An Exploratory Investigation of Internet Usage and Its Impacts in University Education

What impact does Internet usage have on university education? How effective is this impact? What are important antecedents for Internet usage in university education? Answers to these questions can help justify heavy investment from many universities in Internet infrastructures, as well as increase benefits of Internet usage in university education. Because Internet usage in university education is still at its early stage, many important questions such as those mentioned above have remained unanswered. This study intends to explore these issues by conducting a survey among university students. A research framework is proposed based on theories of TRA and TAM. The research findings provide some useful insights for university educators and Internet service providers (ISPs). A Research Framework & Research Method Many universities across the world are expanding their investment in the Internet technologies and actively promoting the Internet usage in university education. Since educational usage of the Internet is still in its infancy stage (Coleman et al. 1998), many important questions regarding to Internet usage in university education have not been examined in empirical research. This study explores antecedents and impacts of Internet usage in university education. Even though little research done in educational usage of the Internet, there are some studies conducted to examine microcomputer usage and its antecedent factors in the literature (e.g., Igbaria et al. 1996). The theoretical basis for this study is mainly drawn on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis et al. 1989), and IT Diffusion Process Model (Straub 1994), as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 represents an integration of the theoretical perspectives and prior studies discussed above. The first set of variables is involved in organizational contexts as well as in individual factors. Prior research reports that organizational support, information technology (IT) support, IT skills, and perceived complexity of IT use are important factors influencing individuals’ perceptions and attitudes toward microcomputer usage (Igbaria et al. 1997), the usage (Igbaria et al. 1996; Igbaria et al. 1997), and impacts of the usage (Anandarajan et al. 1998). The second group of variables is derived from TAM and TRA, depicting individuals’ perceptions and attitudes that influence behaviors (i.e., Internet usage in this case). The first and second set of variables can be considered as antecedents for the Internet usage. The third set of factors is to describe various aspects of Internet usage among university students. The final set of variables examines impacts of Internet usage, which is adapted from the Straub’s model (1994). The survey was conducted in a big university among undergraduates with majors in engineering, business, and science. A research questionnaire was distributed to 500 students and 328 of them returned complete questionnaires. The response rate was 66%. Most of them (80%) were between the ages of 20 and 22 years (the average age was 20.5 years and the standard deviation was 1.02). 77% were female students and another 23% male students. First year students constituted 31%, second year students 41%, and third year students 28%. The research questionnaire was derived based on prior research and theoretical models of TRA and TAM, and tested in construct validity and reliability.