Role of Information Communication Technology to Develop 21st Century Skills at College Level

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of information communication technology to develop 21st century skills at college level. The study was descriptive in nature to gain a holistic perspective of the phenomenon regarding the role of ICT in the development of 21st century skills at the college level in Pakistan. Population of the study comprised of teachers and students from the graduate colleges in District Layyah. The researcher chose a sample of the study from teachers (male = 42; female = 88) and students (male = 364; female = 711) at the rate of 40% from govt. graduate colleges of district Layyah. Convenient sampling techniques were used to select the sample from population. Two self-developed questionnaires were used as research instruments in this research study. Total 1100 questionnaires were distributed to students and teachers, while 875 responses were submitted and also collected by hand. Response rate was 80%. Data was analyzed through descriptive statistics. Statistical techniques i.e. frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, were used to analyze collected data. The results of descriptive analysis of teachers and students responses indicated that 90% participants had positive response towards the role of ICT in developing 21st century skills. Data was analyzed with the help of SPSS version 22. The study found that ICT makes students (84%) efficient communicator whereas ICT provide a facility to the students (83%) to develop social relations with their fellows. Students feel that information communication technology create healthy atmosphere in the classroom and facilitate to develop social relations with fellows. The researcher recommends in his study that higher educational institutions need to consider on how instructors can become more skilled in teaching learning process with the help of IT gadgets and mobile applications to excel student’s learning process and to achieve educational objectives.