Hypertext Links to Learning: Roadblocks and Obstacles along the Information Super Highway

Abstract

Educational research has reported a multitude of goals for academic institutions of higher education. Specific academic goals focus in various directions. A common theme permeates throughout mission statements, strategic planning documents, and planning committees objectives. That is, to provide an enhanced environment in which students will become actively engaged in the process of learning, achieve their highest possible level of understanding of scientific and theoretical concepts, and develop a sense of ownership of the knowledge that they create. The accessibility of the World Wide Web to students creates a virtual learning environment that facilitates the construction of scholarly activities without traditional restrictions of time, geographic limitations, and facilitates expedience of data collection. This article addresses the five fundamental obstacles faced by students and faculty as they attempt to achieve goals of academic institutions via Web-based support and instruction.

Faculty Attitudes toward Web-Based Instruction May Not Be Enough: Limited Use and Obstacles to Implementation

“…The main reason for this reluctance, based on our survey results, appears to be a lack of formal technology training and the substantial time requirements needed for its implementation. The former finding supports prior research that identified the lack of training [2,10,17,40] and inadequate administrative support (e.g., [8]) as hindrances for faculty with an interest in online pedagogic innovations.…”

“…It is important to note that the most problematic aspect of using the Internet to teach is the amount of time required to implement this technology (M = 3.2; SD = 1.2). This drawback regarding online instruction has been noted in prior research findings [2,10,17]. Lesser problems were technical difficulties (M = 2.8, SD = 1.1) and interpersonal interactions (M = 2.6, SD = 1.3) (see Table 1).…”

“…In recent years, many authors have anecdotally discussed some of the shortcomings and obstacles of embracing the Internet in higher education settings. Such problems include: lack of privacy issues; poor/limited interactions; technological difficulties (e.g., server failure, overloaded circuits, "dead" links); software limitations; increased time and commitment (of faculty); limited faculty knowledge, training, and support; technological rather than content focus; isolation; and archival/retrieval concerns (e.g., [2,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]). Reflecting these concerns, Daly identified the five following potential problem area regarding Web-based instruction: a) the credibility of Web-information; b) computer network reliability; c) computer availability for students; d) differences in student technological skill; and e) the lack of ethical knowledge (of students) regarding use of Web information [2].…”

“…However, attitudes of college and university faculty toward advances in online technologies have varied, partly based on the disciplinary area of instruction, i.e., education, the hard sciences, social sciences, and professional studies. In fact, the reluctance of faculty to unequivocally embrace Web-based instructional approaches has been commented on in the literature [2], despite the many well-recognized benefits attributed to computer-based teaching methods.…”

An Internet-Based Approach to Legal Issues in Industrial-Organizational Psychology

“…The use of the Internet as an instructional tool has increased in popularity in recent years. Many reasons have been offered for this increase, including easy accessibility to a wealth of information, meeting the educational needs of rural and nontraditional students, increased enrollment through distance learning initiatives, greater facility for communication and feedback, the lack of traditional instructional limitations such as time and geography, and the improved quality of instruction [3][4][5][6][7][8][9].…”