ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNET AS A LEARNING RESOURCE AMONG STUDENTS AT SOME SELECTED POLYTECHICS IN NORTHEAST NIGERIA

The primary goal of this work is to assess the impact of the internet as a learning resource among students of polytechnics in northeast Nigeria. This study, which is attached on the uses and indulgence, adopted a survey among 380 students out of total population of 2,930. The students perceived that the lack of digital willingness among their staff and institution, the absence of digital library for easy accessibility to journals from the scientific database, and ineffective cybercafé and internet facility within their polytechnics locations were the main problem depressing the impact of internet within their institutions. Nonetheless, they continue to try to find ways to use the internet to help their studies through self-organization, flexibility, and inventiveness. The majority of them stated that they use their smartphones/handsets to access the internet through other internet providers’ subscriptions. The most popular search engines were discovered to be Google and Google Scholar. The students agreed that using the internet allowed them to conduct research ahead of time, complete multiple assignments, broaden the scope of reading and learning, promote self-learning, encourage and enhance peer learning, and improve students’ exam preparation. It was suggested that tertiary institutions in Nigeria, particularly Polytechnics, establish a digital library where students can easily access scientific journals from databases such as Elsevier, Springer, Taylor & Francis, Wiley, and Emerald. This will lessen their reliance on Google and Google Scholar while also allowing them to explore other related scientific papers, improving their educational research and learning.