Exploring the Preference and Interest for Information Communication Technology (ICT) Usage among Students of Allama Iqbal Open University.

This research study was conducted to discover use of ICT in Distance Education by exploring interest and preference of ICT between students of rural and urban background at Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad Pakistan. The study was aimed to establish the differences between urban and rural students’ interest and preference of ICT in general across the university. This research is based on survey of the respondents from Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad Pakistan. In order to conduct research a closed-ended questionnaire was developed after studying related literature. The respondents of this study were selected from four faculties of the University by applying cluster sampling technique. Two important constructs; Interest and Preference related to ICT among ruralurban students were investigated. It was concluded from results of the study that most of the respondents from rural and urban areas both used ICT for education related purpose. It was also found that urban students were taking more interest in ICT usage than the rural ones.

[1]  Sora Park.  Digital inequalities in rural Australia: A double jeopardy of remoteness and social exclusion , 2017 .

[2]  Xiaobo Zhang,et al.  Spatial Inequality in Education and Health Care in China , 2003 .

[3]  Bernard Berelson,et al.  The State of Communication Research , 1959 .

[4]  A. Bryman.  Social Research Methods , 2001 .

[5]  D. A. Dunn,et al.  Information technology: its social potential. , 1972, Science.

[6]  D. Garrison,et al.  Blended learning: Uncovering its transformative potential in higher education , 2004, Internet High. Educ..

[7]  E. Katz.  Mass Communications Research and the Study of Popular Culture: An Editorial Note on a Possible Future for This Journal , 1959 .

[8]  Jay G. Blumler,et al.  Television in politics : its uses and influence , 1968 .

[9]  Jaime E.R. Shorter.  The Use of Mass Communication in Animal Rights Fundraising Campaigns , 2012 .

[10]  Doug Shale,et al.  Concepts: Toward a reconceptualization of distance education , 1988 .

[11]  Betty Collis,et al.  Tele-Learning in a Digital World: The Future of Distance Learning , 1996 .

[12]  Shakeel Ahmad Khan,et al.  Use of ICT by Students: A Survey of Faculty of Education at IUB , 2011 .

[13]  John Daniel.  Towards Education for All: the Critical Role of Open and Distance Learning in National Development , 2005 .

[14]  Avril Loveless.  ICT in the Primary School , 2002 .

[15]  Pei-An Liao,et al.  What are the determinants of rural-urban digital inequality among schoolchildren in Taiwan? Insights from Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition , 2016, Comput. Educ..

[16]  C. Martyn.  KEYWORDS , 1995 .

[17]  Marlien Herselman,et al.  ICT in Rural Areas in South Africa: Various Case Studies , 2003 .

[18]  Zane L. Berge,et al.  Trends and Challenges of eLearning in National and International Agricultural Development , 2006 .

[19]  D. Keegan.  Problems in Defining the Field of Distance Education , 1988 .

[20]  H. Bonfadelli,et al.  Mass Media Flow and Differential Growth in Knowledge , 2016 .

[21]  Farhad Saba.  Research in Distance Education: A Status Report , 2000 .

[22]  Willem J. Pelgrum,et al.  Pedagogy and ICT Use : In Schools Around the World Findings from the IEA Sites 2006 Study , 2008 .

[23]  D. McQuail.  The Television Audience : A Revised Perspective , 1972 .

[24]  R. Clark.  Media will never influence learning , 1994 .

[25]  R. V. Krejcie,et al.  Determining Sample Size for Research Activities , 1970 .

[26]  E. Katz,et al.  On the use of the mass media for important things. , 1973 .

[27]  D. R. Garrison,et al.  Mapping the boundaries of distance education: Problems in defining the field , 1987 .

[28]  A. Smith,et al.  Research Methodology: A Step-by-step Guide for Beginners , 2012 .

[29]  S. Gulati.  Technology-Enhanced Learning in Developing Nations: A Review. , 2008 .

[30]  C. Clement,et al.  Barriers to the Introduction of ICT into Education in Developing Countries: The Example of Bangladesh , 2012 .