The impact of internet use on teaching, learning and research activities in Nigerian universities: A case study of Obafemi Awolowo University

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of internet resources and the evaluation of their usefulness on teaching, learning and research in Nigerian universities with particular emphasis on Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile‐Ife, Osun State, Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a descriptive survey using questionnaires for data collection. The respondents constitute students (750) and academic staff (115) from OAU. Descriptive statistics (frequency counts and percentages) were used to analyze the data.

Findings

The results from the paper reveal that a majority of the surveyed academic staff and the students found the internet to be very useful. Internet resources mostly used by both groups were e‐mail and the world wide web (WWW). Search interfaces were used for looking for research information. It was discovered that the users were not given adequate user education to enable them make use of the internet resources available.

Originality/value

That the internet is widely used is not a surprise, but the paper points to the fact that more conscious efforts must be made in the introduction of user education and information literacy programmes, as well as in staff training on information and communication technology resources in the library.

Citation

Nwezeh, C.M.T. (2010), "The impact of internet use on teaching, learning and research activities in Nigerian universities: A case study of Obafemi Awolowo University", The Electronic Library, Vol. 28 No. 5, pp. 688-701. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640471011081960