A study to determine if incoming students to the University of Wisconsin-Stout possess the required basic computer application knowledge and skills to begin studies effectively at the University of Wisconsin-Stout

Abstract

This research study investigated the possible differences between what computer application skills the undergraduate program directors of the University of Wisconsin- Stout expect incoming students to possess within the first week of classes and the skills the students actually possess. The study also focused on whether there are differences between the students’ perceptions of their own abilities and their actual abilities. Few studies up to this time have been based on computer application skills and specifically on those application skills the faculty of a higher educational institution require at the time of entrance. Many studies ask generic questions and are outdated for evaluating computer literacy as it applies to education needs. Past self-assessment studies have not yielded results that convince all experts in the field that self-assessments are reliable. For those reasons this study chose to use the Microsoft® Office certification requirements as the tasks the undergraduate program directors chose from to determine the tasks they deemed most important. The results of this study determined that a significant percentage of incoming freshman do not possess the required computer competencies required by the instructors using the competencies outlined in the Microsoft® Office User Specialist certification requirements. The recommendations made, as a result of this study, are to require competency testing as a requirement for high school graduation or admittance to the University, are: 1) to require computer competency testing of incoming students; 2) That teachers and instructors must take ownership on their own and become proficient in using computer applications both as a learning transfer technology and to integrate computer competencies skills of the students as part of the learning objectives; and 3) that the university align the computer skills required of graduates with the expectations of the workforce.