Use of Internet and Electronic Information Resources by Teachers and Students of Physiotherapy Colleges of Punjab, India: A Case Study

Abstract

Information is the key component of modern society and almost each and everything is based on the information and depends upon its resources. The emergence of national knowledge networks in some countries like India, National Knowledge Network exhibits the importance of information and its sharing among the stakeholders. The tools of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) like Internet and electronic information resources are their use, is the matter of daily concern now. These tools have also made tremendous impact on the academic activities of the faculty members, researchers, students and the other health sciences professionals. After the advent of these tools, a significant transition is seen in users’ approach and the way they seek information and the methods they use in research and learning activities. In such an academic environment, institutions of higher learning such as physiotherapy colleges are also doing their best to provide their users access to this vast reservoir of information. The present survey is an attempt to assess the effectiveness of the Internet and electronic information resources as an educational tool and to explore what role they plays in the educational system through an examination of the physiotherapy colleges of Punjab, India. The Internet and electronic information resources are inseparable part of today’s medical education system. The present study also explores the satisfaction levels of the users with Internet and electronic information resources facilities provided by the physiotherapy colleges under study. The questionnaire was distributed to 200 respondents i.e. teachers and students of the physiotherapy colleges affiliated (upto December 2012) to Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, Punjab, India to get the responses relating to their use of Internet and electronic information resources. One hundred fifty seven questionnaires (64 teachers and 93 students) were received back. The overall response rate of the survey was 78.5%.