Perceptions and use of cloud in academic activities: a study of a public university in Bangladesh

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the initial understanding of what perceptions have the faculty members of Dhaka University and how they use cloud for academic activities. Design/methodology/approach A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect responses from the faculty members of Dhaka University. An online questionnaire was sent out to the faculty members of Dhaka University via e-mail. The questionnaire was both open and close-ended. Overall, 125 respondents participated in this survey and convenience sampling method was used. Mann–Whitney and chi-square test were carried out to see the influence of demographic characteristics on cloud use for teaching and learning activities. Findings The results showed that faculty members are generally aware of cloud computing, and they are using some of the cloud applications for teaching and learning purposes. They use cloud for research, collaboration, faculty-students engagement, student supporting activities and sharing course materials. They identified limited wireless access or internet facilities, lack of ICT infrastructure and lack of cloud training and knowledge as major constraints. However, these constraints are mainly related to the poor IT infrastructure and limited access to internet, which may also lead to other constraints. Originality/value This is the first time an attempt has been made to explore the perception and use of cloud among the faculty members in a public university, Bangladesh. The findings of this study may shed light to other align research areas of cloud computing in Bangladesh.