CPU BUESINESS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

ARTICLE REVIEW

Higher education students’ ownership and

usage of smart phones and tablets

Prepared By:
Name ID
Bamlake Alemayehu MPM|288|15

Submitted to: Mr. Tegegne (Asst.Prof)

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Date: FEBRUARY | 2023
 ARTICLE REVIEW
By Bamlake Alemayehu

Article Info:

Higher education students’ ownership and usage of smart phones and

tablets

Introduction

It is obvious that technological proliferation has occurred in every sphere of the world.
The nature and proliferation of digital devices and their accompanying applications vary
with geography and culture across the globe. The continues growth in ownership and
usage of digital technologies in the last few decades have had a significant impact on
education, particularly at the Higher levels. Smartphones have become an integral part of
the daily life of many university students, even in developing countries (Hossain &
Ahmed, 2016). Studies have identified that students are increasingly using a diverse range
of academic apps to support their learning needs (Woodcock et al., 2012).

Globally, the use of these smart technologies improves access to higher education,
facilitates communication between instructors and learners, allows for the discovery and
dissemination of learning materials and removes some bottlenecks associated the mortar
and bricks system. The enormous benefits of these digital devices have made it imperative
for their integration into teaching and learning at higher levels of education. It is in the
light of this, the article Higher Education Students’ Ownership and Usage of Smart
Phones and Tablets: attempts to investigate students’ ownership and usage of the
smartphones and tablets, and how they are influencing their learning experiences in the
university. A sample of 183 students was used for the study. The study aimed to identify
the kind of digital mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) Cpu College students have
and what they use them for.

Methodology

To ensure systematic collection and presentation of data, the Author(s) of the article
conducted a baseline study. A quantitative online survey was used for the study.

Outcome and Discussions

The article presented a sample of students (n=183) as respondents who participated in the
survey representing 49.45% of the expected sample population. Out of the total sample
respondents, 60.7% were males and 39.3% were females.
As against the first objective of the study was to ascertain the ownership levels of digital
devices (smartphones and tablets) within the student population. The articles found out
that 84.7% of the respondents owned smartphones and 15.3% had tablets. Some of the
respondents however owned more than a single smart device. Samsung, Infinix, Tecno,
itel, LG, HTC, Apple, Microsoft were the brands of smartphones discovered. Google
Android, Apple iOS and Microsoft Windows were the operating systems on these devices
with Android OS identified as the most used on the devices.

From the findings, the article pointed out that these digital devices were primarily used for
“edutainment.” Thus, were engaged in academic and entertainment activities. Irregular
internet speed, erratic power supply and high cost of internet data were identified as some
of the challenges faced by students in their use of these digital devices.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the article has successfully proven that students of Cpu College like any
other Higher Educational Institution around the globe, equally own and use digital devices
(smartphones and tablets) which impact very positively on their academic work. The
availability of these devices also ensures continuity of teaching and learning even in the
face of pandemics like COVID-19.

A Critique of the Article

From its literature and methodology through to its conclusion, it could be said that the
article has successfully achieved its primary objective. Despite the attainment of its main
purpose, the article has left a gap that has to be filled through further research. Thus, the
negative effect of these technologies on academic work and student life in general. The
use of these smart devices among the university students also comes with its own negative
influences. Over indulgence in online activities through the use of these devices brings
new manifestations of communicative behaviours like addiction and cyberbullying
(Schneider et al., 2016). Owners of the devices are mostly online and while online, they
sometimes do not even engage with explicit messages or tasks; they are just “there,”
online and “together” with others (Turkle, 2011). Students using their smartphones and
tablets in the classroom almost constantly split their attention between what their
instructor is presenting and what is available to them on their smartphones (Schneider et
al., 2016). Therefore, the effect of these behavioural patterns emanating from the use of
these digital devices on teaching and learning at the higher levels of education cannot and
should not be overlooked in any write-up that seeks to access the usage of smartphones
and tablets in Higher Education.
 References

Hossain, E., & Ahmed, S. M. Z. (2016). Academic use of smartphones by university

students : a developing country perspective. 34(4), 651–665. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-
07-2015-0112
Schneider, F. M., Vorderer, P., & Kr, N. (2016). Computers in Human Behavior Permanently
online e Permanently connected : Explorations into university students ’ use of social
media and mobile smart devices. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 694–703.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.085
Turkle, S. (2011). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from
each other. . New York: Basic Books.
Woodcock, B., Middleton, A., & Nortcliffe, A. (2012). Considering the Smartphone
Learner : an investigation into student interest in the use of personal technology to
enhance their learning. 1(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.7190/seej.v1i1.38