1. 41SHODH, SAMIKSHA AUR MULYANKAN
International Indexed & Refereed Research Journal, ISSN 0974-2832,(Print) E- ISSN-2320-5474, December,2013, VOL-V * ISSUE- 59
Research Paper
December , 2013
Introduction
Informationandcommunicationstechnology
or information and communication technology, usu-
ally abbreviated as ICT, is often used as an extended
synonym for information technology (IT). ICT con-
sists of IT as well as telecommunication, broadcast
media, all types of audio and video processing and
transmission and network based control and monitor-
ing functions. The term ICT is now also used to refer
to the mergingofaudio-visualand telephonenetworks
with computer networks through a single cabling or
link system. ICTs use is depends on the services pro-
vided to the group or country, which is based on In-
come, geographical location, education, age, gender
are some of the factors.
While the impact of ICT on sectors such as
banking,tourism,medicine,engineeringetc.havebeen
enormous, the uptake of ICT in education is fraught
withdifficulties.Lackoffunding,trainingamongprac-
titioners,motivationand perceived needamongteach-
ers to adopt ICT as teaching tools impede the required
uptake of ICT in education.
The main purpose ofICT in education means
implementing of ICT equipment and tools in teaching
and learningprocess asa media and methodology.The
purpose ofICT in education is generally to familiarize
students with the use and workings of computers, and
related social and ethical issues.
In India, the need for reforms in education by
harnessing newICTs is increasingly being accepted as
essential by universities and cultural organizations
acrossIndia.TheNationalPolicyforICTinEducation,
underformulation,highlightstheneedtointegrateICT
as a subject in the curriculum as well as to strengthen
the overall teaching learning process. Open and dis-
tance education systems in India use EDUSAT and
ImprovingQualityInHigherEducation
ThroughE-learningManagementSystem
* Reena Masih
*23,AkashTown,TulsiGarnalaRoad,Anand.
A B S T R A C T
Information and communication technology (ICT) has brought about a revolution in every walk of Today's life. Particularly
it has become an integral part of education and its impact on teaching and learning is widely accepted. Computer literacy,
internet knowledge and mobile use are one of the major parts of student's life. But it has been seen that ICT is mostly favored
by the students of other discipline as compared to arts discipline. Even in the Indian content, the boys are much more aware
about it. They know about the internet as well as Wi-Fi and mobile use also. But the students of arts discipline especially
the girls are not aware about use of ICT. This study will reflect why there is less use of ICT; how it can be increase the level
of usage among the girl students of arts discipline in Gujarat.
otherTVandradiochannelsfordeliveringcontent.But
ICT is yet to be used significantly for the delivery of
content.
The University Grants Commission (UGC), the apex
body responsible for maintaining standards in higher
education in India, has acknowledged the role of ICT
inimprovingteaching-learningparadigms,buildingnew
knowledge, collaborating with peers and in the gover-
nance of education in universities.
World Economic Forum and INSEAD have
published their report for Network Readiness Index,
Outof138countriestrackedandrankedbywidespread
use of mobile phones, Internet, personal computer as
well as regulatory environment and IT infrastructure,
China ranks 36th and India 48th.
KCG-KnowledgeConsortiumofGujarathas
made concerted efforts to transform the State through
the up gradation in terms of ICT resources. KCG has
playedakeyroleintheprocessthroughwhichcolleges
canacquire1GBPSinternetconnectionintheState.As
per the scheme of the central government, the 75 %
amount for the internet connection will be paid by the
MHRD and the remaining 25 % to be paid by the state
universities. Gujarat is the only state in the country to
pay the 25 % of the amount which is supposed to be
paid by the state universities.
KCG proposes to promote e-content devel-
opment in Gujarati too under the project `Sakshat - thi
-Shikshith'.GujaratwillbethefirstStateinthecountry
to promote e-content development in the regional lan-
guage as a State level initiative.
InN.S.PatelArtsCollegearesearchworkhas
been carried out of 35 students. They were chosen on
the basis of simple random sampling to understand
how the girl students relate to new ICTs especially the
Internet.

