Date of Award

4-19-2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

First Advisor

Richard Landry

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the basic computer skills of incoming freshmen at the University of Mary and examine the perception students had of their basic computer skills. A basic computer skills component had been added to the core curriculum at the University of Mary. Students needed to be assessed to determine if they met the basic computer skills requirement for the core curriculum.A total of 128 freshmen students at a Midwest university completed a survey and assessment. The Student Perceptions of Computer Skills Survey consisted of three main sections: demographics, pre-assessment of perceived basic computer skills, and post-assessment of perceived basic computer skills. The assessment instrument that was utilized in this study to evaluate the basic computer skills of freshmen was the Skills Assessment Manager (SAM). This assessment tool provided a hands-on simulated environment where students were asked to perform computer tasks.Computer skills of students were assessed in six categories: word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, database, computer concepts, and Internet concepts. Students rated themselves with higher skill levels in database after completing the assessment and lower skill level in Internet concepts after completing the assessment. Overall, incoming freshmen averaged 78.8% on the assessment for all six skill categories. Presentation skills were the highest level of computer competency with computer concepts being the lowest. Significant relationships were found in four of the six skill categories with post-assessment perceptions of basic computer skills and actual basic computer skills (word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and database). No significant differences were found in perception or actual basic computer skills of students by gender, size of high school graduating class, or parents' level of education.Recommendations from the study have implications for enhancing curriculum in introduction to computer courses, assessing the basic computer skills of incoming freshmen, and for developing policy.

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