Challenges for international students in using electronic resources in the Learning Centre : a case study of Oslo University College
Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to find out the challenges facing by international students in using\nelectronic resources in the OUC learning center. This research has used a qualitative approach\nand purposive, a non-probability techniques used for sampling of this study. A semi-structured\nface-to-face interviews method is used for the collection of data. The interview questions were\nopen ended and the discourse analysis method has been used for analysing data. In the data\nanalysis section the researcher has chosen to quote the most significant utterances in unedited\nform and other utterances have been included in edited form as supporting evidence.\nThe study identified a number of the challenges faced by international students in using\nelectronic resources in the OUC learning center. It also discovered some general problems in\nrelation to international students’ use of the libraries in general for instance, different\nclassification system; different library location; closed shelves; no experience using\nautomated library before; problems related to login and using FRONTER. These barriers\nwere problematic to the informants for a while, but through asking for help from the\nlibrary staff or their friends, they resolved them. So, these were not serious problems that\nneed any intervention from the learning center. But of course some substantial problems\nwhich were particularly problematic to international students in connection with using the\nelectronic resources in the OUC learning center, including: Cultural differences;\nLanguage barrier; Lack of training; Problems in user Interface; Unfamiliar teaching or\nlearning style. These are the problems uncovered, demand intervention from the learning\ncenter.\nFurthermore, in this study it is found that students from countries closely culturally\nrelated to Norway are more familiar or apt with library environment and teaching style\nthan students from countries culturally distant from Norway. It is significant that library anxiety\nor barriers with staff, judging from the results of the interviews, were absent. The students\noverwhelmingly confirmed that they were happy with the assistance of library staff and that\nthey were comfortable with using the 24/7 computer availability, printing and drop box\nfacilities for return the borrowed items.\nSuggestions for actions to increase the usefulness of the library resources for\ninternational students, include: to arrange cultural diversity workshops; both Norwegian and English compatible web page; to make available all kind of forms are in English; to arrange\nweb based training program; to provide online instruction for searching e-resources; to arrange\npractical training; to provide training program for 2/3 times; to replace the icon “book” with a\nsuitable link like “library”; online chat with a librarian 24/7.\nIt is recommended that the learning center needs to be proactive in addressing the\nproblems of these students in order to provide the learning center support required for them to\nsuccessfully pursue their studies.
Author: Md. Anisur Rahman
Language: English
Subfield: Library and Information Sciences
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1144220577