PERCEIVED KNOWLEDGE AND USAGE OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION RESOURCES AMONG DISTANCE LEARNERS, IN ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA

This study aimed at determining the perceived knowledge and usage of Electronic Information Resources (EIR) among Distance Learners in Adamawa State. Three purposes and three research questions were formulated and one hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. The population of the study comprised 193 Distance Learning students of Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH), and 114 students of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Yola study centre. The design of the study was descriptive survey and the instrument used was close-ended questionnaire tagged ‘Distance Learners Electronic Information Resources Rating Scale (DLIRRS)’. The instrument was designed by the researchers and was validated by three experts from Department of Electrical Technology Education MAUTECH, Yola. The data was analysed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. The Microsoft word excel was used to determine the mean scores and the standard deviation, while Z-test statistics was used for hypothesis testing at 0.05 level of significance. The study found out that, the level of EIR awareness by the distance learning students was not encouraging. The study also found that, the level of EIR usage by distance learning students in Adamawa state was low. The study however found that the level of time stay by distance learning students on internet was also low. The result of the study further revealed that, there was significant difference between the mean responses of the Distance Learning students of MAUTECH and the students of NOUN, Yola study centre on the level of internet awareness. In line with the findings, the study recommended among others, that E- Examinations, Assignments etc. should be encouraged among both the teachers and students to maximize the utilisation of internet services among Distance learners.