Quality of Internet Use by Teachers in the United Arab Emirates.

Introduction The Internet is a worldwide of computer networks linked by high speed communication channels. It is considered to be the best medium for highly sophisticated communications. As a medium of highly purposeful and creative communication and publishing, the Internet has revolutionized the access to information. Which in return influenced all areas of life including industry, business, arts, agriculture, and education. The number of Internet users is increasing at a very fast rate. People of different ages, gender, ethnicity and academic qualifications are using the Internet for different purposes. Hills and Argyle (2003) found that 83% of people of both genders used the Internet and spent an average of 7.9 hours per week on line. Of course, educated people use the Internet more than less educated (Taylor, 1999; Odell et al, 2000) and younger people are more likely to use Internet more frequently (Hills and Argyle, 2003). The Internet impacted various means of life but its impact over education is of special interest. Educational benefits of using the Internet in education are boundless. Though educators have identified many benefits of using the Internet including, but not restricted to, easy access to learning resources, tasteful delivery of instruction, efficient learning and communication. Becker (1999) considered the Internet to be the most valuable for teachers among computer technologies since it creates an environment in which teachers can have more time to work with individual students. In addition, it can make communication between teachers and students more targeted and directed (Boer, 2001). Further, the Internet instruction makes lessons more interactive and changes students from passive to independent and active learners (Fetherson, 1999). What's more, is that the use of Internet in the Classroom has positively impacted relationships between teachers and students. Schofield and Davidson (2003) identified four factors that contribute to this positive impact: more private and personal context for teacher-student interaction, teachers' enhanced appreciation of students' capabilities, increased student enjoyment and motivation, and increased autonomy. Teachers should use the Internet in ways that improve individual student's learning and skill development though using the Internet in an effective manner is a very challenging task for them because they need to be content experts, technology specialists, motivators, cooperative and collaborative learning advocates and monitors of student progress (Abtar & Kuldip, 2001). Egnatoff (1996) argues that for teachers to use the Internet wisely, they should be committed to overcome technical obstacles and acquire considerable technical knowledge. In addition, they need to understand how the Internet can be a facilitator of their instruction and their students' learning. According to Sunal, Smith, Sunal, and Britt(1996), Internet use by teachers and students can be divided into five levels: Level 1 is reached when the teacher obtains content information; Level 2 is reached when the teacher shares these information with the students; If the teacher infuses the Internet information into a lesson, then level 3 is reached. The class reaches level 4 if the teacher facilitates a student directed project; and finally if the teachers plan and implement their use of the Internet, then level 5 is reached. Involving students in Internet-based projects support the constructivist learning environment in the classroom. Also, the use of computers and Internet is related to teachers' use of constructivist teaching practices and may change their pedagogical beliefs underlying such practices (Becker and Ravitz, 2000). Many studies tried to investigate the use of Internet in different educational settings. For example, Gibson and Oberg (1997) conducted a study to investigate the use of Internet as an educational tool. …