A survey of faculty and student perceptions of the use of electronic resources

The increased popularity of on-line resources presents faculty and administrators with a dilemma that deserves considerable attention. Classroom reading material is accessible on-line and appears to be used as a replacement for, and in combination with, paper-based learning materials more often recently, especially at laptop universities. The issue of textbook versus on-line information has been examined from a variety of perspectives, however, faculty, administrators and students will determine the permanence of a shift in emphasis from paper-based material to online versions of such information. Recent articles describe that about 40% of students in accredited programs do not even purchase a textbook and use other resources as a substitute. Many teachers also avoid using textbooks, because they find the material restrictive, carelessly written or boring (Hakim, 1996). This dissertation chronicled the attitudes and opinions of a number of educators and students, who used alternative text-based material, as well as attitudes and opinions of educators and students who did not use on-line material.