Abstract:
In this education landscape, students can obtain knowledge via online remote
access, breaking the disparity of geography or socio-economic status. The
Internet has significantly reshaped the educational landscape, offering
unprecedented access to knowledge and fostering innovative learning methods.
This study was carried out in order to determine Internet access and usage by
the undergraduate students of the OUSL teaching and learning method. The
main objective of the study was to identify the Internet access and usage for
academic research purposes by the BA in LIS (BALIS) undergraduate students
at the OUSL. A mixed-methods research approach was used to study the
purpose. The data were collected from 51 BALIS undergraduate students of the
OUSL with the use of a structured online questionnaire. The study found that the
majority of respondents used (84.9 % ) mobile data using mobile data and
(56.6%) of the students using home wi-fi and 18.9% using Public Wi Fi in the
university for their internet access. The Online resources utilization pattern
varies significantly, A substantial majority (71.7%) rely on E-books and Online
Journals, with a considerable portion of the students using (60.4%) the OULMS
(Open University Learning Management System). YouTube and other video
tutorials are also popular (52.8%) while online Courses. The webinars (45.3%)
and use of Digital Libraries and Institutional repositories (41.5%) respectively
for academic purposes. Moreover, the study revealed significant challenges
faced by the BALIS students in accessing online resources such as low internet
speed (69.8%), Limited access to paid journals (37.7%), insufficient digital
literacy skills (32.1%) and financial constraints due to High cost of internet (30.2%). This study highlights enhanced internet access and usage among BA in
LIS undergraduate subsidized Internet plans, Improve Digital Infrastructure
upgrades for better WiFi, Institutional support for connectivity through
subsidies or on university hubs by collaborating with telecom providers to get
offers and discount packages, and conducting workshops focused on digital
literacy and research skills.
