ADOPTION AND USE OF INTERNET SERVICES AMONG UNDERGRADUATES FOR ENHANCED ACADEMIC WORK IN NAL, UNN

Abstract

This research work is a study on the Impact of Internet Usage on Academic performance of undergraduate students using University of Nsukka, Nigeria as a case study. The research design adopted was the survey method using questionnaires as the instrument for data collection. The population of the study was the entire students of the University of Nsukka, with students randomly selected from each level making a total sample of 375 students whom were issued questionnaires. Out of the 375 questionnaires distributed, 200 were dully responded to and returned to the researcher. Data collected were analysed using inferential statistics, frequency table and percentage. The findings revealed that Internet is one of the beneficial tools in this era of IT not only for business but for academic point of view and enhances the skill and capability of students which assist them in studies and professional life. It also revealed that some of the problem encountered in the usage of Internet includes lack of computer skills, slow internet server and problem of paying for online services. The study recommends that the university should embark on Information literacy/sensitization programme for student’s in order to effectively harness the various web based electronic resources it is subscribed to.

Chapter one

Introduction

1.1 Background to study

The internet can be conceived as a rich, multi-layered complex ever-changing text for information dissemination and a medium for collaborative interaction between individuals and computers without regards for geographical limitation of space [1]. The internet today is a worldwide entity whose nature cannot be easily or simply defined. To many, the internet is a large computer network linking together millions of smaller computers at numerous sites in various countries belonging to thousands of business, government, research, educational and other organisations.

To the internet users, the internet is a global community-one with a very active life. The awake magazine (1997, June 22) has it that internet began as “an experiment by the US department of defence in the 1960s to help scientist and researchers from widely dispersed areas work together by sharing scarce and expensive computer and files. This goal required the creation of a set of connected networks that would act as a co-ordinated whole”. In his own view of the origin of the internet, Ibegwam [2] opines that the internet is a huge computer network made up of many individual computers as servers’, which commenced in 1969 under a contract by the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA). While awake (1997) has it that the internet came as a result of the generation of interest in a “bombproof” network during the era of the cold war so much that if a part of the network were destroyed, data would still travel towards its destination with help from the surviving parts.

Ibegwam, posits that, “the internet was designed in parts to provide communication network that would work even if some of the sites were destroyed by nuclear attack”. The internet is a relatively new channel for scholarly resources and contain vast quantities of information that vary a great deal regarding its content, aim, target, group, reliability. Hence, it is important that the end user is aware of the diverse information available on the internet and educated in the criteria by which the information content should be accessed [3]. The internet is one of the beneficial tools in this era of IT world not only for business but for academic point of view and enhances the skills and capabilities of student which assist them in studies and in professional life. Students use the internet as a hub for research in their various fields of study. This can be seen by the way the students consult the internet for assignments, presentations, research works and examinations. Jagboro [1] in his own research ascertain that 45.2% of postgraduate access the internet at the cybercafé in the university while only 8.2% use the library internet facilities.

A greater percentage (38.24%) does that only on monthly basis while 39.7% spend one hour on each visit. The internet provides several opportunities for the academia. It is a mechanism for information dissemination and a medium for collaborative interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographical limitation of space [1]. The internet is the world’s largest and most widely used network.The internet appearance in tertiary education was used as tools for researchers to communicate and share project work. Today the education domain is still one of the largest contributors to the internet [1]. Since the inception of the ICT, the internet has acted as a store house of information. Students have been able to have a wide range of information round the clock and round the globe. Also effective use of the internet leads to day-to-day update of the happenings in our society and this affects the academic performance of students in various fields. This has helped to increase the information quotient of students during studying, learning and research. Studies by Oyegun[4] revealed that the internet has many benefit to the academic cycle; these include provision of round-the-clock access to a wide variety of information sources globally and the ability to discuss and share experience with colleagues to be able to derive maximum benefits from the attributes of ICT. Ojekun [5] also confirmed as he discovered that student at University of Botswana lacked skills and this greatly impended their meaningful exploration of the internet. The internet now represents one of the most successful examples of the benefits of sustained investment and commitment to research and development of information infrastructure [6].

The internet is a valuable source of information used by student in projects and assignments. With over 50million websites on the net, the chances are that information on any subject however obscure can be found using appropriate search tools. It also serves as a useful tool for lecturers in helping to prepare lesson plans using a number of sites dedicated to providing educational material. There are great possibilities for higher education at all levels through the use of internet because curricula can be developed collaboratively and educational materials distributed and updated more cheaply, offering additional ways for students to interact with their study materials as well as their instructors [7]. Another importance of the internet is that it affords students (all over the world but more beneficial to those in developing countries) the opportunity to access a large pool of data which could help reduce the information gap resulting from the disadvantages of the educational opportunities [8]. The University library has a role to play through the provision of vast amount of information sources via the mediation of internet access. Resources that the library makes available must be integrated with one another and within the library environment and library services must support learning and research behaviours of its users.

