## 2 Literature Review
### Factors Affecting Students' ICT Fluency  
The term ICT fluency refers to ICT skills, i.e., the level of proficiency and understanding in the concepts of Information and Communication Technologies [17]. According to the literature, factors such as gender, student urban/rural origin, class year, major, ICT educational experience, parent encouragement, and English language level often influence ICT fluency among students [18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23]. Table 1 contains the background research of factors affecting students' ICT fluency. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{p{142.3 pt} p{227.6 pt}} \hline \hline
**Factor** & **Background Research** \\ \hline \multirow{8}{*}{_Parent encouragement_} & Parents and family are the other vital factors that affect students’ attitudes over computers. In the study of first-year students in Iran and Taiwan, respectively[PERSON] [21] and [PERSON] [24] found that access to computers with the help of parents helped students develop their computer skills and that students with educated parents expressed the tendency to have more knowledge and confidence over utilizing computers. Despite this, students’ interest and confidence in computer work have decreased, especially for girls, who think their parents possess stereotyped views over computers. The previous study found that there are gender differences in the way parents encourage their children to use technology, indicating that parents are more protective of girls than boys. A study conducted by [PERSON] [18] on the use of the Internet and television in EA students revealed that parents minimize or limit the use of the Internet in their girls more than in sons. \\ \cline{1-1}  & \multicolumn{1}{p{227.6 pt}}{} \\ \cline{1-1}  & \multicolumn{1}{p{227. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{p{142.3 pt} p{284.5 pt}} \hline \hline
**Factor** & \multicolumn{1}{c}{**Background Research**} \\ \hline \multirow{8}{*}{_Gender_} & The researchers found a continuing dissimilarity among females and males in their anxiety levels associated with using ICT in EA universities. While most students described themselves as confident or very confident with ICT, at least 17\% of females compared to 25\% of males reported being apprehensive or very apprehensive about using ICT as after the first year of their college studies [5; 25]. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [20] study also unveils the evidence that ICT usage varies by gender. For example, females report that they use computers predominantly for communication, while males say they use it for entertainment. The use of ICT for school work is higher among males than among females. In addition to usage, confidence levels associated with ICT also vary by gender. Males tend to rate their ICT fluency higher than females. Researchers have found large gaps between the reality and perception of students’ fluency with ICT in developing countries [22; 23]. Most undergraduate students report that they have excellent technology skills. Similarly, faculty and administrators often expect students to be fluent with technology [22; 23]. However, [PERSON] [19] found that college students do not generally perform at perceived levels. They contend that many college students graduate without the technical skills necessary to be successful in the workplace because of weak ICT education. \\ \hline \multirow{8}{*}{_Student urban/rural origin_} & The literacy rate in urban Africa is higher than in rural areas [26]. In urban areas, the population without a formal education is between 16\% and 18\%, and everyone among them can read and write. However, it is estimated that half of the rural population does not obtain any formal education. Rural schools and their teachers have very little experience [26]. As a result, most rural residents lack the skills to use standard software packages since they have no digital learning in schools. Moreover, there are cultural differences between rural and urban areas, which can affect the acceptance of the technology. Many EA cities have several people with different origins.