ARTICLE REVIEW

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ARTICLE REVIEW
By Babaaradio Kombui
Article Info:
Essel, H. B., Nunoo, F. K. N., Tachie-Menson, A., & Amankwa, J. O.
(2018). Higher education students’ ownership and usage of smart phones
and tablets: the case of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology (KNUST). International Journal of Educational Technology,
5(1), 20-28.
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: The Case of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology (KNUST) 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) KNUST 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.   

Outcome and Discussions


 ! "#$
%&'()#
!#
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.
*+&
,-&
 .  &   
+
/
Conclusion
.  &                
01234  56 . /&
     / 
4/
         
47%8.9:!
A Critique of the Article
* &
//;
9&
/+&<
4

=  %    
            /      
/ 4   // 3
&>('%&
  $ 4?
    ;  ,&-      ,-    @  7..%1
3A >(") B 3     /  
            /    

            /        
 3    & >('  &    <    
/
                    
/4:4
/56
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