Abstract
The Information Age is upon us and it heralds a new paradigm in the way universities conduct research. Lack of understanding and a cautionary stance towards the Internet has left many universities lagging far behind the needs of its student population. Research shows that both students and academics are struggling on their own to learn about these new channels of information with little, or no, guidance from their educational institution. As a consequence, the Internet remains a little understood and poorly utilised mode of gathering resource information for many of today's and tomorrow's researchers.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, S. E. and Harris, J.B. (1997) Factors associated with amount of use and benefits obtained by users of a statewide educational telecomputing network. Education Technology Research and Development, 45(1), 19-50.
Cavalier, J. C. and Klein, J. D. (1998) Effects of cooperative versus individual learning and orienting activities during computer-based instruction. Education Technology Research and Development, 46(1), 5-17.
Crawford, W. and Gorman, M. (1995) Future Libraries: Dreams, Madness, & Reality. American Library Association, Chicago.
Dawson, S. E. (1997) Essays from cyberspace: issues in undergraduate training and assessment. Australian Universities Review, 40(1), 2-3.
Downes, T. (1996) The computer as a toy and tool in the home: implications for schools and teachers. Education and Information Technologies, 1(3-4), September and December, 191-201.
Dusenbury, C. and Pease, B. G. (1995) The Future of instruction. In The Future of Information Services, V. Steel, and C. Brigid Welch (eds), The Haworth Press, Inc, New York pp. 97-117.
Ellis, M. (1997) The challenge of incorporating educational technology into an established research university. Innovations in Education and Training International, 34(4), 257-262.
Evans, P. (1997) Designing a multimedia system to instruct novice users of online library catalogues. In Information Online & On Disc 97: Proceedings of the Eighth Australasian Information Online and On Disc Conference and Exhibition, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Sydney, Australia, 21-23 January, Information Science Section, Australian Library and Information Association.
Johnston, R. (1994) The impact of tele-networking on research. Prometheus, 12(2), December, 225-245.
Morris, M. and Ogan, C. (1996) The internet as mass medium. Journal of Communication, 46(1), Winter, 39-49.
Nieuwenhuizen, J. (1997) Asleep at the Wheel: Australian on the Superhighway. ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sydney.
Parkinson, J. (1998) The difficulties in developing information technology competencies with student science teachers. Research in Science & Technological Education, 16(1), 67-78.
Perry, C. (1995) Travellers on the internet: a survey of internet users. Online, 19(2), March=April, 29-34.
Rosenberg, R. S. (1997) The Social Impact of Computers, 2nd Edition. Academic Press Inc., San Diego.
Russell, G. and Bradley G. (1997) Teachers' computer anxiety: implications for professional development. Education and Information Technologies, 2(1), 17-30.
Sharifibadi, S.R. (1996) Effects of the internet on research activities, information seeking and communication behaviour of Australian academic psychologists. Ph.D. thesis, University of New South Wales, Sydney.
Tenopir, C. and Neufang, R. (1995) Electronic reference options: tracking the changes. Online, 19(4), July=August, 67-73.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
FOSTER, S. Australian undergraduate Internet usage: self-taught, self-directed, and self-limiting?. Education and Information Technologies 5, 165–175 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009602617991
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009602617991