How Has the Use of Blackberries Affected 4th Formers’ Academic Performance?

1. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4thFormers’AcademicPerformance?
1
Ronaldo
Degazon
Acknowledgements
First of all I would like to thank my teacher, Miss Atkinson for guiding me throughout this entire
study and correcting me along the way. Her constructive criticism is much appreciated and
without it this project would have been a shadow of what it is now.
I would also like to thank my parents who made all the resources that I needed available and
readily accessible. They have been very supportive. My sister’s help is also appreciated
Furthermore, I would like to thank my friend Rawn Henry for assisting me with certain sections
of this project.
Lastly, I thank God for giving me the health, strength and determination to go through this
project.

2. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4thFormers’AcademicPerformance?
2
Ronaldo
Degazon
Statement of Problem
How has the use of the Blackberry mobile phone affected the Academic Performance of Fourth
Form students at my school?

3. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4thFormers’AcademicPerformance?
3
Ronaldo
Degazon
Reasons for the Research
Several schoolmates in my form have been drawn into this recent “Blackberry Mania.”
Coincidentally, it seems to me that many of their grades are dropping. Thus, I intend to find out
whether or not the Blackberry mobile phone is the cause for their seemingly deteriorating
grades.
Also, many people believe that the Blackberry phone takes time away from the academic
engagements of students. Hence, I want to test this belief to determine if the Blackberry
interferes with students’ academic life. It will also help me to draw conclusions on how it has
affected their grades and performances.
Finally, I believe that the Blackberry can be a powerful tool for productivity and a great help to
students. Therefore, I hope to find out whether Fourth Form students at my school utilize this
phone to improve their academic performance.


4. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4thFormers’AcademicPerformance?
4
Ronaldo
Degazon
Objectives
There has been a recent Blackberry craze in teenage and adult society and hundreds of
students are fanatical with BBM (BlackBerry Messaging service). Blackberries have become
somewhat of a necessity for a teenager to be part of the elite social groups in secondary school
society.
This sudden rise of the Blackberry mobile phone in St. Lucia has not been welcomed by all
however. Critics of the phone claimit be a huge distraction to workers and students. They
acknowledge that its capabilities are fantastic but addictive as well. Other issues relating to the
phone have also amplified the arguments against the use of the phone at school. Just last year,
a teen-pornography scandal which was circulated through BlackBerry Messenger shocked the
nation. Issues with the Blackberry Mobile phone were so pressing that local calypsonian
“Morgy” made a song about the obsession with the Blackberry.
Unsurprisingly, this obsession with the Blackberry mobile phone is clearly evident amongst
Fourth Formers at my school. It seems that their addiction with their phone is affecting their
performance at the school. This study aims to provide me with answer to following questions:
 What are some of the major uses of the Blackberry by Fourth Form students at my
school?
 How much time do Fourth Formers at my school spend utilizing the phone?
 What are the major effects of the use of the Blackberry on Fourth Form students?
 How have the academic performances of Fourth Formers fared since owning a
Blackberry?
 What measures should be taken to improve the performances of Fourth Form students at
my school?

5. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4thFormers’AcademicPerformance?
5
Ronaldo
Degazon
Methods of Investigation
1. Survey: the first survey will be carried out using the group interview as an instrument. The
data collected will help to choose the sample for the 2nd survey. This research will be
conducted by going from class to class and questioning the group of students. A big
advantage of this type of interview is that it makes it easier and faster to question the large
Form Four population. It also enables me to get my responses immediately; without delay.
2. Survey: the second survey will be carried out using the mailed questionnaire as the data
collection instrument. This will consist of roughly 20 questions and is aimed at answering
the five above areas of concern. Since the number of questions is so numerous, interviews
such as the one described above would be been too time consuming, whilst mailing
questionnaires save money over the printing method. It is also advantageous when asking
very personal or sensitive information since the answerer remains anonymous.

6. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4thFormers’AcademicPerformance?
Ronaldo
Degazon
6
Group Interview Sheet
Class: __________________ No. of Students:________________
Questions:
 How many of you own a Blackberry?
 How many of you have owned your Blackberry for over a month?
Sample Table used to collect information.
Name Owner of a
Blackberry?
Owned a Blackberry for More than 1
Month?
E-mail Address
Yes No Less than 1 Month More than 1 Month

7. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4thFormers’AcademicPerformance?
Ronaldo
Degazon
7
Questionnaire
Dear students,
I would like to thank you all in advance for taking your time to answer this
Questionnaire constructed by myself; Ronaldo Degazon. This survey seeks to investigate issue
“How has the emergence of the BlackBerry Mobile Phone affected the performance of Fourth
Form students?” Your feedback is valued as it will contribute to the overall success of my
research so please answer as well as you can. Most of the questions can be answered by placing
an asterisk (*) in the brackets provided. Specific instructions are given where necessary.
Remember, this is entirely your opinion so please do not be influenced by anyone else.
Yours sincerely,
Ronaldo Degazon
1. What is your sex?
Male ( ) Female ( )
2. How old are you?
13-14 ( ) 15-16 ( ) 17-18 ( )
3. To what ethnicity do you belong?
African ( )
Indian or Amerindian ( )
European ( )
Chinese ( )
4. What is your religion?
Christianity ( )
Hinduism ( )
Muslim ( )
Other ( )

8. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4thFormers’AcademicPerformance?
Ronaldo
Degazon
8
5. What is your average grade level?
80+ ( Very Good) ( )
60-80(Average) ( )
Below 60 (Poor) ( )
6. How long have you owned a Blackberry?
1- 3 months ( )
3 – 6 months ( )
More than 6 months ( )
7. How long do you usually spend on your Blackberry everyday?
Less than 30 minutes ( )
30 – 60 minutes ( )
Over an hour ( )
8. What do you use your Blackberry for? (Highlight as many as apply)
Calling / Texting Web Surfing Social Networking
Note-Taking Scheduling Pictures
Videos Music Work / Research
Other _________________________________________________________________
(please specify)
NB: Media includes pictures, videos and music.
9. Which of the above do you mainly use your Blackberry for? (Highlight as many as apply)
Calling / Texting Web Surfing Social Networking
Note-Taking Scheduling Media
Work / Research
Other _________________________________________________________________
(please specify)
10. How often do you use your Blackberry for school-work/ research?

9. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4thFormers’AcademicPerformance?
Ronaldo
Degazon
9
Regularly ( ) Occasionally ( ) Never ( )
11. Does your Blackberry distract you from doing home-work and/or studying?
Yes ( ) No ( )
12. How often do you use your Blackberry during class?
Regularly ( ) Occasionally ( ) Never ( )
13. Do you think that your Blackberry aids your performance at school?
Yes ( ) No ( )
14. How does your Blackberry assist you in your academics?
Allows me to do research anywhere
Schedule application keeps me organized
Can take notes easily
Makes work-related communication
easier and more convenient
15. Has the Blackberry phone encouraged any of the following negative behaviours amongst
Fourth Form students? (Highlight as many as apply.)
Viewing explicit/nude material
Cheating on Examinations
Cyber-Bullying
Other___________________________________________________________________
(please specify)

10. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4thFormers’AcademicPerformance?
Ronaldo
Degazon
10
16. How have your grades changed since owning a Blackberry?
Improved Significantly ( )
Gotten Extremely Worse ( )
Have barely changed ( )
17. How do you think the Blackberry can be used to improve the Academic Performance of
Fourth Formers at the school?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
18. What do you think can be done to reduce the use of Blackberry in school and during
class by Fourth Formers?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

11. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4thFormers’AcademicPerformance?
Ronaldo
Degazon
11
Survey 1 - Interview
The survey of each class was conducted during their homeroom period when everybody was
present. The teachers granted me permission to conduct my research shortly. Before asking any
questions, I counted the number of students in the class and asked the teacher if everyone was
present. Luckily, everyone was present that day. I then proceeded to asking two questions. The
boys were asked to raise their hands if they fit the criteria of the questions and they were
recorded on the interview sheet.
The survey showed that out of the 134 students present that day, 83 Form Four students
owned a Blackberry . Out of the 83 students, 65 owned their Blackberry for more than a month.
Sampling
The method of sampling used was Stratified Sampling. The students who owned a Blackberry
were split into two groups; those who owned the phone for less than a month and those who
owned it for more than a month. Those in the latter group were chosen as the sample since
new owners would not have used the device long enough to make a definite judgment on how
it affects their academic performance.
Piloting
I distributed 5 questionnaires to my teacher, mother, father, aunt and best friend. Feedback
was generally positive, though the main issue was that the instrument contained too many
open ended questions. Also, I was told that some questions were repetitive and unnecessary.
These questionnaires were printed however, opposed to the electronic ones sent to the
sample. This is because I wanted quick feedback.
Survey 2 - Questionnaire
All 65 students who owned for more than a month were mailed electronic questionnaires. It
was calculated that at least 50% of the sample needed to respond in order to ensure accurate
conclusions on the research questions. Since electronic questionnaires pose a high risk of not
being answered, sending to all 65 students allowed a margin for unanswered questionnaires.
The students were given one week to answer the questionnaire and email it to me. Reminders
were given by e-mail every two days and I reminded some students in person. After one week,
43 questionnaires were received. The day after however, 2 more late replies were received.
The entire data collection process lasted a week and a half.

12. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
12
Ronaldo
Degazon
100%
0%
Gender Composition of Respondents
Male
Female
Demographics
Fig. 1
The pie chart above shows illustrates the sex of the respondents. All 45 respondents were male.

13. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
13
Ronaldo
Degazon
Fig. 2
The diagram above illustrates the ages of the respondents. Ninety-six percent are 15-16 years
old whilst 4% are 17-18 years old. None of the respondents are 13 -14 years old.
0
43
2
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
13-14 15-16 17-18
NUmberofStudents
Age Range
Age Distribution of Respondents

14. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
14
Ronaldo
Degazon
69%
31%
Ethnic Composition of Respondents
African
Indian/Amerindian
European
Chinese
Fig. 3
The diagram above shows the ethnic composition of the respondents. Thirty one respondents
were of African heritage whilst 14 were of Indian/Amerindian Heritage. None were of European
or Chinese heritage.

15. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
15
Ronaldo
Degazon
Fig. 4
Figure 4 illustrates the religious composition of the respondents. Ninety-one percent are
Christian. Hinduism and other religions account for 4.5% each of the religions of the
respondents.
41
2
0
2
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Christianity Hindu Muslim Other
NUmberofStudents
Religion
Religious Composition of Respondents

16. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
16
Ronaldo
Degazon
62%
38%
Number of Fourth Formerswho Own Blackberries
Yes
No
Form Four Students Who Own a Blackberry
Fig. 5
The pie chart above shows the percentage of form four students who own a Blackberry. Out of
134 students, 83 own a Blackberry.

17. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
17
Ronaldo
Degazon
2
7
36
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
30 > 30 - 60 60 <
NumberofStudents
Time (minutes)
Average Time Spent on Blackberry
Time Spent Using Blackberry
Fig. 6
This bar graph shows the average time which students spend on their blackberry every day.
80% of students spend over an hour, whilst 15 % spend between half an hour and an hour. Only
5% of students spend less than 30 minutes on their Blackberry daily.

18. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
18
Ronaldo
Degazon
Major Uses of the Blackberry Phone
Fig. 7
Above is a bar graph illustrating the uses of the Blackberry phone by Fourth Form students? It
was no surprise that all the students used it for calling and texting since that is the original
purpose for having a phone. 100% of the students use the phone as a social networking device,
whilst 91% use it to for media. Also, 89% use the device for web-surfing and work/research. 55
% use it for note-taking and only 44% of the students use their Blackberry for Scheduling.
45
40
45
25
20
41
40
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
NUmberofStudents
Use
Major Uses of Blackberry by Fourth Formers

19. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
19
Ronaldo
Degazon
Table 1
Above is a table which shows what students mainly use their Blackberry for. Thirty-one
students use the Blackberry mainly for social networking whilst 9 use it mainly for media
consumption. Four people use it mainly for school work whilst only one uses it mainly for calling
and texting.
Use Percentage of Students
Calling/Texting 2 %
Web Surfing 0%
Social Networking 69%
Note-Taking 0%
Scheduling 0%
Media 20%
Work/Research 9%

20. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
20
Ronaldo
Degazon
31%
60%
9%
How Often Students Use Their Blackberry for Work
Regularly
Occasionally
Never
The Blackberry Phone and School
Fig. 8
The pie chart above illustrates how often students use their Blackberry for school-work/
research. The majority of students occasionally use it for work/research whilst 14 use it
regularly. 4 students do not use their Blackberry at all for school related work.

21. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
21
Ronaldo
Degazon
20
22
3
0
5
10
15
20
25
Regularly Occasionally Never
NumberofStudents
How Often Students Use Their Blackberry During Class
Fig. 9
Above: Figure 9 illustrates how often students use their Blackberry during class. 44% use it
regularly and 49 %, occasionally. Only 7% of students do not use their Blackberry during class.

22. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
22
Ronaldo
Degazon
Fig. 10
The pie chart above shows students who think that their Blackberry assists them academically.
Twenty four think that it assists them whilst 21 are of contrary opinion.
53%
47%
Students Whose Blackberries Assistthem
Academically
Yes
No

23. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
23
Ronaldo
Degazon
Fig. 11
The bar graph above illustrates the number of Fourth From students whose Blackberry assists
them in certain ways. Most students’ Blackberry (89%) assists them by enabling them to
research on the go whilst 67% of pupils benefit from student to student communication of work
related matters. Fifty-six percent benefit from note-taking whilst the Blackberry scheduling app
is only of great use 44% of students.
40
20
25
30
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Research Anywhere Organization Note-Taking Student Communication
NumberofStudents
Ways in Which BlackberriesAssists Students
Academically

24. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
24
Ronaldo
Degazon
Fig. 12
Figure 12 illustrates the average grade levels of Fourth Formers who own Blackberries. 31
students fall in the average category whilst 5 students and 9 students respectively have very
good and poor grades.
11%
69%
20%
Form Four BlackberryOwners' Grades
Very Good
Average
Poor

25. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
25
Ronaldo
Degazon
Effects of the Blackberry Phone on 4th Form Students
Fig. 13
Above is a pie chart showing the percentage of students who Blackberry distracts them from
studying and/or home-work. Thirty students admitted that their devices distracted them from
their work whilst 15 had the contrary opinion.
67%
33%
Students whose Blackberries Distract Them from
Work
Yes
No

26. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
26
Ronaldo
Degazon
31
45
30
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Nude/Explicit Material Cheating Cyber-Bullying
NumberofStudents
Negative Behaviours
Negative Behaviours Encouraged by Blackberry
Fig. 14
Figure 14 above shows the number of students who think that the Blackberry has encouraged
certain negative behaviors amongst fellow 4th Form students.

27. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
27
Ronaldo
Degazon
5
3
38
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Big Improvement Big Drop Little/No Change
NumberofStudents
Change in Grade
Students' Grade Changes Since Owning a Blackberry
Fig. 15
The bar chart below illustrates how Form Four students’ grades have changed since owning a
Blackberry. A majority of 82% reported no significant changes in their grades. Meanwhile 11%
and 7% reported sizeable improvement and sizeable drops respectively.

28. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
28
Ronaldo
Degazon
Recommendations
Recommendation Number of Students
Form Study Groups on BBM 16
E-learning 13
Research for Assignment & Projects 11
Other 5
Table 2
Above shows some of the responses that students gave when asked how the Blackberry can be
used to help improve their academic performance. The most popular answer was to form study
groups using the Blackberry Messenger service and was suggested by 36% of respondents.
Twenty nine percent thought that using the Blackberry to access E-learning content e.g. video
tutorials and e-books would help improve Fourth Formers’ performance whilst 24% believed
that using the Blackberry to research information for home-work and projects would help
improve Fourth Formers’ academic performance. Eleven percent thought otherwise.
Strategy Proposed Number of Students
Collecting Cells Phones before School and Returning them
After
18
Harsher Penalties for Use of Cell-phones 20
Other 7
Table 3
When asked what can be done to reduce the use of the Blackberry in school and during class,
respondents gave the following answers; enforcing harsher penalties (44%), collecting cell
phones before school (40%), other (26%). This information is shown in Table 3 above.

29. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
29
Ronaldo
Degazon
Interpretation of Data
It was clear from the first stage of the research that the Blackberry phone is very popular
among Form Four students of my school. The survey proved that 62% of the Form 4 population
owns a Blackberry which is well above half of the number of students.
Based on the researched conducted, it can be concluded that the use of a Blackberry phone
does not affect the Academic Performance of students at my school.
Major Uses of Blackberry
All students use their Blackberry phone for calling/texting and social networking, whilst most of
them use it for work/research and media consumption. However, when asked what was their
primary use for their phone an overwhelming 69% said social networking whilst 20% said media
consumption. Hence it can be said that most of the time that students are using their
Blackberry it is not for any schoolwork, studying etc. Furthermore, since the majority of 4th
Formers spend over an hour on their Blackberry, it is logical to say that they spend close to an
hour and some even more, socializing and listening to music, watching videos etc. This is
further justified by the fact that most students only use their Blackberry for school purposes
occasionally, with only 31% using it regularly. All of the 36 students who use their Blackberry for
more than an hour everyday used it mainly for either social networking or media. Not
surprisingly, of the four students who use their Blackberry mainly for school-work, 3 of them
use it for less than 30 minutes a day.
Average Time Spent on Blackberry.
Most students (80%) spend over an hour on their Blackberry. According to the data, a minute
number of students use their Blackberry mainly for schoolwork. Hence it can be assumed that a
lot of time is spent on their Blackberry doing stuff which takes away from the time that they
have to do school related work.
Major Effects of the Blackberry Phone on Students
Coupled with the fact that 4th Formers rarely use their Blackberry for school work the majority
of them use their phone during class, whether regularly or occasionally. Phones are supposed
to be off during class so that the students can pay full attention and learn. Hence it is logical to
assume that the Blackberry is a culprit of distracting 4th Form students during class as every
second missed during a lesson can be detrimental. Even more important to note is that 67% of
respondents admitted that their Blackberry distracts them from doing work or studying at

30. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
30
Ronaldo
Degazon
home. The critics of the Blackberry mobile phone were right in their belief that it interferes with
the academic lives of students.
It was found that the Blackberry phone also has other negative effects on Fourth Formers
including; cheating, cyber bullying and easier access to nude/explicit material. This makes sense
since its great note-taking app allows students to jot down answers before examinations whilst
its popular messenger service easily facilitates the circulation of nude/explicit material and
cyber bullying. Its affordable internet service means you can view such things anywhere, at any
time.
Effect of Blackberry on Students’ Grades
Finally, 82% of respondents said that their grades hadn’t changed much since owning a
Blackberry. This refutes my opinion that my fellow schoolmates grades were suffering because
of Blackberry usage. Only eight respondents noted sizeable improvements (5) or drops in their
grades (3) and it is logical to think that these changes were triggered by other factors. So
although the Blackberry distracts the majority of students from their schoolwork, they do not
affect their academic performance. Hence it can be assumed that the Blackberry mobile phone
has only replaced previous distractions that students had before and has not created new ones.
To further justify this conclusion, the grades of the Fourth Formers Blackberry Owners conform
to the standard normal distribution curve. If the standard deviations of the grades of a normal
class of students were to be used to construct a normal distribution curve, theory states that
68% would fall in the average category whilst 16% each would fall in the good and bad
category. Based on the results 69% of respondents had average grades whilst 11% and 20% had
very good and poor grades respectively. If the Blackberry phone had any major effect on the
students grades, then there would be a notable distortion in the curve i.e the results of the
questionnaire would not follow that of the normal curve.
It is also important to note the number of students who benefitted from the Blackberry’s ability
to access information, anywhere at any time. This does show me that at least one of the
phone’s capabilities is being put into productive use. However, it can still be put to better use. If
the phone’s productivity capabilities were being maximized by most Fourth Formers, it is very
likely that more than 24 students would have thought that the phone assists them in their
academics.

31. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
31
Ronaldo
Degazon
Findings
Based on the research conducted, it can be concluded that:
1. Eighty-two percent (82%) of respondents have not experienced significant grade
changes since owning a blackberry. Thus, the general conclusion is that the Blackberry
phone does not affect the Academic performances of Fourth Form students at my
school.
2. 80% of Fourth Form Blackberry owners have average or very good grades.
3. The main uses of the Blackberry phone by Fourth Form students are social networking
and media consumption, with the former being much more popular. Sixty-nine percent
use their Blackberry mainly for social networking whilst 20% use it mainly for media.
4. Most students (80%) spend more than an hour on their Blackberry every day.
5. The Blackberry is not only a huge distraction for 4th Formers but also encourages
negative behaviours such as cheating, viewing nude or explicit material and cyber-
bulling. However, it does enable students to be more productive because it allows them
to research on the go.

32. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
32
Ronaldo
Degazon
Recommendations
The importance of academics for a student can never be stressed on enough. It is even more
important for Fourth Formers who are currently preparing for CXC examinations.
Seven percent of students reported sizeable drops in their grades since owning a Blackberry.
However, the Blackberry can actually be used as a tool to enhance their academic performance.
Respondents suggested three main ways in which a Blackberry can help improve Fourth
Formers’ performance at school.
 The most popular recommendation by respondents was to form study groups via the
Blackberry Messenger (BBM) application. They explained that it would be a fun and
interactive way to study. However I strongly oppose to this suggestion, mainly due to
the large risk of getting distracted. When students are studying with their friends
through BBM, they will be extremely likely to sway off the topic. Also the larger the
number of people in the group, the greater the likelihood of distraction will be. Intense
studying should be done alone, because it is more efficient and harder to get distracted.
 Another popular suggestion by respondents (29%) to improve the academic
performance of Fourth Formers was to use the Blackberry to access e-learning content. I
am in full support of this suggestion because video and animated e-learning provides a
more fun and interactive learning experience from the ordinary classroom. Also e-books
are more convenient than bulky hardcover textbooks. Students can highlight text,
bookmark pages and most importantly, they can store several books on one tiny
Blackberry.
 Furthermore, 24% of respondents think that using the Blackberry to research
information for projects and assignments will help improve the academic performance
of Fourth Formers at my school. This is a very plausible suggestion since students can
access the internet from any location. All they need is a data plan and students can
certain projects outside of their homes, without their desktops. This will be extremely
helpful during continuous assessment where project grades contribute towards their
final scores.

33. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
33
Ronaldo
Degazon
To reduce the use of Blackberries during school, respondents recommended two main
strategies.
 Forty-four percent believed that harsher penalties were imposed for using cell phones
during school, its use would be reduced. I think that this will only have a minor effect on
the use of Blackberries during school since rules already exist and students disregard
them. Making rules without proper implementation and supervision is senseless or else
they will always be disrespected.
 The suggestion which I thought was more practical was the taking of cell phones before
school and returning them to students after. This can significantly reduce the use of
Blackberries in school. Some students may be able to sneak in one or two Blackberries
but many other pupils would find it impossible to use their phone during school hours
since they don’t have it during that period.

34. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
34
Ronaldo
Degazon
Implementation
As seen in the recommendations, the Blackberry can actually be used to improve the academic
performance of students. However, certain strategies need to be implemented for this to work
as effectively as possible.
 The study groups via BlackBerry Messenger should be headed by a teacher. This will be
to ensure that the students focus on the topic at hand and do not get distracted. The
presence of the teacher would also benefit the students because they will be able to ask
questions to that teacher whilst the other students will also learn from these questions.
These sessions should be held on weekends and should not be used as the student’s
main studying tool, but only a facility to complement their studying. The school should
arrange with a local cell phone provider to allow teachers to purchase a Blackberry at a
discounted price.
 To facilitate the use of the Blackberry for e-learning the school should create a website
where all videos, animations, audio recordings and e-books could be accessed and
downloaded by a Blackberry. Students will thus have a wide variety of e-learning
content to complement their learning in the class. Teachers could also post interactive
and animated assignments on the website to make home-work more enjoyable and
interactive.
 The school should provide a study room or library with free Wi-Fi service where
students will be able to use their Blackberries to do research for home-work and
projects. They should be supervised by at least one teacher to ensure that they are
using the internet for research purposes. Hence students will not have to wait until they
get home to get started on research projects.
There were also two recommendations to help reduce the use of the Blackberry during school
hours. These included harsher penalties, and collecting phones before school.
 I believe that the two rules should be used in conjunction with each other. The home-
room teachers for each class should collect each student’s phone and place a label with
their full name on it. These phones should be turned off and stored in the staffroom. At
the end of school homeroom teachers should return to the classes to return the phones
to students. Meanwhile, harsher punishment should be imposed on students who are
caught with phones during school hours because now, they would not have any excuse
to have possession of a phone at that time.

35. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
35
Ronaldo
Degazon
Reflection
This project was definitely not an easy task to undertake. As I progressed throughout the study
“How has the use of the Blackberry mobile phone affected the academic performance of Fourth
Form students at my school?” I realized that it entailed much more work than I thought.
A major difficulty experienced during this project was getting the respondents to re-email their
questionnaires. It took constant probing and reminding to get many students to submit their
answers on the date which they were supposed to. Many boys gave excuses like “I don’t check
my e-mail frequently”, “I didn’t have time when I arrived home” or simply “I forgot.” In the end,
69% of questionnaires were returned. Though this is a decent amount, I would have liked a
higher return rate.
However after all the data was received it was much smoother sailing from then on. The
questionnaire provided me with all the answers that I needed to study this topic thoroughly
and I definitely think that it was one of the strong points of this project. The questions targeted
all the areas that I needed to make strong conclusions and findings. Though the presentation
and organization of data was tedious, everything generally went well.
One thing which could have been done better was the questionnaire. Looking back at all the
trouble experienced to get the boys to re-email the questionnaires, printed questionnaires
would have been much faster and would have had a much higher return rate.
Finally, I would like to point out one very interesting thing that I learned from this research. The
fact that my friends were always engrossed in their Blackberries and neglected school-work
sometimes, it only seemed to me that the phone was affecting their academic performance.
However, it was quite the contrary. The majority of them were still achieving similar grades to
those they were achieving before they got a Blackberry. This led to the finding that most
children will always find one distraction or another. Blackberries are just one out of the several
distractions to students which exists. Simply taking them away as a measure to improve
students’ academic performance is futile. They will just get caught up in another distraction.
Thankfully, I was able to fulfill all my aims of this study and with no doubt in my mind, I believe
that this project is a huge success.

36. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
36
Ronaldo
Degazon
Appendix
Tally Sheet for Questionnaire Results
Response Tally
Question A B C D E F G
1 45 0
2 0 43 2
3 31 14 0 0
4 41 2 0 2
5 41 2 0
6 2 7 31
7 45 40 45 25 20 41 40
8 1 0 31 0 0 9 4
9 14 27 4
10 30 15
11 20 22 3
12 24 21
13 40 20 25 30
14 31 45 30
15 5 31 9
16 5 3 37
Normal Distribution Curve

37. How Has the Use of BlackberriesAffected4th Formers’AcademicPerformance?
37
Ronaldo
Degazon
Bibliography
Ramsawak, Rampersad, and Ralph R. Umraw. Modules in Social Studies with S.B.A Guide and
C.X.C Questions 4th edition, Trinidad: La Romain, 2005.
Sandy, Mervyn and Grayson, Stephenson, Social Studies Essentials with SBA, Study Guide &
Exercises New Edition, Carlong Publishers, 2009.