The Use of Smartphones in Classrooms: A Comprehensive Analysis Report

This report examines the multifaceted impact of smartphones in the classroom environment. It begins by introducing the topic, highlighting the revolutionary nature of smartphones and their potential influence on education. The report presents the rationale for the study, emphasizing the need to evaluate smartphone integration in classrooms, given the increasing prevalence of these devices among students and the emergence of online learning platforms. Research questions are formulated to investigate whether smartphones serve as distractions, affect learning outcomes, and can be utilized as educational tools. A literature review synthesizes existing research, exploring both the positive aspects, such as access to information and educational apps, and negative aspects, including potential distractions and addiction. The methodology section outlines a qualitative research approach involving interviews with students and teachers to gather diverse perspectives on the topic. The report concludes by summarizing the mixed views on smartphone usage in classrooms and the need for further analysis to determine their appropriate role in education.

Running head: USE OF SMARTPHONES IN CLASSROOM
USE OF SMARTPHONES IN CLASSROOM
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Rationale....................................................................................................................................3
Research questions and objectives.............................................................................................3
Literature review........................................................................................................................4
Methodology..............................................................................................................................5
Time frame.................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Smartphones are a revolutionary invention and have replaced many types of
equipment which were used earlier such as radio, calculator and many more. The contribution
of these smart devices is commendable. The smartphones can certainly have an impact on the
classroom environments (Anshari et al., 2017). The use of smartphones in the classroom can
help students but it can have adverse effect if misused. There use of smartphones by students
has been a topic of concern these days. In this paper, the use of smartphones in classrooms
will be analyzed. The main concern is to find out whether these smart devices should be
given allowances to the classrooms or not.
Rationale
This specific topic has been chosen as with the growing use of smartphones specially
by the younger generations there is need to find out whether entry of these into the
classrooms help them in their studies or distract them. The use of smartphones in classrooms
needs to be evaluated as many online platforms have emerged that is used by the students for
learning.
Research questions and objectives
The research questions are as follows:
1. Are smartphones a source of distraction in the classrooms?
2. What effects do these smartphones have on learning?
3. Can smartphones be used as educational tools?
The objectives are as given below:
1. To find out if smartphones are a source of distraction in the classrooms.

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2. To understand the effects that smartphones have on learning.
3. To find out whether smartphones can be used as educational tools.
Literature review
As per the research done by (Gavali, Khismatrao, Gavali & Patil, 2017), change along
with exploration provide both students as well as the staffs with the opportunity to embrace
the use of smartphones in classrooms. Smartphones are a class of mobile phones that have
multimedia functionality, internet facilities and software applications along with the functions
of voice calling and text messaging (Anshari et al., 2017). These phones are widely being
used and have proved their potential in almost every sphere. The main question is what
purpose smartphones will serve in the classrooms when there are many negative aspects of
using smartphones in classrooms. Use of smartphones in the classrooms can have both
positive as well as negative aspects. The technology can be used for various purposes. Studies
suggest that, students and staffs are both enthusiastic for smartphones but it has been seen
that actual use in the academic sphere is low. The technology can be advantageous only if
they use it for constructive purposes in the classrooms (Lo et al., 2016). Students can make
use of smartphones for getting some extra ideas on the English topics that are being taught to
them in the classroom and it can happen that some faculty is absent or busy somewhere and
thus cannot take the scheduled class, in that case the students can use their smartphones to
expand on the notes from the previous day lectures. Specifically students have problem in
spoken English and Grammar, there are many applications available in the smartphones that
can help the students to brush their skills on the same. Smartphones can help students to clear
their doubts instantly in the classrooms and they do not have to keep it pending for later
(Huda et al., 2016). The main benefits of using smartphones in the classrooms is that student
can stay up-to-date with their work, make use of these smartphones as alternative textbooks

