a source of distraction, blurry

vision, and not having features as a laptop does, it plays a critical role in education, especially in

this time of the covid pandemic where we transitioned to a virtual world.

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 Appendix
Questionnaire

This questionnaire/interview is in partial fulfillment of the School-Based Assessment June 2022;

the items in this questionnaire/interview are related to the topic “Effectiveness smartphones have

for students who do online school.” All information obtained in this research will be kept

confidential.

Questions can be answered by a click on the circle and in the spaces provided. There are no

incorrect or correct answers. Thank you for your time.

1. Do you own a smartphone?

● Yes

● No

2. To what age group do you belong?

● 11-13

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 ● 14-16

● 17-19

● Other

3. What is the average time you spend on your smartphone per day?

● 5-8 hours

● 9-13 hours

● 13-16 hours

● 17 or more hours

4. Do you use your smartphone to do school work?

● Yes

● No

5. A) Has your smartphone been effective in online school?

● Yes

● No

B). In what ways does your smartphone help with your schoolwork?

● Taking notes

● Record a class that you want to review

● Research the topics taught

● Submit assignments

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 6. What is the main disadvantage of smartphones to you in learning?

● Distractive

● Not able to complete all assignments

● Causes blurred vision

7. A) Has your smartphone caused distractions while in school?

● YES

● NO

B) If yes, please list one distraction

_____________________________________

Bibliography
Letter of the Day | Education during and after COVID-19 | Letters | Jamaica Gleaner
(jamaica-gleaner.com

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