The Internet Usage of University Students for Academic Purposes, with Special Reference to Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Modern technology and ICT were introduced with full strength to our educational system .Today, students can use the computer and ICT-Based systems effectively for their educational purposes. This paper will be based on the students of two faculties of Buddhist Studies and Language Studies of Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka. The main objective of this study is to identify internet using patterns of the students, to understand the various purposes of the students in using internet and present problems faced by the students when using internet. The research methods adapted were questionnaires, interviews and observation as principal research techniques. Questionnaires were distributed randomly to the 50 users representing the university. The collected data was analysed and presented in tabular form. It has been found that most students are accessing the internet from university computer labs and personal computers. Students mentioned that they are using internet for collecting extra information for their research projects, tutorials and other studies.The study also shows that Google is the most preferred search engine. Lack of knowledge about internet usage, a limited number of computers, slow internet downloading speed, inadequate time, lack of awareness of searching techniques, are the most common problem in using internet. To overcome these issues it is necessary to gain sufficient knowledge about internet, improve IT infrastructure and add computer studies as a compulsory subject in their curriculum.