CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Rationale of the Study
As I walk towards the AS Building of the University of the Philippines –Cebu College, I can see the guard watching television and as I walk closer, I see people sitting above the ledge with their laptops on and some rich kids with their handy tablets. As I went to the third floor, I can still see students that are sitting on the stairs, trying to maximize the use of their laptops. As I open the old door of AS 243, I can already smell the feel of technology trying to entice me to get in. As I stared straight, I saw another student using his laptop while his Beats by Dr. Dre hanging on his head and playing some good music unto him. As I watched the whole room, I saw around ten students trying to fix their programs while reaching for help with the website that will never let you down, Google. As I glanced at the glass divider, I saw a much greater group of younger students who are also accessing the computers. You see, computers are all around us.
First of all, what is a computer? It is an automated, fast rule following, non-innovative machine, remembers information, and basically makes our lives easier. For the past years, good news about the advantages of computers have been the headlines of newspapers, online newspapers, magazines, and even in worldwide telecast news. But what if these advantages of using the computers were just a partial effect of something that is greater, something that is negative, and something that can lead to the deterioration of the human mind’s performance.
These computers are somehow already a part of our lives but as we all know, certain issues about these computers have already been raised. Computer disadvantages includes Violation of Privacy, Impact on Labor Force, Health Risks and Impact on the Environment since Computer manufacturing processes and computer waste are depleting natural resources and polluting the environment.
Thompson (as cited in Carr, 2008) said that having these computers is a great privilege. But the privilege has its price, McLuhan (as cited in Carr, 2008) stressed out that, “Media are not just passive channels of information, they supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought.”
Earlier last year, another disadvantage of media devices (basically personal computers) has been spotted. Elias (2005) said that most kids today do not focus on their tasks as much compared to kids before as based on the observations of school psychologists and teachers. Walsh (as cited by Elias, 2005) who conducted about 150 workshops a year, entailing about media for parents and teachers stated that, "It's become harder over the last 10 years to keep kids' attention. The expectation is to be constantly entertained and, if they're not entertained, they quickly lose interest.”
Basically, this because that we humans are greatly reactive to change and can easily adapt to new things compared to other beings because of the prefrontal cortex said by Greenfield (2009). She also added that when this prefrontal cortex is harmed, it one does not become impaired, but only shows symptoms of changes in behavior, such as: being more inattentive or careless, loss of sense of “sequence and consequence” and which also leads to poor attention span and even small memory.
If there already is a great negative effect on general people that are not that much inclined to computers, the researchers have inquisitively asked their selves, what more could the effect be to those people that have jobs that are inclined to computers. And also to the students that are mostly exposed to these media devices such as Computer Science students, Computer Engineering students, Information Technology students, or basically almost every student in our current society.
Students at school would obviously use their memory in learning but as previously stated, computer usage can actually affect the human minds, especially in memory. Retention or the ability to retain facts and figures in memory would obviously be affected with this sudden disadvantage of computers.
If we are to dig deeper on these student’s lives, some of them actually catch up with their lessons with the help of computers, but ironically, these computers can alter their minds giving them changes in behavior, such as: being more inattentive or careless, loss of sense of “sequence and consequence” and which also leads to poor attention span and even small memory.
Describing the irony of the study briefly, “How can you study with the use of these computers when in fact these computers would lessen your capability of studying?”
Statement of the Problem
The study aims to determine if the number of hours spent in using the computer affects the degree of retention or the ability to recall what has been learned from class lectures of selected second year Computer Science A.Y. 2011-2012.
In order for the main problem to be solved the researchers must give solution to this series of questions:
1. What is the profile of the respondent in terms of academic capability and computer ability during the previous semester?
a. General Weighted Average
b. Grades on Major Subjects (e.g. CMSC11, CMSC21)
c. Number of years since first usage of computer.
2. How many hours in one day does the respondent spend in using the computer in the following locations?
a. School b. Home
3. What is the retention ability level of the respondents toward class lectures?
4. Is there a relationship between retention and number of hours of computer usage?
5. What are the fields of interests of the respondent that may affect or determine his retention ability?
6. What other factors that may/might affect the respondent’s level of retention?
a. Teacher
b. Environment
c. Topic
Objectives of the Study
1. To determine if the number of hours spent in using the computer affects the degree of retention or the ability to recall what has been learned from class lectures of selected second year Computer Science A.Y. 2011-2012.
2. To know more about the profile of the respondent in terms of academic capability and computer ability during the previous semester through their grades on the previous semester, grades on major subjects and most of all, the number of years since their first usage of computer.
3. To measure the computer usage (in hours) of the respondents in two different locations; at school and at home.
4. To find the retention ability level of the respondents toward class lectures.
5. To identify the relationship between retention and number of hours of computer usage.
6. To decipher the fields of interests of the respondent that may affect or determine his retention ability.
7. To categorize the external factors that may/might affect the respondent’s level of retention, such as teacher, environment and topic.
Significance of the Study
The existence of computers is already not new to us, so studies concerning about it would greatly affect the society. Determining the existence of a significant relationship (if ever there is) between the number of hours of computer usage to the retention ability of the students would affect not just the cyber world but also the different sectors in the society.
The first beneficiaries of this study are basically the respondents or the Computer Science students. The results of this study will basically affect their lifestyle and how they interact with their computers. Moreover, Computer Science students might be more cautious in staying late with their personal computers.
The study would basically affect the entire student body since everyone in the society has varying dependencies on computers. The results of this study will benefit them in such a way that their awareness about the various effects of computers maybe broadened and that this awareness may lead them into self-improvement and a more cautious approach among computers.
Awareness about this certain field will not also be centered to the students but also to the parents. The results of the study might help the parents in controlling the student’s exposure to computers and other media devices.
The second parents of the students are also benefited with the results of the study. With the help of the results, the teachers might want to reconsider too much involvement of media devices during class lectures. If the students would have low retention ability levels due to their computer usage, the teachers might find new and more effective teaching techniques that will aid the students in the topic.
Since the study is more on the effects of computer usage on the retention ability level of students, the cyber world would be greatly affected with the results. Avid computer users worldwide might change their computer habits or maybe find solutions in solving this certain phenomena.
Lastly are the forthcoming researchers that would want to provide a more in-depth treatment regarding the subject matter. This study might be of great help as a reference material onto any information that these future researchers would want to acquire in their upcoming studies.
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