Educational Challenges and Prospects of Using Internet among Library and Information Science Students of Delta State University, Abraka and Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma in Nigeria
Keywords:
Library and Information Science Students, Use of Internet, Challenges, Educational ProspectsAbstract
The aim of this study is to analyze the educational challenges and prospects of
using internet among library and information science students. From the
population, 238 undergraduates in the Department of Library and Information
Science, Delta State University, Abraka, and Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma
were selected randomly as sample size for the study. A well structured questionnaire
was distributed among the 238 undergraduates. The population for this study is
1190. This consists of all full-time undergraduate students in the Department of
Library and Information Science, Delta State University Abraka and Ambrose
Ali University, Ekpoma. This study employed descriptive statistics such as
percentages and frequencies as well as mean to analyze the data. The study
reveals that the undergraduates use the internet to access a wide range of
information resources, to search for specific information as well as to complement
a lecture and gain more knowledge. Responses from the undergraduates also
show that slow internet access speed, erratic power supply and too long time to
view/download web pages are the major problems encountered by them while
using the internet. Therefore, it is recommended among other things that these
challenges can be over come through different mechanism such as the purchase
of upgraded version of modem by undergraduates which will help to overcome
the problem of slow internet access speed.
References
Baker, B. O. (2000). Anytime, any place learning. Forum for Applied Research & Public Policy,
(1), 88-92.
Berkley, L. (2000). Internet Use Survey Analysis. Retrieved May 21, 2004. from htt://www.ship.edu/
-bhl/survey/.
Browne, M. N., Freeman, K. E. and Williamson, C. L. (2000). The importance of critical thinking for
students’ use of the Internet. College Students Journal, 34(3), 391-398.
Chavez. C. (1997). Students take flight with Daedalus: Learning Spanish in a networked classroom.
Foreign Language Annals, 30(1), 27-37
Chapman, L. (2010). Use of the Internet as a Research Tool online) available from
I.chapman@latrobe.edu.au accessed: 5th March 2011.
Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) (2001). Making information literacy legitimate.
Retrieved July, 2007 from www.caul.edu.au/survrys/info-literacy2004.doc
Ebersole, S. (2000). Uses and gratifications of the web among students. Journal of ComputerMediated Communication, 6(1). Retrieved February 12, 2006, from http//
www.findarticle.com/p/articles/mi_m1387/is_4_53/ai_n14735977/pg_6-31k
Forsyth, I. (1998). Teaching and Learning materials and the Internet (2nd ed.). London: Kogan Page.
Gray, D. (1999). The Internet in Lifelong Learning: liberation or alienation?. International Journal of
Lifelong Education, 18 (2), 119.
Guernsey, L. (2002, January 13). Very big pipes. The New York Times, 23-27.
Hicks, J. L. (2002). Distance education in rural public schools. USDLA journal, 16(3). Retrieved July
, 2005, from http://www.firstsearch.org.
Jagboro, K. O. (2003): A study of Internet Usage in Nigerian Universities: A case study of Obafemi
Awolowo University, Ile – Ife, Nigeria. First Monday, Vol 8. No. 2. Available at: http://
Firstmonday.Org/Issues/Issue8_2/Jagboro/Index.html (Accessed on 8th May 2008).
Korte, W. B. and Husing, T. (2007). Benchmarking access and use of ICT in European schools 2006:
Results from Head Teacher and A Classroom Teacher Surveys in 27 European countries.
eLearning Papers, 2(1), 1-6.
Kumar, R. and Kaur, A. (2006). Internet use by teachers and students in engineering colleges of
Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh states of India: An analysis. Electronic. Journal of
Academic and Special Librarianship, 7(1), 1-12.
Lenhart, A., Rainie, L. and Lewis, O. (2001). Teenage life online. Washington, DC: Pew Internet &
American Life Project.
Levin, D. and Arafer, S. (2002). The digital disconnect: The widening gap between Internet-savy
students and their schools. Retrieved March 14, 2007, from http://www.pewinternet.org/
report display.asp?r=67
Levin, H. (2003). Making history come alive. Learning and Leading with technology, 31(3), 22-27
Livingstone, S. and Bober, M. (2006). UK children go online: Final report of key project findings.
Accessed from http://www.Ise.ac.uk/collections/ukCGOFinalReport.pdf Retrieved on
March 14, 2007,
Mathew, D. and Schrum, L. (2003). High speed Internet use and academic gratification in the college
residence. The Internet and Higher Education, 6(2), 125-144
Mashra, O. P., Yadav, N. and Bisht, K. (2005). Internet utilization pattern of undergraduate students.
University News, 43(13), 8-12.
National Centre for Education Statistics (NCES) (2001). IPEDS college opportunities online: CUNY
Bernard M Baruch College, IPED ID: 19051. Washington, DC: National Centre for Education
Statistics. Retrieved October 18, 2005, from http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cool/Enrollment.asp?
Papastergious, M. and Solomonidou, C. (2005). Gender issues in Internet access and favourite
activities among Greek high school pupils inside and outside school. Computers &
Education, 44(4), 377-393.
Robinson, J. W. (2005). Internet use among African-American college students: An Exploratory
study. Retrieved May 12, 2006, from ProQuest database.
Wilkinson, D., Harries, G., Thelwall, M. and Prince, E. (2003). Motivations for academic website
interlinking: Evidence for the Web as a novel source of information on informal scholarly
communication. Journal of Information Science, 29(1), 59-66.