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Mobile Phones in Laboratory: Effects on Laboratory User Performances

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Advances in Human Factors in Training, Education, and Learning Sciences (AHFE 2020)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 1211))

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Abstract

The use of digital devices has grown exponentially over the years. Particularly, mobile phone usage has grown and now plays essential roles in human life. The use of mobile phones during lectures and laboratories has become popular among students. This paper outlines the pros and cons of mobile phone usage during lab sessions. Two different laboratories were used for the study; hands-on and computer based. Thirty-nine students participated in the study, 37 males and 2 females. During the computer lab-based sessions, student performances were better with mobile phones allowed and it was better when mobile phones were disallowed during the hands-on lab session. This study concluded that mobile phone usage cannot be totally ruled out during the lab session and its usage should be based on the type of activity involved and the nature of the lab. Findings from this study could help regarding the phone use during lab sessions.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the assistance rendered by Ms. Precious Fasanya and Mr. Skandip Anand for their assistance during the review of this paper.

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Correspondence to Bankole K. Fasanya .

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Fasanya, B.K., De La Cruz, J., Abad, K., Wang, S., Wang, W. (2020). Mobile Phones in Laboratory: Effects on Laboratory User Performances. In: Nazir, S., Ahram, T., Karwowski, W. (eds) Advances in Human Factors in Training, Education, and Learning Sciences. AHFE 2020. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1211. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50896-8_23

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