An Empirical Study of the Factors that Influence In-Class Digital Distraction among University Students: A U.S. – Namibia Cross-Cultural Study

An Empirical Study of the Factors that Influence In-Class Digital Distraction among University Students: A U.S. – Namibia Cross-Cultural Study

Ravi Nath, Leida Chen, H. N. Muyingi
Copyright: © 2015 |Pages: 18
DOI: 10.4018/IRMJ.2015100101
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Abstract

Classroom access to computers, smart phones, and the Internet may be indispensable for teaching and learning both for the student and instructor, yet these technologies can also be an impediment to learning as students tend to use them to engage in activities unrelated to the classwork. Using survey data collected from 187 US and 204 Namibian university students, this paper examines the factors that influence students' in-class digital distraction from a cross-cultural perspective. The findings suggest that Internet addiction, learning style preference, contextual and individual student factors significantly influence the intensity of student in-class digital distraction. The paper concludes with a discussion of the pedagogical and classroom management implications of the findings and provides recommendations for researchers as well as educators.
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Theoretical Development

This study proposes the research model shown in Figure 1. A thorough review of the digital distraction literature revealed three constructs that might influence university students’ in-class digital distraction. The model posits that the level of in-class digital distraction of a student is influenced by the extent of student’s addiction to the Internet, student’s learning style, and individual and contextual factors.

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