Awareness and Use of ICT among Under Graduate Degree Students of Rural Areas in Tuticorin District, India: A Study

The use of information and communication technologies no doubt is gaining momentum in Indian higher education . The Internet is used by faculty, staff and students in sourcing information. Information and communication technologies assist libraries in providing efficient and current information services. Once the staff and students are able to use these technologies effectively, the teaching, learning and research activities in the college will be made easier for the college community. ICT usage will facilitate development since there will be free flow of information. The electronic revolution, specifically, Internet is narrowing the information gap. The power of web technology is enabling the generator of information to disseminate their creativity at low cost and high speed. Internet is the gateway for libraries and information centers to enter the Electronic Information Era and is providing the information, generated by different organizations, institutions, research centers and individuals all over the world. This paper is an attempt to investigate the use of Information and Communication Technology among the students of rural areas in Tamil Nadu. For this purpose a survey was carried out using questionnaire tool. The findings indicated that more than half acquired their internet skill through training from the college. The results indicated majority of students used Internet weekly (56.53%). The study found that most of the respondents 73.91% use internet for literature search.