CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

Introduction

With technology being prevalent in today’s era, it is no wonder that

institutions have incorporated the use of it to make living as comfortable as

possible, and the field of education is no exception. Education has been

seeking ways to make learning flexible. With the Internet, flexibility can now be

accessed.

Online class is defined as a class done over the Internet. As long as

one has internet connection and the proper technology, anyone can do online

classes. An extremely convenient mode of education but also has its fair share

of downsides.

Online classes are highly dependent to the internet connection. It’s sad

to say but Philippines is one of the few countries that suffers from slow and

unstable internet connection. Complaints from people are often heard from

several social media platforms about how much their internet connectivity is

affecting their works.

Common video conferencing platforms that are often used in online

classes include Zoom and Google Meet. All this applications need a certain

amount of data in order to function effectively. Data usage jumps up the more

people are in the call. It also depends on the quality of the video and how

many are turning on or off their videos.

screen sharing with video thumbnail. It decreases down when turning off

screen sharing and the video thumbnail to 60-80kbps. For Google Meet, the

default high quality setting that results in the best user experience consumes

2.6Mbps.

Teacher’s presence in the teaching-learning environment can also be a

factor of affecting student learning. How would students react without

supervision from a teacher's? How would students behave in an asynchronous

learning. Basically, teacher's presence is all about having real-time interaction

with the teacher.

Students are the ones who are greatly affected by sudden change of

setting. Online learning offers sets of problems which could disrupt certain

positive behavioral traits of students because of the poor Internet connectivity

and the lack of teacher surveillance.

Many people have been using this mode of learning, and determining

the factors of online classes that could affect a great deal of students’ learning

could have a huge impact to the field of education. The implementation of a

more effective use of online classes will be realized.

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on several theories and concepts with regards to

the effects of internet stability and teacher's presence towards student behavior

of the college students. The following theories and concepts come to the

forefront; Operant Conditioning, Skinner (1948), Theory of Online Learning,

Anderson T, (2011), and Community of Inquiry Theory, (Garrison, Anderson, and

Archer, (2000).

In this study, towards a Theory of Online Learning, Terry Anderson of

Athabasca University discusses his views on the educational merits of learning

theories and how they can be utilized in online learning environment. Anderson

begins his argument by discussing how effective learning environments

(including online learning environment).

The teacher must be aware of students understanding including prior

knowledge, misconceptions. The learning environment must be cognizant of

different cultural aspects including language.

Anderson (2011) believes that, “Effective educational theory must address

the affordance and the limitations of the context for which it is designed. The

world wide web is an extremely multifaceted technology that provides a large

and seemingly ever-growing –set of communication and information

management tools which can be harnessed for education provision”. For

Anderson, the vastness of communication and interaction provides is the

greatest affordance of the internet for education.

Operant Conditioning (Skinner, 1948) states that to make certain behavior

retain or lose, it needs the use of reinforcers and punishers. This imply that

positive behavior that are highly wanted are reinforced for it to be repeated.

Positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by providing a consequence an

individual finds rewarding. Skinner’s theory encourages motivation through

varied feedback which would make students’ participate more in future online

classes.

The Community of Inquiry Theory (Anderson, et al., 2000) believed that the

presence of the teacher offered as a “moral imperative, psychological stance,

and an intellectual trajectory” in creating a just, democratic society. Bentley,

Secret, and Cummings (2015) stated that social presence as manifested by the

teacher can transform learning, grounding it in connectivity, exchange, and

collaboration. Coming into presence offers teachers and learners the opportunity

to become more fully human and then to teach better.

Conceptual Framework

The study is focused on the effects of internet stability and teacher's

presence towards student behavior of the college students of St. Peter’s College.

The flow of the variables is considered to determine the effects of internet

stability and teacher's presence towards student behavior of the college students

of St. Peter’s College.

I
M
STUDENT P
B L
E I
H C
A A
Factors v T
a. Internet Stability I I
O O
b. Teacher's Presence R N
S

Figure A: Schematic Diagram of the study

Statement of the Problem

In this study, the researchers aim to assess the effects of internet stability

and teacher's presence towards student behaviour of the college students of St.

Peter’s College. Specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions:

1. What are the impacts of online classes to the students of St. Peter’s

College in terms of:

1.1 internet stability; and

1.2 teacher's presence?

2. What behaviour do the respondents exhibit when doing online class?

3. Is there a significant relationship between student behavior and:

3.1 internet stability; and

3.2 teacher’s presence?

4. What action plan can be derived from the findings of the study?

Hypothesis

The null hypothesis will be made and tested at 0.05 level of significance.

Ho1: There is no significant relationship between student behavior and

internet stability.

Ho2: There is no significant relationship between student behavior and

teacher's presence.
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Significance

The researchers through their valuable efforts will conduct this study in order

for them to contribute to the education students, to the faculty and staff, to the

community, to the St. Peter’s College and other researchers who would ask to

pursue this study.

To the Education students. The conduct of the study emphasizes

importance on the part of the education student as to help them to identify their

behavior during the online class and the stability of their internet connection.

To the Parents. It can give encouragement and motivation in their child’s

behavior when the online class is going on.

To the faculty of St. Peter College and staff. The result of this study

would help to develop connections that translate well to their visual teaching

experience.

To the St. Peter College. Through this study the university could develop

the potential of the individuals in the institution.

To other Researchers. The results of this study will serve as reference

for their own thesis. The future researchers will be more knowledgeable to

conduct their study through having a reference as their guide.

Scope and Delimitation

This study aims to assess the effects of internet stability and teacher's

presence towards student behavior of the college students of St. Peter’s College.

This study is limited to (60) respondents and only to the College of Education

students who are currently enrolled for online classes in St. Peter’s College,

Iligan City.

Definition of Terms

The following are important terms used in the study. As such, the

researchers, through the aid of some authors defined each term according to

how it was used in the study in order to let the researchers understand its

meaning as well as for better understanding of this paper.

Internet Stability. This means the stability of your Internet is going to be

measured by how little the ping results to a specific server vary over time the

lower the standard deviation, the more stable the Internet connection.

Behavior. How someone conducts oneself or behaves.

Teacher's Presence. It defined as the design, facilitation, and direction of

cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful

and educational worthwhile learning outcomes.

Online Classes. This are typically a mix of video recordings or live

lectures supplemented with readings and assessments that students can

complete on their own time.