2. 42 SHODH, SAMIKSHA AUR MULYANKAN
International Indexed & Refereed Research Journal, ISSN 0974-2832,(Print) E- ISSN-2320-5474, December,2013, VOL-V * ISSUE- 59
Theobjectivesofthestudy:
1.Assess the level of awareness about Internet among
graduate students in arts discipline.
2. Identify the various factors that affect the students'
use of Internet.
3. Know the students' awareness, perceptions and use
of the Internet and the reasons for not using ICT.
Analysis ofTheData
Generalprofileofthestudents
Students who participated in the study fall
under the age group of 18-20 years. Majority of them
(80% boys and 73% girls) live in Panchayat area.
Apart from the computer training received at school,
many respondents had also received specialized train-
ingfromprivatecomputercenters.Thespecializedtrain-
ingconsistsofofficePackages(MSWord,Excel).Stu-
dents most commonly use word processor to prepare
projectreports as wellas power point for presentation.
Amongthosewhowerefamiliarwithcomput-
ers,fewergirlshadusedtheInternet-60%girls.Internet
use is not promoted by educational institutions or
private institutions on which these students depend
for training. Thus, even though students, especially
girls, gain exposure to computers, they don't seem to
gain much insight into the use of computers for infor-
mation gathering and communication. It is widely be-
lieved that computer training enhances ones employ-
ability and publicity by private computer institutes
continues to hitch on this promise. Yet training in
Internetapplicationshasnotgainedrecognitionamong
entrepreneurs and the public.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Percentage
Below rs.5000
5000-10000
Above rs.10000
We see that monthly parental income of 74%
is more than 10000rs. 23% of the respondent's family
income is 5000-10000rs. And remaining 3% respon-
dents' income is below 5000rs.
Academicprofileofthestudents
We did a profiling of the schooling and past
performance of the students who participated in the
study to find out patterns, if any, that suggest relation-
ships between academic performance and adoption of
ICT.
Ananalysisoftheacademicbackgroundofstudents
showsthat:
A majority of the students had studied in
Gujaratimediumschools.Only6%girlshadEnglishas
their medium of instruction at school. A profiling of
interests and other activities shows that, girls attach
great importance to studies as well as games/hobbies.
ExposuretoComputersandInternet
Another aspect that we looked into was the
extent of exposure the respondents had to Computers
and the Internet. Among those who took part in the
study, 54% girls had received training in computers
and knew basic office applications.
42
44
46
48
50
52
54
Percentage
Trained
untrained
Yes , 60
No , 40
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Percentage
INTERNET USUERS
Yes No
A large number of girls said that they did not
have anyone to demonstrate the use of Internet appli-
cations. This is true even in the case of girls who have
a familymember (usuallyan olderor younger brother)
whoaccessedInternet.NotknowinghowInternetcould
actually"help"themwasaproblemforgirlsalike.They
depended on books and notes handed down by teach-
ers,and accessed Internetonlywhentheyhad aproject
or assignment due. When asked about the sites they
accessed, very few students were able to give details
of websites.
AbilityandConfidencetouseInternet
To assess ability of the students to access
Internet, we posed a question as to whether they used
Internet by themselves or with help of someone. 60%
girlsusedInternetalone.EventhegirlsfromPanchayat
place also access the internet alone. Girls usually de-
pend on net-savvy friends or brothers to browse for
examresultsortocollectmaterialfortheirassignments.
Very few students were found to be using social net-
workingsitessuch asOrkutand Facebookonly2of35
girls use social networking sites. A confidence level
among girls in accessing Internet for purposes such as
for gathering information is not high. Almost 46% of

3. 43SHODH, SAMIKSHA AUR MULYANKAN
International Indexed & Refereed Research Journal, ISSN 0974-2832,(Print) E- ISSN-2320-5474, December,2013, VOL-V * ISSUE- 59
the respondents are confident while using internet
While 37% girls can manage the situation.
