ASSESSMENT OF ONLINE RESOURCES USAGE BY AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE LECTURERS OF TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN BENUE STATE NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The study assessed  the  use of online resources  by agricultural  science lecturers  of tertiary institutions  in  Benue  State,  Nigeria.  A  total  of  193  lecturers,  randomly  sampled  from  a population of 775 from six tertiary institutions of learning, including, two universities, two colleges of education and one college of agriculture were used for the study. The survey method, employing a structured questionnaire, was adopted in carrying out the research. Six study questions and two hypotheses were used to guide the study. Statistical analysis was carried out through the use of frequency distributions, percentages, mean scores and standard deviations, regression analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Findings indicated that a large proportion of the respondents were in the age bracket of 46 and 55 years with a mean age was 42 years. Majority of the respondents were men. Majority of respondents had a household size of between 6 and 10 members, with a mean household size of 6 members. A large proportion of respondents possessed first degree or its equivalent; those with PhD made up 9.3% of the respondents. The majority of respondents were those that had work experience of about 10 years. Majority of respondents spent between 10 to 20 years on formal education, with average of 20 years being spent on formal education. Majority of the respondents earned between N101, 000 – 200,000 per month, with an average income of N181, 413.37. The results, also, showed that majority  of  respondents  possessed   general   computer  skills,  with  appreciable  levels  of skillfulness.   In the area of general internet and online usage skills, majority of respondents possessed the requisite skills, with the majority of them also possessing appreciable levels of skillfulness. Majority of respondents had access to the internet on a daily basis and the majority of such respondents used the internet for academic research purposes. The basic type of connectivity to the internet available to most respondents was through the use of private cyber cafes. The main types of online resources used included electronic journals, electronic books, search engines and encyclopedia. Online resources that respondents frequently used included electronic journals, search engines, encyclopedia, abstracts, dictionaries and video/picture or graphic files. The online resources that were perceived to be useful to respondents included search engines, electronic journals and encyclopedia.  Socio-economic and institutional factors that significantly influenced the use of online resources included age and number of years spent on formal education. Perceived constraints against access and use of online resources included, among others, unstable power supply, high cost of access and usage of online resources, non- subscription for relevant online resources by institutions, slow connection to the internet, and lack of sponsored training from institutions. It was recommended that tertiary institutions should subscribe for such online resources as AGORA, OARE and HINARI, for the benefit of their lecturers and that staff training and re-training should be built into staff development programs; institutions should provide internet services that are effective and efficient. This will enhance better and effective connectivity in the search, access and use of online resources; lecturers should upgrade themselves, through involvement in personal training programs that will enhance their computer, internet and online usage skills, in order to be able to locate, access and make more effective use of online resources.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background information

Online resources, also variously called, digital resources, internet resources, network resources, computer resources, online services, online facilities, electronic information sources or e-library resources (Issa, Amusan and  Daura, 2009); Okiki and Asiru, 2011), are those resources that are found on computer networks of organizations (intranets) or on the global network of millions of computers (Internet). The terms ‘digital resources’, ‘internet resources’, ‘network resources’, ‘computer resources’, ‘online services’, ‘online facilities’, ‘electronic information sources’ or ‘e-library resources’, among others, are therefore being used synonymously in the present study to describe information accessed online or through local networked resources (Harle, 2009). The word ‘online’ is an adjective, which refers to being connected through a computer. The effective utilization, or otherwise, of online resources may be a factor of how well information communication technologies (ICTs) are being used. Internet usage, especially, directly impacts the use of online resources. This implies that the more the number of internet users found in a given country, the greater the indication that more online resources are being used.

According to the Internet World Stats (2011), the estimated number of internet users world-wide, as at June 2010, was one billion, nine hundred and sixty-six million, five hundred and fourteen thousand, eight hundred and sixteen (1,966,514,816) people, out of the total estimated world population of six billion, eight hundred and forty five million, six hundred and nine thousand, nine hundred and sixty (6,845,609,960) people. The leading countries in internet usage, according to the report include: China, the United States of America (USA), Japan, India, Brazil, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom (UK), France and Nigeria. The report stated that Africa with fourteen percent (14.8%) of the world’s population, representing one billion, thirteen million,  seven  hundred  and  seventy  nine  thousand,  fifty  (1,013,779,050)  people,  have  one hundred and ten million, nine hundred and thirty one, seven hundred (110, 931,700) internet users, which is equal to five percent (5.6%) of global internet users.

Nations,  all  over  the  world,  are  competing  with  one  another  concerning  the  most profitable ways of utilizing information for their national development. According to the World Bank (2002), knowledge is a critical determinant of competitiveness in the world economy and with the information revolution and increasing demands for a highly skilled workforce, nations must accord high priority to building the capacity to effectively utilize technology in education. The Bank emphasizes the critical importance of effectively utilizing new information and communication technologies (ICTs) to meet the growing need for a more sophisticated labor force, better management of information systems, and more effective contribution to poverty reduction around the world.

While the developed nations, on one hand, are doing all they can to maintain their leadership position in constructive information usage, the developing nations, on the other hand, are trying all they can to bridge the prevailing digital divide (Halavatau, 2003). Online information constitutes one of the major global sources of information being tapped by nations and individuals. ICTs are the vehicles that are being used to harness online resources and they have so changed the world that, the world as it is now, could aptly be described as a ‘global village’ (Ajayi, 2008).  The internet is the main driver of the information age and the knowledge society that is now the norm in advanced countries. The appropriate and effective use of the internet in the generation and communication of information has greatly speeded up the general development in advanced countries.

