Assessing the uses of ICT in a private lebanese university. (c2010)

Abstract

With the globalization of businesses and the dramatic advances in technology, institutions of higher education acting as creators of future leaders found it necessary to incorporate in their curricula and daily operations the use of new tools of instruction and management, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The Lebanese American University (LAU), an American university located in Beirut, Lebanon is no exception. The aim of this research work is to assess ICT uses in a private Lebanese university, in the service of academic life. The study takes into consideration faculty’s, IT administrators’ and librarians’ beliefs about, and uses of technology in their academic work. Qualitative and quantitative analysis are used in this descriptive/ assessment study. Different groups of individuals are compared and contrasted in terms of differences according to certain criteria. Questionnaires distributed to twenty faculty members in the School of Business and twenty faculty members in the School of Arts and Sciences, and interviews with four faculty, seven librarians and three IT staff at LAU are also used in gathering the data needed. The researcher hopes these results will help educators and future researchers and other entities at the university make constructive changes in their endeavors. The results show that technology is developing very fast at the university and it has many usages. Teachers use technology for course preparation, registration, research and publications and to put material on line. They also use it to communicate with students, faculty and university administration. Librarians use technology to order and to select books, to communicate with other libraries abroad and to run the work flow. The use of ICT is changing the teachers’ and librarians’ working mode to the better.