Currently, it is a gamble to identify a reliable school where a parent can take an average child or student for quality academics. Secondly, it is becoming increasingly expensive paying teachers a living wage when they have to be involved with children/students all the time. I wish to propose that the Ministry of Education endorses putting qualified notes for every subject the children in upper primary up to Higher School are supposed to cover given the existing syllabuses. Many teachers who are in employment are not properly qualified; some have completely lost morale while others would need refresher courses to keep relevant. What Government can do on combining people in the National Curriculum Centre with the Examiners to come up with properly advised and simple enough notes to read and understand that can be uploaded on the net for all interested to access.
If this arrangement can be implemented, the schools that have resources would either have to print out downloaded content or ensure that they have Internet which the children/students can access and be able to get quality material given the challenges. This arrangement could also help on reduced hours teachers need to be with students/children so that the children/students can spend more time exploring on their own. It is true; the exam orientation of our academics is spoiling education. Children/students need to be examined, but what is important is the role they play in learning. Are they left to discover at all on their own? While we used to read volumes and discover for ourselves in the 1970’s and part of the 1980’s, the order has changed; students opt for summarized notes and at times read what has been answered, and it is true, qualitatively, many students/children are poorer.
William Kituuka Kiwanuka
STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE USE OF THE INTERNET FOR LEARNING: A STUDY AT A UNIVERSITY IN MALAYSIA
Kian-Sam Hong
Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
94300 Kota Samarahan
Sarawak, Malaysia
hksam@fcs.unimas.my
Abang Ahmad Ridzuan
Universiti Teknologi Mara
Cawangan Kota Samarahan
94300 Kota Samarahan
Sarawak, Malaysia
Ming-Koon Kuek
Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
94300 Kota Samarahan
Sarawak, Malaysia
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the success of a technology and Internet-enriched teaching and learning environment in molding positive attitudes among students toward using the Internet for learning at a university in Malaysia. Students were provided with computers facilities, required to complete two compulsory generic courses in information technology, and the lecturers actively encouraged the use of information technology, in particular, the Internet in the teaching and learning processes. Results from the study indicated that students had positive attitudes toward using the Internet as a learning tool, adequate basic knowledge of the Internet, and viewed the learning environment as supportive of using the Internet for learning. Students with better basic Internet skills and who viewed the learning environment as promoting the use of the Internet favored using the Internet for learning. The university achieved its objectives of promoting the use of the Internet for teaching and learning purposes. As the university begins to offer Web-based courses, the generic courses in information technology should likewise be redesigned to introduce the concepts of Web-based learning environments. These courses should in fact be conducted as Web-based courses to prepare the students to learn in these learning environments.
Keywords: Internet-based learning, Web-based course, Technology-based learning, Attitudes toward the Internet
Introduction
The use of the Internet for teaching and learning purposes has received increasing attention over the recent years. Mitra and Steffensmeier (2000) concluded that a networked learning institution where students have easy access to computers could foster positive attitudes toward the use of computers in teaching and learning. They found that a computer-enriched learning environment was positively correlated with students' attitudes toward computers in general, and the role of computers in facilitating teaching and learning. Liu, Macmillan, and Timmons (1998) perceived integrating computers into a learning system as a complex instructional system in which student learning is impacted by lecturers, students, administrative and technical staff, computer hardware and software resources, and the computer laboratory and classroom settings. They reported that students' with positive attitudes toward using computers also have positive attitudes toward using computers for their learning.
In Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, students are encouraged to internalise the use of technology in their campus activities through the provision of up-to-date computer facilities and generic information technology courses, which were compulsory for all students. Lecturers were also encouraged to use information technology and in particular, the Internet in their instructional practices. The premise is that through constant interaction with information technology and a sound foundation in information technology, students will build up positive attitudes towards computer, thus promoting the use of information technology in all aspects of life.
The integration of information technology in the learning environment at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak started with the inception of the university (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Annual Report, 1995, pp. 6-7). Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Annual Report 1996, stated that "... we have shown that our emphasis on technology ..... has given a feature of distinction in undergraduate curricular design.... Our pioneer students, at last, fully appreciated the Generic Development Program, for they found that their ability to communicate, their competence in information technology and their confidence and flexibility were at time more important than their own grounding in the core course" (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Annual Report, 1996, pp.4-5). Two compulsory courses in information technology are included in the Generic Development Program to inculcate the information technology culture among the undergraduates. Universiti Malaysia Sarawak has continuously reinforced importance of information technology and the Internet to prepare students for a knowledge-based society (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Annual Report, 1998, pp. 2-3; 1999, p.2).
Purposes of the Study
This study aimed to answer the following questions:
What were the students' attitudes toward using the information technologies, in particular, the Internet in their learning tasks?
What were the relationships between students' basic skills and knowledge in the Internet obtained through these generic courses and their attitudes toward using the Internet for learning?
Did the learning environment in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak have a positive impact on the students' perceptions of using the Internet as a learning tool?
Sample
The sample of this study consisted of 88 second-year undergraduate students randomly selected from all the second year students enrolled in the five faculties (Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Faculty of Resource Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Engineering, and Faculty of Information Technology) at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
Research Instrument
The research instrument in this study was a questionnaire divided into four sections. The first section of the questionnaire collected the students' demographic variables, namely gender, race, faculty, and CGPA.
The remaining three sections of the questionnaire consisted of Likert-type statements, each with five choices of response from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree". The second section of the questionnaire measured the students' basic knowledge and skills of the Internet. Sample statements for this section were "I can search for resources and information through the Internet", "I can use Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, or other Internet Browsers", and "I can seek information using search engines such as Infoseek, Yahoo, and Excite". There were a total of seven statements in this section.
The third section of the questionnaire measured the students' perceptions of the learning environment at University Malaysia Sarawak. Specifically the students were asked whether the learning environment facilitated the use of the Internet for learning purposes. Sample statements for this section were "The lecturers regularly ask students to explore related resources from the Internet", "The students are exposed to the Internet and how it functions", and "I can access the Internet from various locations in the University". There were a total of seven statements in this section.
The fourth section of the questionnaire measured the students' attitudes toward the use of the Internet for learning. Sample statements for this section were "Every student should know how to use the Internet", "Learning through the Internet is an effective way to obtain information and knowledge", and "I can learn effectively in most subjects through the Internet". There were a total of seven statements in this section.
The last three sections of the questionnaire reported a Cronbach alpha value of 0.91 during the pilot testing of the questionnaire to a sample of 40 students.
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