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and learning can be expanded beyond the four walls of the classroom. The students can stay
on tasks and can rectify mistakes as they proceed with their coursework and getting to learn
in this way will excite them as well.
As per the research done by Moreira, Ferreira, Santos & Durão, (2017), there are
various negative aspects of using smartphones in the classroom as well. Addiction to
smartphones can be a hindrance in studies. The students who are addicted to smartphones
may use the same to feed their craving rather than providing respite. With the increasing use
of social networking sites students are habituated to check the notifications frequently which
are a source of distraction (Echenique, Molías & Bullen, 2015). With concepts such as Fear
of Missing Out there is a point that students make use of the smartphones to log in to the
social networking sites. The students may be physically present in the classrooms but are
mentally absorbed by other things that are not related to their course (Lai & Hong, 2015).
Students who text in the classrooms take poorer notes, miss informations being given and
score bad marks for this reason. There are many concepts and rules in English language and
students can always take the help of online platforms as BYJUS to clear their concepts. It can
be said that using smartphones in the classroom does not let students focus on one thing and
thus they are distracted. Studies suggest that the students not using smartphones in the
classroom take a note of 62% of the class lectures while those using smartphones miss out on
notes and score low marks (Hochberg, Kuhn & Müller, 2018).
Opinions of the teachers
Some of the teachers are strongly against the use of smartphones and feel that
jamming devices need to be installed in the lecture rooms to incapacitate the use of
smartphones in the classroom. On the other hand there are many who are in support of using
smartphones in classrooms as they feel these can help improve academic performance.

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Studies suggest that the difference in views can be due to the age gap that exists in between
the teachers and their students (Synnott, 2015). Some teachers have understood and updated
them with the technology while others still feel that this technology is not needed and books
are enough.
The literature review suggests that is a mixed view for usage of smartphones in
classrooms. Some of the pedagogues are of the opinion that using smartphones will help the
students and they will show interests in their studies while others are against this as according
to them, smartphones are a source of distraction. It is still being analyzed whether
smartphones should be allowed in classrooms or not.
Methodology
There are various research methodologies that can be followed while conducting a
research. Qualitative research will be done in this case and interviews will be conducted to
understand the notions of the respondents. This will help to get an idea of what people think
about usage of smartphones in classrooms. The methodology selected should be appropriate
for the topic chosen. Another aspect is the sample size that is the number of participant in the
survey (Kumar, 2019). The sample size should be decided properly so that the results
obtained are near to accurate. The ethical concerns should be addressed in the research
process as this is an important aspect in case of researches. The interview and focus group
will help to collect data. The sample size for the interview will be 30 students and 15
teachers. The sample size is 45 and has been so chosen that we get to the views of the
teachers as well as the students in this case. The topic will be well understood if the sample
size is chosen properly. The teachers and the students both have been considered for the
research as this topic that is smartphones in classroom effect the largely. They will be
interviewed to understand what they feel about the topic. The ethical concerns are that the

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data collected should be topic relevant and the respondents should not be forced to be a part
of the research. Thus the research methodology has a vital part to play in a research. The
literature review should be done referring to different articles, journals of different authors so
that a better idea can be obtained.
Time frame
Activities Time
Topic selection February
Literature review March-May
Data collection June
Data analysis July-August
Final thesis September

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References
Anshari, M., Almunawar, M. N., Shahrill, M., Wicaksono, D. K., & Huda, M. (2017).
Smartphones usage in the classrooms: Learning aid or interference?. Education and
Information Technologies, 22(6), 3063-3079.
Echenique, E. G., Molías, L. M., & Bullen, M. (2015). Students in higher education: Social
and academic uses of digital technology. International Journal of Educational
Technology in Higher Education, 12(1), 25-37.
Gavali, M. Y., Khismatrao, D. S., Gavali, Y. V., & Patil, K. B. (2017). Smartphone, the new
learning aid amongst medical students. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research:
JCDR, 11(5), JC05.
Hochberg, K., Kuhn, J., & Müller, A. (2018). Using smartphones as experimental tools—
effects on interest, curiosity, and learning in physics education. Journal of Science
Education and Technology, 27(5), 385-403.
Huda, M., Anshari, M., Almunawar, M. N., Shahrill, M., Tan, A., Jaidin, J. H., ... & Masri,
M. (2016). Innovative teaching in higher education: the big data approach. TOJET.
Kumar, R. (2019). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. Sage
Publications Limited.
Lai, K. W., & Hong, K. S. (2015). Technology use and learning characteristics of students in
higher education: Do generational differences exist?. British Journal of Educational
Technology, 46(4), 725-738.

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Lo, P., Cho, A., Leung, M. H., Chiu, D. K., Ko, E. H., & Ho, K. K. (2016). Use of
smartphones by art and design students for accessing library services and
learning. Library Hi Tech.
Moreira, F., Ferreira, M. J., Santos, C. P., & Durão, N. (2017). Evolution and use of mobile
devices in higher education: A case study in Portuguese Higher Education Institutions
between 2009/2010 and 2014/2015. Telematics and Informatics, 34(6), 838-852.
Synnott, K. (2015). Smartphones in the classroom as impediments to student learning.