Furthermore, users want to access and use items from more than one content provider; also they ultimately interact with various user interfaces but even then, each service has a different user interface for discovery, with its unique set of “presentation services” that the user must learn and understand [9]. Walker [9] further stated that E-access opens up greater opportunities for people to find and get to an increasing corpus of knowledge. Search engines such as Google, Msn and Yahoo are now targeting the traditional library user; and libraries are under increasing pressure to develop and offer new paradigms for discovery that meet the changing expectations of end users. With increasing impact of information and communication technologies on higher education, all those concerned with higher education are attempting to grasp how ICT could help in modernizing the process of teaching, learning and research. With the advent of the internet, the following dilemma arises in the educational system: Leaner is not dependent on teacher for interaction; and teachers can give lecturers virtually to unknown learners. So in this era, teachers and students can carry forward their work on the internet in ways that are similar to and tightly intertwined with the traditional ways that they learn, teach and study in libraries, classrooms, laboratories, seminars, conferences and so on. The internet can provide access to essentially unlimited resources of information not conventionally obtainable through other means.

The internet has broken down barriers of communication access from anywhere in the world. It is fast, reliable and does not have restrictions on content or format. It also has unlimited range of facilities which assist users to access almost infinite information on the net. It offers the opportunity for access to up-to-date research reports and knowledge globally. It has thus become an important component of electronic services in academic institutions. Hence the internet has become an invaluable tool for learning, teaching and research (including collaborative research). Prior to the use of ICT for acquisition, processing and dissemination of information, university teaching, learning and research were restricted to student’s dominical institutions library or by extension those materials made available through inter-lending [10]. Akintunde [11] as cited in Anunobi [10] asserts that any attempt to have meaningful academic communication can be successful only with the use of ICT which presents information in real time and space. No wonder youngsters, especially students and researchers spend most of their time in the cybercafé. Where the latter is not available in the university community, they risk travelling a further distance to transact one business or another in the internet [10].

1.2 Statement of problem

The lack of funds for effective running of the universities and especially their libraries has adversely affected adequate provision of modern books, updated literate materials and journals where available, are now expensive as warranted by the economic recession, global political crises and currency devaluation compounded by the information explosion that we have witnessed in the global electronic village that the world has turned to. In view of those afore stated problems, Nigerian students have now turned their attention to the use of internet for the purpose of studying, conducting research and obtaining general information. Therefore, with more attention given to the internet as a result of its numerous benefits, students who have access to this technology may lose some level of significant interest in using the library. The study therefore is an attempt to access the effectiveness of the use of internet services and how it affects student’s academic performances.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The main objective of this study is to find out the use of internet services and how it affects student’s performance. Specifically, the aims of the study are to 1. Find out the frequency of internet use. 2. Find out the most preferred location of internet use. 3. Find out the purposes for browsing the internet. 4. Find out the most used internet service. 5. Find out the influence of internet use on academic performance. 6. Find out the problems faced by students during internet use.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions have been formulated to guide this study.

1. What is the frequency of internet use among the students?

2. What is the most preferred location of internet?

3. What are the purposes for browsing the internet?

4. Which is the most used internet service?

5. Does internet services influence student’s academic performance?

6. What are the problems faced by students in using internet services?

1.5 Basic Assumptions

The following are the assumptions of the researcher.

1. It was assumed that students use the internet all weekdays except weekends.

2. It was assumed that students prefer to browse in the cybercafé than in the library.

3. It was assumed that student use the internet for social networking.

4. It was assumed that the Google search is the most used internet service by students.

5. It was assumed that the internet has affected the students positively towards their educational goal.

6. It was assumed that illiteracy is the problem faced by students most in internet use.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study could be beneficial for students as well as for the institution. The valuable feedback gotten from respondents should help students to realise the benefits of internet in their education. Institutes can invest more in internet facilities to enhance the academic performance of their student and produce better results. Note that the relevance of internet facilities is measured by how effective, sufficient and accessible it is to students and users. The research will also provide in-depth insight into the various internet facilities and how students can be able to use them to improve academic performance.

1.7 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The self-report criterion is a limitation. Future research should employ more objective measures of internet use. This study covers all regular undergraduate students in University of Nsukka. These are 100 - 400 levels student including 500 levels law. The study therefore excludes centre for distance learning and continuing education (CDL and CE) students and sandwich students. Also, the study is not restricted to any gender. It includes both male and female, and undergraduates at all level of study.