Long essay on “student’s use of internet services for leisure”
Introduction
The Internet is the biggest innovation after the inception of industrial revolution. The phenomena have opened up vast and immeasurable opportunity and potentials. It has changed corporate culture, business operational modalities and has provided a level platform for the people to operate. The Internet has impacted on nations economically, educationally and socially that they describe it as evolutionary agent of change. The world has become a global village where people can meet, discuss, share ideas, buy and sell in a matter of seconds. The internet impact has been tremendous in the world generally. It allows students to broaden their academic experience, access information and communicate to others within any academic community (Tella, 2007). The Internet has created opportunities for storing, organizing, accessing and disseminating information in ways and methods hitherto unknown.Using a standard web browser, for example, students can easily access academic information such as course schedules, grades, unofficial transcript, and search for courses that they are interested in pursuing. Additionally, they can communicate with their classmates and faculty members during leisure. Leisureis one’s discretionary time spent in non-compulsory activities, time spent away from cares and toils. Because leisure is free from compulsory activities, such as education, employment, running a business, household chores and other such day-to-day stresses, not including eating and sleeping, it’s often referred to as ‘free time’(Encarta, 2009).
Concept of Internet and Internet Services
The Internet, according to Wells (2000), is a computer mediated communication tool, providing the individual with access to a broad spectrum of information and unique communication technologies. The Internet allows students to broaden their academic experiences, access important information, and communicate to others within any academic community. The Internet is a valuable source of information used by students in projects and assignments.
Internet services refers to the means by which users connect to the Internet. According to Wikipedia (2006), common methods of Internet access include dial-up, landline over coaxial cable, fiber optic and copper wire. Internet can be accessed in the following places: libraries, Internet cafes, and various places where computers with internet connections are available.
Taking University of Uyo for example, students are to access the Internet after official lecture hours. This is to avoid their leaving their valuable time to “play” on the Internet. Meanwhile, the University of Uyo authority has installed e-library facilities which are made available to students at all time (Post Graduate students’ handbook, 2007).
Comparison of users with dial-up access in Nigeria indicates that users engage in greater variety of online activities, spend more time online, and create more Internet content. Today, Internet plays a vital role in the research, teaching and learning process. It is assumed that students feel more independent on the Internet for their class assignments and get the latest information on specific subject areas than conventional information resources.
The Internet provides several platforms for flexible learning situations. The options for individual or institution include the following: visual or spatial learning where learning is done using graphical images and 3D models of objects. Internet technologies that support this type of learning include the World Wide Web and all its images, and 3D modelling languages such as VRML (Virtual Reality Modelling Language), musical and sound learningwhich is the ability or preference to use music and sound to understand educational material. This form is supported by downloadable sound files on WWW and real time on-demand audio. Another is the intra-personal learningwhich involves learning by encouraging or requiring students to understand their own feelings, Internets, goals, etc. Internet technologies that support this type of learning are interactive questionnaires on WWW or downloadable multimedia applications (also known as applets). The Inter-personallearning method is also available. Here learning is done by discussing with others. Internet technologies that support this type of learning include text, audio and video conferencing, e-mail, discussion mailing lists, newsgroups. Finally, learning could also be linguistic-based and mathematic-based:here, learning is by understanding words and language and reading; as well as by the user seeking to understand mathematics. Internet technologies that support these types of learning include gopher, lynx (a text-based WWW browser); and new formatting methods that can be used to display mathematical questions on the WWW respectively.
Types of Internet Services
Ezekwe and Muokebe (2014) enumeratedInternet services as follows:
- World Wide Web (WWW)
www is a graphical hypertext way of using the Internet using the HTTP protocol for transmitting web pages and other information over the Internet, in principle, between the servers and the user’s computer.
- Electronic Mail (e-mail)
Services which is much earlier than the World Wide Web and has won hearts of the users. The idea that in few minutes you can deliver, text, image, audio or video recording of any person on the planet was unfeasible until recently, but now, thanks largely to the rapid expansion of the number of Internet users and the increasing speed of communication, was to become a reality of business and social communication.
- FTP-(file transfer protocol)
Before, the world wide web and FTP was the only way to transfer large file between users allows access to a computer on the Internet (if its public or available to the password), preview content on its hard disk, finding the necessary files and copy on its own disk.
- IRC (Internet relay chat)
This Service allows the Internet to one or more of Internet users who are hooked to the same channel at the same time see the text that you type on your computer, and the texts of other active users typing on his computer.IRCis also a system that allows Internet users to talk online in real-time, it is a software-dependent method of chatting online and to use the IRC, you connect to the Internet then launch the IRC software program.
- Telnet
Internet Service allows the user log on and runs on a remote computer and use programs installed on the remote computers. Of course, the remote computer must be enabled in the user access rights to the computers.
- Gopher/Wais/Archie/Veronica
- Gopher- a server that helps you find information on the Internet using menus
- Wais- ‘wide area information servers’-searches for documents on the internet
- Archie- servers that contain a list of files that can downloaded using FTP
- Veronica- a program to search Gopher space, the world of Gopher menus.
- Search Engines
The catalog of web pages are created by “Spiders” and “Crawlers” – programs that visit the web pages. An example is AltaVista.
- Directories
The directory of web pages are created by humans. An example is Yahoo!
Characteristics of Internet Services
Users from their computers at work or at home by joining the Internet including student can: (free-dialup.net 2010).
- Exchange electronic mail (e-mail) to any Internet users in any location on the planet.
- Participate in off-line (directly, not in real time) discussion via e-mail with people with similar interests through ‘Mailing list’ and ‘News Group’
- Participate in live (in real time) in a conversation with another person via the ‘internet video phone’ (like Skype, Imo), or audio-video conferencing between multiple people using a specially designed computer programs and equipment.
- Participate in on-line (directly, in real time) written discussion with a larger group of people who use the ‘Internet Relay Chat’ (IRC) service-chat rooms.
- To work on a remote computer using the ‘Telnet’ service or some per-function quite the same.
- Take files of any type (download) from remote computers and deliver files (upload) them with an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) service.
- Learning and practicing for the exam and achieve appropriate certification.
- Paying bills through the ‘Internet Banking’
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