Jacob Bowen

Ms. Hofmann
Inquiry Draft
3/30/14
How do Smart Phones effect College Students?
I have grown up in a technological age. My generation has experienced the
greatest advancements of technology in history. Sixty years ago the first
computer was invented and it was the size of an entire room. That computer was
extremely expensive and only the government had access to it. It could only
perform very simple calculations and people thought that would be the extent of
computing in the future. Now a day, just about everyone has a computer in their
pockets! Our smart phones are way more advanced than computers were
expected to be. Even now I am writing this paper on my personal computer,
which was fairly cheap considering what it is capable of doing. This has become
the norm for people of my generation. It is to the point where we get surprised
when someone doesn't have a smart phone or a laptop.
My generation has grown up with this technology and we are so used to it
that it would be hard for us to live without it. Technology is continually becoming
more and more a part of our lives too. It has invaded our homes, work, and now it


is making headway in our education. Teachers have begun to try and grasp onto
the new technologies out there to aid them in instructing students. This type of
education has been labeled Mobile learning. It is making most progress in higher
education such as college. Slowly it is replacing traditional teaching methods and
it is doing it quite successfully. Students have more access to material from
classes thanks to their laptops and smart phones so learning is more convenient
for them wherever they go.
Mobile learning is the use of portable devices such as IPods, E-Book
readers, Smart phones, and laptops in education(Corbeil). These technologies are
used to download podcasts and audio lessons, communicate with teachers or
students, watching instructional videos, and making text documents(Corbeil). All
these uses greatly expand the ability for students to get the extra help they need
in their courses. On their way to a test, they can just play the lectures from class
and listen to them on their IPods. This allows students to easily multitask and
complete their homework in half the time, freeing them up to study more or just
relax to reduce the typical stress college students get. If they don't understand
something in class, they can Email or text their teachers and get an answer faster
than if they had to wait till the next class.


Some teachers are embracing this new style of learning but still others
refuse to accept it. The ones that are opposed to it claim that it makes it too easy
for students to cheat. For this reason, there have been many studies on this topic
to determine if it is smart phones to blame. One study, in particular, performed
by Scott Cambell, talked about how cheating with smart phones should not be a
concern(Cambell). Students are not going to cheat just because they have another
method of cheating, the only people who would cheat with smart phones are the
ones who would cheat using other methods too(Cambell).
Teachers should be more concerned with how distracting smart phones can
be. With all the apps available on their phones, students sometimes use those
apps during class and participate in "Passive learning" rather than "Active
learning"(Economist Intelligence Unit). Teachers are partially to blame for this
though, they are not engaging the students enough to keep them from going on
their phones during class. Amy claims that "This generation is not content with
passive involvement, Companies (or universities) need to make training programs
more engaging, retention programs more personalized, and process improvement
initiatives more open to employee(or student) input."(Economist Intelligence
Unit). This quote was talking more about after college when people go out into
the job world but it can still be applied to college. She is basically saying that


trainees or students are not being involved enough so they turn their attention in
other directions.
Among all the apps available on smart phones, Social Networking apps are
the biggest concern of hindering education. Social Networking includes Facebook,
twitter, Instagram, Tumbler, and a lot more but people claim that these sites
distract students to such a degree that it lowers their GPAs. In 2011, ASBBS
performed a study to clear up many of the misconceptions associated with Social
Networking on smart phones. The study was performed by sending out a survey
to approximately 2,100 students of which only 430 responded at Northwestern
University. This survey was designed to test if students with smart phones
accessed social networking sites more than people without smart phones and if
time spent on social networking affected students GPAs(Stollak). This study found
that students with smart phones were more likely to access social networking
sites and surprisingly that the amount of time spent on social networking sites
doesn't really affect GPAs that much(Stollak). Students who used social
networking websites a lot tended to have a GPA in the range of 3.0 to 3.5, and the
ones who don't had a GPA in the 3.5 to 4.0 range(Stollak). This study proves that
social networking doesn't have that great of an effect on GPAs, instead it is the
individuals work ethic that effects it more. Even though this study said social


networking had a negligible effect on GPAs, Karpinski claims that it has a very
negative effect. He claimed that "Students who multi-task between social
networking and homework are likely to have 20% lower grades than a student
who does not have a social networking site in visual range."(Stollak). This is
probably due to the fact that the students could not devote their entire attention
to their homework so their retention suffers. The difference in these studies
probably has to do with the culture of the group they studied. The main factor
that effects GPA seems to be the students personal work ethic not social
networking itself.
Mobile Learning is on the rise in America though, even though there are so
many people claiming there are problems with it. It is on the rise because people
are beginning to see that it is more convenient than traditional learning which
makes it a better option. In 2013, a survey showed that 20% of apps used by
college students are educational based one's(Chen). Mobile Learning allows for
more "self-directed" learning instead of being assigned general work(Chen).
Students can get assigned personalized work to aid them in areas that they are
lacking so that they can get a general understanding of the course easier. Another
benefit from technology based learning is that the assignments will soon "require
genuine thoughtfulness" from students because the technology will allow


students to be tested at a higher level(Economist Intelligence Unit). One survey
showed that students are eagerly awaiting more advancements in mobile learning
since it is a more enjoyable learning style(Economist Intelligence Unit). Students
these days have grown up with this technology so they know how to use it and
want to use it to aid them in their education.
Throughout this paper I have explored how smart phones are effecting
college students. While some people claim that they cause a negative effect,
there is more proof that they are more beneficial to education especially when
they are integrated into the course. The reason this style of learning hasn't
completely been adopted is because it is a drastic change from how traditional
learning is. Faculty would have to be retrained to start teaching with more
technology instead of what they are used to(Economist Intelligence Unit).
Another main reason is because it would be very expensive, it would cost a lot to
obtain all the technology necessary and it would continue to cost money because
the technology would have to be constantly updated(Economist Intelligence
Unit). Hopefully as technology progresses, the educational system will be able to
overcome these obstacles and fully adopt Mobile Learning since it has the
potential to be way more effective than traditional teaching methods.


Work Cited

Campbell, Scott. "Perceptions of Mobile Phones in College Classrooms: Ringing, Cheating, and
Classroom Policies." tandfonline.com. Taylor & Francis Online, 03 Feb 2007. Web. 23
Mar 2014. <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03634520600748573>.

Chen, Baiyun, and Aimee Denoyelles. "Exploring Students' Mobile Learning Practices in Higher
Education." Educause.edu. EDUCAUSE Review Online, 07 Oct 2013. Web. 25 Mar
2014. <http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/exploring-students-mobile-learning-
practices-higher-education>.

Corbeil, Joseph , and Maria Valdes-Corbeil. "Are You Ready for Mobile Learning?."
Educausereview online. EDUCAUSE Review Online, 01 Jan 2007. Web. 22 Mar 2014.
<http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/are-you-ready-mobile-learning>.

"The future of higher education: How technology will shape learning." ed.gov. Economist
Intelligence Unit, n.d. Web. 22 Mar 2014.
<http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED505103.pdf>.

Stollak, Matthew, Amy Vandenberg, Andie Burklund, and Stephanie Weiss. "GETTING
SOCIAL: THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING USAGE ON GRADES
AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS." asbbs.org. ASBBS, n.d. Web. 22 Mar 2014.
<http://asbbs.org/files/2011/ASBBS2011v1/PDF/S/StollakM.pdf>.