Integrating Internet into Traditional Education: A Practical Study of University Students’ Usage and Attitudes
Jebreen Mohammed1 and Jamal Al-Karaki2
1Department of Curriculum and Instructions, The Hashemite University, Jordan
2Department of Computer Engineering, The Hashemite University, Jordan
Abstract: This paper describes a study conducted on the attitudes of students towards the integration of the web as a channel of communication and a study tool in traditional teaching at the Hashemite University of Jordan. In particular, the study aims at studying the effect of certain variables such as gender, major, computer experience, and the percentage of internet usage on the learning process. A survey was carried out with a sample of 502 male and female of the university students. A comprehensive and reliable questionnaire was designed and distributed to the students' sample. Drawing on evidence from lesson observations, teacher/student interviews and project reports, this paper also examines the university perspectives and strategies to incorporate use of internet resources and associated information and communication technology tools into humanities, social, and scientific studies. Amazingly, the results revealed a low percentage of internet usage in university education. Also, the results showed that computer experience mainly affects how internet is used in the learning process. However, there were no significant differences in the results regarding the gender and major or even the bi- or tri-interactions between the variables under consideration. The study also showed that email correspondence and internet search are the most common uses of internet in the university. Furthermore, our findings support the following assumptions: The Web cannot substitute entirely for face-to-face learning, but it can serve as a reasonable alternative when the latter is unavailable. The paper concludes with a list of recommendations.
Keywords: Technology-based teaching, internet in education, world wide web, user attitude.