Abstract
The paper explores the views about Internet technologies among users within the Department of Theatre Arts. It also scrutinizes the implications of the views in relation to full integration of the technology into vital sectors of Nigerian education and most especially the teaching of theatre and film. Two institutions, Lagos State University (LASU) and Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), both in Lagos State, were used as case studies. The research bases its theoretical framework on postcolonial and social
constructivist theory, using these theories to interpret its findings on the pedagogical use of Internet technologies for theatre and film in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The descriptive survey research method was employed, using a pragmatic approach and a mixed methods research design. The stratified random sampling method was used to select the population sample. 100 students and 24 lecturers were drawn from the Department of Theatre Arts within the two institutions (50 Students from the respective departments) to answer the questionnaire in order to provide qualitative data. In addition, the purposive sampling technique was used in selecting 24 staff (academics), 12 each from the two institutions, who were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. Focus group discussions were also organized for additional data, in order to ensure the adequacy and reliability of the questionnaire and interview data. The study identifies the challenges associated with Internet use in the Nigerian environment, particularly for educational purposes. However, it also establishes that most of these challenges are not peculiar to that environment, but are associated with the dialectics of social change and pedagogical development across the globe. It highlights the actions necessary on the part of the relevant bodies to deal with these problems.