| A four-phase study examined the barriers to Internet use for business classroom activities, looked for relationships between barriers and students' background characteristics, and identified strategies for reducing these barriers. The study population, all from one metropolitan area, consisted of students in community colleges' business classes with Internet activities. In Phase 1, students from one community college voluntarily maintained logs for three weeks of classroom-assigned Internet activities. In Phase 2, randomly selected students from one community college participated in on-campus or phone interviews, and instructors with Internet activities planned were invited to one of two focus group discussions. In Phase 3, a survey census was conducted spring semester 2000 from the study population using students' intact classes. In Phase 4, two student groups from the researcher's home institute ranked survey barrier findings during fall semester 2000; instructors were interviewed for barrier solutions; and a second student group met to confirm the rankings, barriers, and solution implementation findings.; The results were consistent with the literature on barriers and implementation, but the results also extended into areas not previously addressed. Twelve factors characterized student barriers and preferences: Attitude, Technical Assistance, General Assistance, Access Problem, Internet Communication Skill, Operating tern Skill, Word Processing Skill, Basic Internet Skill, Technical Support, Pedagogical Support, Feedback Method, and Student Evaluation. Inconsistencies were found; no characteristic was significant across all factors, implying no consistent variable has barriers to all areas; and for no factors had all characteristics significant, implying that specific demographics and characteristics are relevant to only some barriers. Further research is needed. |
