Abstract:

The information and communication technologies ICT, make it possible to find, manage and edit digital information from communications and interact with an online information network [8]. The new digital era increases the amount of information and access to it with the potential for using varied resources in different ways for instruction and learning [9]. Digital tools are currently widespread, fully permeating all areas of education [6]. The school census in Brazil offers relevant information about schools, teachers, and students in the school network. Analysis of information compared with other secondary data such as population censuses can provide information for policy makers and strategy makers. The objective of this study is to investigate the prevalence and association of the use of information and communication technologies in the teaching and learning process in cities in the semiarid region of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

Methods:
The research sources were data from the Brazilian Census from IBGE 1980, 1991, 2000 and 2010 [12], [13], [14], [15] and data from the School Census from the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research and Educational Research Anísio Teixeira INEP-ME 2022 [17], to use information and communication technology variables (internet access, internet for students, internet in the teaching and learning process, internet availability on computers and broadband availability). The data was analyzed using the SPSS programming language version 25 software (IBM Corp. Armonk, NY, USA), with the data categorized with basic, descriptive, and quantitative analysis.

Results:
Access to ICT information and communication technologies in teaching and learning processes is associated with increased information (e.g. [14]), with the potential to improve school approval rates. Factors such as having internet availability and access devices are factors that provide more opportunities for expanding teaching and learning, consistent with the literature (e.g. [9], [11], [13], [14]). Availability of quality internet is related to its use in teaching and learning processes (e.g. [3]).

Conclusions:
The results suggest that the supply and sufficiency of information and communication technologies in schools in the municipalities of the State of Rio Grande do Norte enhance education, with positive impacts on the economic, social, and cultural capital of young people and adults, as well as on the formation of education professionals. Determinants, prevalence, and associations should be monitored and considered in future interventions.

Keywords:

Learning technologies, digital technologies, education impact, education transformation.