SOME FACTORS INFLUENCING THE USE OF INTERNET IN STUDYING, TEACHING AND DOING RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES, VNU-HCMC

Abstract

We are now entering the era of globalization, knowledge economy and learning society with the explosion of information through many channels, in which Internet is the most outstanding. Internet is the global network sytem with diversified and updated information in various fields as well as the tool for communication and information exchange for everyone without limits in time and space. In higher education, the exploitation and the effective use of the Internet to serve teaching, studying and doing scientific research is an urgent need in order to modernize and improve the quality of present-day education, contributing to the widening of knowledge horizon, to the strengthening of critical thinking skills, of creativety and life-long learning capacity. It is necessary to find out the main factors, especially those related to skills and competence, which can influence the efficiency of teachers’ and students’ internet exploitation so as to work out appropriate plans and measures for quality improvement. The paper covers three main areas. Section 1 focuses on the theoretical base of the Internet, Internet users’ activities, and some requirements for effective use of the Internet. Section 2 presents some research outcomes on the factors influencing the extent and efficiency of Internet use in teaching, studying and doing scientific research conducted by USSH-VNU-HCM teaching staff and students. The last section proposes some basic solutions for the improvement of Internet use in teaching, studying and doing scientific research conducted by USSH-VNU-HCM teaching staff and students.