Investigate Students' perceptions of using the Internet for Learning

Abstract

Using the internet in higher education has become an important issue. Thereby, using the internet for learning has grown significantly over the past decade due to its real and perceived benefits. However, not so much research has been carried out to study students’ perceptions of the use of the Internet for learning. It is imperious that all participants involved in learning understand the perceptions and experiences of students about the use of the internet for their learning. In this paper, we present a study that aims to examine student perceptions, experiences, and time spent daily with the use of the Internet for learning. Our research is based on a questionnaire designed for this study, which contained items drawn from previous research. The questionnaire consisted of a total of 31 questions and statements grouped in four sections: basic demographic information; information on Internet use; perceptions of students of the internet; experiences about the Internet. A 5-point Likert scale ranging from “totally disagrees to totally agrees” was used to assess the participants’ experiences and perceptions about the Internet. There were 16 statements about the perceptions of the Internet and 13 statements about the experiences of the students and 2 statements about the time spent on the internet for learning. The target population for this study was defined as students enrolled in graduate and postgraduate studies with different profiles (gender and academic level) and from the different departments were located at IUT. In this research, we present the findings of our study, which reveals that students’ perceptions are influenced based on the daily use of the Internet. However, their general attitude toward the use of the Internet for learning is positive. Moreover, the results showed no significant differences in gender, academic level, department, year of study, and type of student. In general, all the students agreed with the statement that learning to use the Internet is crucial for learning nowadays. Besides, most of the students reported that the Internet makes life easier and more comfortable.