Limitations Involved in the Utilization of Computer Based Technologies at Universities’ Teaching and Learning in Pakistan

Abstract

With the advent of 21st century the usage of technology in every field of life made it inevitable to be used in the field of education as well. It is a familiar fact that the current scenario where technology has made advances by leaps, its usage in the field of education is of utmost importance. Like the rest of the world, the educational institutes in Punjab, public and private, are making efforts to adopt and integrate technological advancement in their teaching and learning processes. The universities in Punjab are no exception. However the hurdles and limitations involved in this process are hard to be ignored. Therefore this study will try to highlight those issues that are causing hurdles in use of technology in teaching and learning at universities in Punjab. For this purpose this study has made use of Ely’s conditions model (1999) of technology implementation theory, which is reflected more appropriate for measuring the barriers in technological applications in academics. This research made an extensive and thorough investigation, based on the opinion of 3397 participants. The methodology used was survey research involving teachers, administrators and students from eight public and private universities' faculty of Education and Business. The responses were assessed by applying descriptive and inferential statistics. This study revealed a number of factors responsible for causing hurdles in technology adoption, but the major factor as per the respondents was the unavailability of Resources. There were some other factors mentioned as well such as Commitment, Rewards, Leadership, Participation and Skills. The overall level of involvement of these sub scales barriers is above average; therefore, unfortunately universities are still using the conventional method of education and cannot make as much use of technology as they could have.