www.tjprc.org editor@tjprc.org USAGE PATTERN OF ICT TOOLS BY THE FARM VARSITY STUDENTS IN INDIA T. SRINIVAS 1 , P. PUNNA RAO 2 , T. VENKATA SRIDHAR 3 , T. RAMESH BABU 4 & N. SUNDERA RAO 5 1 Professor (Academic & Education), Office of Dean of Agriculture, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Lam, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India 2 Principal Agriculture Information Officer, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Lam, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India 3 Associate Professor (Academic & Education), Office of Dean of Agriculture, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Lam, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India 4 Professor (Entomology) & Head, Agricultural College, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India 5 Senior Research Fellow, ICAR-Extramural Project, Office of Dean of Agriculture, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Lam, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India ABSTRACT The present study was conducted in seven farm universities of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar and Jharkhand states. Data were collected from 1051 students of 18 colleges pursuing Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Husbandry courses. The interactive white board, television and projector were used daily by most of the students, while e-library and university website were occasionally used. Daily usage of ICT resources was more in Bihar followed by Telangana, Jharkhand and AP. The occasional usage of ICTs was more in AP followed by Telangana and at par in other two states. The availability of personal ICT tools was more in Jharkhand followed by Telangana, Bihar and AP. The availability of mobile/tablet was high in all states, while PC/Laptop and net connectivity was more with students of Jharkhand. KEYWORDS: Information and Communication Technologies, Agricultural Universities, Usage Pattern & Purpose of Use Received: Jul 26, 2018; Accepted: Aug 16, 2018; Published: Sep 07, 2018; Paper Id.: IJASROCT20184 INTRODUCTION Education is a dynamic force in the life of every individual, influencing his physical, mental, emotional, social and ethical developments. Recognizing the important role of education as a main driver of development and in achieving other proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the vision proposed by SDG4 is ensures ‘inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” (Incheon declaration, 2030 of World Education Forum, 2015). To achieve the target of SDG4, transformation is needed in education, where Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) must be more harnessed to strengthen education systems more so, in agricultural education also. Original Article International Journal of Agricultural Science and Research (IJASR) ISSN(P): 2250-0057; ISSN(E): 2321-0087 Vol. 8, Issue 5, Oct 2018, 23-30 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.