The use of online resources is now being emulated by the less technologically developed countries of the world. This has led to the wide-spread use of internet in the developing world. The effectiveness with which the developed world is using technology of the internet and the value being derived from this effective usage in the areas of teaching, research, marketing, medicine and agriculture, has deeply attracted the developing countries to emulate the developed countries in the effective use of the technology of the internet, in particular, and the information communication  technology,  in  general.  It  is  therefore understandable that  many developing countries, including Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia, South Korea, among others, are making concerted and sustained efforts to get involved in the ICT race. About ninety percent (90%)  of  the  people  involved  in  academics  in  the  above  named  countries  have  access  to computer and internet services, from where online resources are being positively harnessed (Pouratashi and Rezvanfar, 2010).

It is evident that despite the usefulness of online resources, some common problems still exist concerning how such resources are used  by lecturers, in particular, and others in the academia,  in  general.  In  Nigeria,  for  example,  many lecturers  in  the  higher  institutions  of learning still depend solely on the use of the traditional methods to impart knowledge to their students. This lack of use of ICTs to impart knowledge to students by teachers is discovered to be due to the teachers themselves being illiterates, insofar as the use of the ICT is concerned (Ajayi, 2008).

1.2 Problem statement

There is low level of internet usage for teaching, research and learning in Nigerian higher institutions of learning (Jagboro, 2003).   In a study about  Internet usage among university lecturers in Southern Nigeria, agricultural science teachers were discovered to be inexperienced in the use of the internet (Aduwa-Ogiegbaen and Uwameiye, 2009). Similarly, Agbulu and Ademu (2010) discovered that Agricultural Science teachers were not knowledgeable in the use of ICT for teaching. This implies that such teachers were not in a position to effectively use computer technology to access and use online resources.   Akinnagbe and Baiyeri (2011) in a study on training needs analysis of lecturers for information and communication technology (ICT) skills enhancement in  Agriculture, recommended that academic staff be exposed to ICT training to enhance teaching and research.

Despite the fact that lecturers do not use ICTs and the internet as they ought to, it is nonetheless true that there are huge resources available on the Internet that could be useful for learning,  teaching  and  research.  Since  it  is  very  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  tertiary institutions of learning in Benue State to adequately meet the needs of their academic staff and students, in terms of providing them with all the appropriate and required books, journals, and other learning resources, it is imperative for the tertiary institutions, lecturers and students to find ways of accessing online resources that are useful to their academic work.

Rosenberg (2005) observed that in realization of the importance of online resources, especially to poor-resourced countries, the United Nations created some access programs in various sectors, including  the free online biomedical information databases such as the World Health  Organization  (WHO)  Health  InterNetwork  Access  to  Research  Initiative  (HINARI);

Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA) and the Online Access to Research in  the  Environment     (OARE)  in  the  environmental  sector,  as  well  as  the  Program  for Enhancement of Research Information (PERii). According to her, the creation of these online resources have helped in reducing the cost incurred by publishers through regular printing, storage, and shipping of hard copies of their publications. This has, in turn, made it possible for such publishers to offer substantial discounts to institutions of learning of developing countries, which direly need their publications but do not have the required financial resources to buy them on regular basis. The challenges of ever-increasing journal subscription costs and declining library collections budgets have made Open Educational Resources (OER) very attractive to tertiary educational institutions all over the world. Lecturers of tertiary institutions need information for a variety of reasons; especially for their academic activities. Unfortunately, there are challenges that constitute impediments as to how effectively these tremendous resources are exploited for the benefit of users.

Based on the above scenario, the questions are: what are the factors that determine the use of online resources by lecturers of agricultural science of tertiary institutions in Benue state, Nigeria? What are the online resources available to respondents?  what is the frequency of use of online resources by these lecturers? what is the perception of respondents concerning the usefulness of online resources? what factors influence the use of online resources by respondents in Benue state, Nigeria? and what are the major constraints associated with access and use of online resources?

1.3 Purpose of the study

The overall purpose of the study was to assess online resources usage by lecturers of the agricultural science in tertiary institutions in Benue state, Nigeria. Specifically, the objectives of the study included to:

1.   identify  the  different  types  of  online  resources  used  by  lecturers  of  agricultural sciences in tertiary institutions in Benue state;

2.   ascertain the skillfulness of respondents in computer, internet and online activities usage;

3.   ascertain the frequency of use of online resources;

4.   determine the perceived usefulness of online resources to the respondents;

5.   determine the socio-economic and institutional factors that influence the use of online resources; and

6.   identify the major constraints associated with access and use of online resources.

1.4 Hypotheses of the study

The following null hypotheses were formulated for this study:

(1) Differences in the frequency of use of online resources in tertiary institutions in Benue state are not significant.

(2) Differences in the perceived usefulness of online resources among the tertiary institutions in

Benue State are not significant.

1.5 Significance of the study

The study of the factors that determine online resources usage by agricultural science lecturers of tertiary institutions in Benue state is significant because the knowledge generated from this study shall enable lecturers, students, and agricultural workers to better understand those factors that have changed the way agricultural science professionals obtain information. The difficult tasks of accessing research information, agricultural records, agricultural product information, continuing education resources, online supply catalogs and reference information, which  are now increasingly dependent on the internet, it is hoped, will be better understood and optimally utilized, as a result of the findings of the present study.

It is also hoped that the findings of the study shall propel management of higher institutions in Benue State, in particular, and Nigeria, in general, to formulate concrete and systematic policies as well as take practical steps that will enhance the training of lecturers to effectively access and use the internet and online resources to enhance their academic work for the benefit of their students and the society as a whole. The educational, agricultural, economic and other essential sectors of the Nigerian economy shall, with time, be positively affected, if an ICT literate teaching workforce leads the nation into the present-day global knowledge society, as a result of this type of empirical study.

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