Accessto Internet
Over the last fewyears, the number ofInternet cafes in
Gujarat has grown considerably. With less than 20%
student respondents having Internet connectivity at
home, the only access points available are Internet
cafes. Negative media reports on pornography, ma-
nipulationofphotos,identitytheftsetc.involvingcafes
haveaffected howpeople (inthis instance,parents and
teachers) perceive these centers. Those who visit ca-
fes took along a friend or family member or they only
visited cafestheywerequitefamiliarwith.Muchofthe
existingresearchamongschoolstudentsabroad shows
that there is clear difference between computer use at
school and at home. There are students who access the
Internet from different places such as home, college,
Internet cafes and other places. Due to problems of
access, the frequency of use of Internet by girls was
also very low. Frequency of computer use in the home
is higher than at school and those students explored
different modes of learning with computers at home
than at school. Out of 35 girls 17 girls use the internet
from cyber café. The girls suggested that if they were
providedfacilitieswithintheircollege,theywouldspend
more time to explore the net.
UseofMobilePhones
97% girls use mobile phones. Cheaper hand-
setsand affordablecallrateshavemademobilephones
more accessible for students than before. Most of the
girls use the mobile phones for voice call, texting, lis-
teningmusicandfilming(photoand video).GPRSand
file sharing are not uncommon.
When compared with use of Internet, use of
mobilephonesishigh(97%girls),whichdemonstrates
the high adoption of ICT when it easily accessible and
affordable.Theparentsaremoreprotectivewhiletheir
children use mobile phones. We were able to under-
stand from the discussions that media reports of mis-
use of mobile phones among students have created a
scare among parents.
Conclusion
ICT can be useful for learners of all kinds,
because of the resources available on the Internet,
applications that make it possible to explore subjects
and thepossibilitiesofnetworkingamonglearnersand
teachers. While Gujarat has made considerable
progress in improving computer literacy of its school
students, it is yet to create opportunities for them to be
equippedinnewinformationandcommunicationtech-
nologiesastheygo forhighereducation.Thediffusion
ofInternetexemplifiestherealityofglobalization,and
education needs to be geared towards enabling stu-
dents to thrive in this new world order. ICT combined
with lectures, books, and other traditional media and
waysofteachingisalreadythenorminhighereducation
sector of many developed countries. Students of arts
discipline, as compared to students of professional
courses, do not receive exposure to ICTs since their
courses are largely modeled on conventional peda-
gogy. The three year graduation course does not in-
volve any ICT related activity. There is no ICT
programme to build on the capacity of the students as
visualizedbytheUGCatthecollegelevel.Effortsinthis
direction are ad hoc, and not systematized.
The present study also demonstrates the
social acceptability of accessing Internet. The socio-
cultural ethos of Gujarat makes Internet out of bounds
for girls, unlessthey are from highincome groups who
can afford connectivity at home. The proper use of it
is depends on the students capability as well as its
mentalitytoo.Manyatimethehomeenvironmentplays
vital role in the student's mentality.
New learning spaces need to be created to
addressthese concerns within institutions. Networked
computing facilities provided by colleges are inad-
equate.Collegesshouldprovidemorenetworkedcom-
puters to students, and facilitate fair and equitable
access to Internet forgirls. Training in ICT needs to be
imparted to both students and the faculty members of
artsdiscipline.Women-friendly/Women-onlyInternet
cafes need to be established and promoted by organi-
zations.
Suggestions:
The research has been focused upon the use
ofICTamongthegirlsofArtstream;basicallyinGujarat
theArts students never show their extra interest out of
class work. Their fully depends upon the class notes
and the library. So after this research study it can be
suggested to the students as well as the teachers to
encourage the girl students for proper and appropriate
use of ICT.
* To encourage students for e-learning
* Wide use of internet surfing for the information
* Appropriate and correct use of internet facility
* Extra work on current technology
1. ICT world report 2003
2. P. Tata, "Local heroes", New Scientist, vol. 174, No. 2341 (2002)
3. C. Ainsworth, "Slum TV", New Scientist, vol. 174, No. 2341 (2002)
4. Magazines and news papers
R E F E R E N C E