Internet in Education
This report is a survey of Internet activity in four colleges in a rural area of East Anglia, England, although much of the analysis is focused upon the largest college, which is in Norwich, Norfolk. The report is based upon 100 questionnaire returns from students, and a further 33 returns from academic staff. The results indicate that colleges generally have few policies relating to Internet access, but despite this, the Internet is used for educational purposes by large numbers of students. A smaller proportion of academic staff utilise the resource for educational provision. Nevertheless, one is left with the impression that the Internet is a facility which is generally underused: whilst students – and most staff – are enthusiastic about the Internet as an educational resource, a deficiency of guidance from all levels of education providers within a college results in ineffective utilisation. Technical inadequacies within the colleges, such as the number and speed of access points, exacerbate the problem.
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