Basic computer literacy skills expected of students by instructors at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College

Abstract

This study examined the basic computer literacy skills expected of first year students at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College (WITC) in the Fall 2000 semester. Instructors at WITC were asked their current and future (2 year) expectations of entry-level students’ basic computer literacy skills through an online survey. The survey questionnaire followed the computer literacy classifications of Clyde (1997) in the following five areas: hardware or equipment, operating system, applications software, use of the information system, and using information contained within the system with a 5-point Likert scale response format. The study was conducted online. Each program instructor at WITC was sent an email describing this research along with a hyperlink to the questionnaire web page. UW-Stout Academic Computing Service processed the survey results for data analysis. Trends of current and future basic computer literacy skills expected of first year students are examined along with consideration for further studies.