Turkish University Students’ Perceptions of the World Wide Web as a Learning Tool: An Investigation Based on Gender, Socio-Economic Background, and Web Experience

Authors

  • Erkan Tekinarslan Abant Izzet Baysal University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v10i2.598

Keywords:

Web usage pattern, Web attitudes, gender, socio-economic background, Web experience

Abstract

The main purpose of the study is to investigate Turkish undergraduate students’ perceptions of the Web as a learning tool and to analyze whether their perceptions differ significantly based on gender, socio-economic background, and Web experience. Data obtained from 722 undergraduate students (331 males and 391 females) were used in the analyses. The findings indicated significant differences based on gender, socio-economic background, and Web experience. The students from higher socio-economic backgrounds indicated significantly higher attitude scores on the self-efficacy subscale of the Web attitude scale. Similarly, the male students indicated significantly higher scores on the self-efficacy subscale than the females. Also, the students with higher Web experience in terms of usage frequency indicated higher scores on all subscales (i.e., self-efficacy, affective, usefulness, Web-based learning). Moreover, the two-way ANOVA results indicated that the student’s PC ownership has significant main effects on their Web attitudes and on the usefulness, self-efficacy, and affective subscales.

Author Biography

Erkan Tekinarslan, Abant Izzet Baysal University

Erkan Tekinarslan completed his doctoral studies (PhD) in August 2001 in Instructional Technology at the College of Education, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, U.S.A. His dissertation title is “Experiences of Faculty and Learners Participating in a Project-based Distributed Learning Environment”. He earned his Master of Education degree in August 1997 in Computer Education and Technology at the College of Education, Ohio University. He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction in January 1992 at the Faculty of Education, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. He worked as a teaching assistant in the Department of Computer Education and Technology, Faculty of Education, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey between October, 2001 and July, 2002. He has been working as a full-time faculty member, Assistant Prof. Dr., in the Department of Computer Education and Technology, Faculty of Education since August 2003. E-mail: tekinarslan_e@ibu.edu.tr

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Published

2009-04-29

How to Cite

Tekinarslan, E. (2009). Turkish University Students’ Perceptions of the World Wide Web as a Learning Tool: An Investigation Based on Gender, Socio-Economic Background, and Web Experience. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v10i2.598

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 2 (2009): Regional Focus Issue - Learning Technologies in the Middle East

Section

Research Articles

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