The use of the internet by pre-service teachers' for educational purposes

The aim of the research is to investigate why students at the Faculty of Education use the Internet. The sample of the study consisted of 348 students (178 female, 170 male) enrolled in the Faculty of Education at Bayburt University in Turkey. The data was collected using a survey which is consisted of seven questions developed by the researchers. The obtained data was statistically analyzed and responses given by students were calculated as frequency (f) and percent (%) values. The findings indicated that students frequently use the Internet for academic purposes, general subjects and communication. Additionally, it was determined that students use the Internet on average a few times per week both for academic purposes and general subjects. It was found that students mostly downloaded text material from the Internet while they were searching a subject. According to the results of the study students prefer to access Turkish web sites more than English web sites for academic purposes. It is held that students use the Internet more than library while they are searching for academic purposes. Furthermore, it is stated that nearly half of students believed that the Internet services can take the place of the libraries. At the same time, majority of the students believed that the interne improves students' achievement.