A STUDY BASED ON INTERNET ACCESS AND USAGE OF LIS UNDERGRADUATES AT THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF SRI LANKA (OUSL)

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.