Internet Usage Habits as a Part of Distance Higher Education

Abstract

Within the scope of this study, which deals with distance education method as a communication process, a focus group interview was conducted with voluntary students who were randomly selected from various areas/majors at the Department of Distance Education in Istanbul University in order to determine the relationship between their general Internet usage habits and their Internet usage as a part of distance learning and in line with their expectations. The questions posed for the students during the interview process were drawn up on the basis of Internet medium serving a mass medium and for multi-purposes. The study revealed a positive relationship between general Internet usage habits of distance education students and their particular Internet usage habits during their education. It is concluded that the ability of students to adapt to social media applications and especially to social networks, which are the latest Internet applications based on interactive communications, is considerably high. The expectations of the students from the latest Internet applications are also high when it comes to distance education process.

Keywords

• Distance Education, Internet usage habits, Information and communication technologies in education, Communication

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