Zoom Meetings and Webinars: Exploring Academic Staff Users Attitudes for Information Exchange during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Authors

  • Ifeoma Nwanneka Oraekwe Dept. of Library and Information Science, Federal Polytechnic, Oko
  • Emenari Beatrice Chidiebere Alex Ekwueme Library, Federal Polytechnic, Oko

Keywords:

: Coronavirus, covid-19, media, pandemic, resource sharing, webinar, zoom meeting

Abstract

The realities of the Coronavirus pandemic may have stimulated some positive trends in information resources and information sharing networks given the surge of zoom meetings and webinars during the lockdown as safe platforms for information exchange. The current study evaluated lecturers’ attitude towards the use of zoom and webinars as contact-less methods of information exchange and resource sharing among the academic staff of Federal Polytechnic, Oko. The design of the study was mixed method research design (descriptive survey and factorial). A total of 133 lecturers (85 males and 48 females) whose ages ranged from 25 to 60 years with mean age of 47yrs participated in the study. The method of selection for the sample is multi-stage sampling technique which integrated purposive and systematic sampling techniques. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire developed by the researcher with a reliability correlation value of r = 0.86 obtained between the first test and re-test after a three-week interval period. The pilot test was conducted via WhatsApp social media platform. Descriptive and the z-test statistics were adopted for analysis and the result revealed that respondents’ attitude towards the use of zoom and webinars as contact-less method of information exchange and resource sharing is negative with a mean midpoint of 3.12; while gender and lecturers experience had no significant difference on the attitude of lecturers on use of zoom and webinar platforms as contact-less media for information exchange and information resources sharing.. However, older lecturers significantly differed from the younger lecturers; with the younger having  positive attitude towards the use of zoom and webinars as contact-less method of information exchange and resource sharing at z(c) = 1.96, p < .05. It is recommended that tech know-how and competence in use of ICTs should be included in the requisite skills for employment besides academic competence. Regular training and retraining of staff on core technology usage should be provided for reskilling.

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Published

2024-09-15