Using the Internet in Teaching and Learning: The Experiences of Lecturers and Students in Durban, South Africa

The study aims at exploring the experiences of lecturers and students in the use of the Internet as a resource to facilitate teaching & learning at a University of technology. The Internet as a means of communication and interaction seems to have had a tremendous contribution to the economic, social, educational growth and other sectors of society in the world for the past two decades (Bon,2007). In a world with a global population of 6.767 billion people, Internet users alone are 1.733 billion with a growth rate of 380.3% between 2000 and 2009(Internet World Stats,2009). This growth rate shows the extent to which the Internet is being used. The various studies from the literature review reveal that the Internet has been used by lecturers and students to motivate, collaborate, facilitate and communicate with each other and this has led to improved teaching and learning (Cottrill,2005; Pritchard,2004; Egarievwe, et al.,2000; Meyer, Cronje & Eloff,2007). The findings of this study reveal that the usage of the Internet has helped lecturers & students to improve communication and interaction through sharing of ideas, opinions and thoughts using discussion forums, team work & live chat.