Abstract:

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been widely recognized as a tool for human development (UNDP, 2001). The rate at which ICT technologies are growing is changing the way knowledge is developed, acquired and delivered (Tongia, Subrahmanian, Arunachalam, 2005). Internet is one of the Information and Communication Technologies that brought massive change in the ways people communicate and how information is exchanged across the globe. Educational sector has been strongly influenced by the emergence of Internet Technologies since the growth of Internet has changed how knowledge is developed, acquired and delivered (Sookram, 2008). Digital literacy is a prerequisite for students of this generation. Studies say that females always lag behind males in adapting to Internet technologies in India (Icube, 2009). This paper focuses on how can the female learners who cannot take advantage of Internet technologies that transform learning be empowered through Internet usage? The paper center on an Action Research Project conducted in a University in Southern India to empower the female students through Internet usage. The study was done to find out the problems the female students faced in gaining access and using Internet and how they can be empowered through Internet usage. Future workshop was conducted to find out the problems and a research design was formulated in consultation with the participants. Action research model for reflective Internet searching developed by Edwards & Bruce (2002) was deployed in the study where students did the Internet searching based on the action research cycle of planning, acting, recording and reflecting. The paper will explore the various cultural issues and explicate how the social context plays a major role on in the use of Internet even if there is sufficient access. These issues will be addressed from an empowerment perspective. The paper ends by recommending the methods to be adopted for more acceptance of Internet use by female students in developing countries.

Keywords:

Internet, Action Research, Gender, Empowerment.