Research Seminar : iPhone Screen Time and ATAR - is there a link?

Abstract: With the notable exception of New York schools (which banned mobile phones in 2005 then revoked the ban in 2015), more and more schools worldwide are instituting bans on mobile phone presence and use onsite. 

Several reasons underpin schools’ decisions on mobile phone policies, but not much research has been conducted on the relationships between mobile phone access and usage and academic performance. Indeed, no information is available to help understand whether there is a verifiable connection between a student’s amount of mobile phone use and their academic performance.

This study aims to discover if there is any relationship between first-year university students’ ATAR and the amount of time they spend on their iPhone (as revealed by the iPhone app: Screen Time). Data collection was conducted at the University of Adelaide in the first semester of 2019, and early findings will be reported.  

Biography:  My research interests span the breadth of educational technologies, but are more closely focused on personalised mobile technologies and their impact on learning and teaching; school culture and change; augmented and virtual reality and its impact on learning and education. I have a range of research projects underway pertaining to these interests.

To find out more about Dr. Barbieri's research interests: https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/walter.barbieri