The purpose of this action research was to explore the information and communication technology (ICT) literacy skills of first-year minority students at Saint Augustine's University in order to develop a plan for an ICT professional development program. ICT skills are essential in our rapidly-changing and technology-driven society. While there is…

This study focused on formative use of peer feedback in an online system that was used in basic computer literacy for word processing assignment-related purposes. Specifically, the effect of quantity, modality and satisfaction of peer feedback provided through the online system on students' performance, self-efficacy, and technology acceptance was…

Most freshmen taking required, introductory information systems courses do not understand why they are required to take such courses and can't imagine that they will learn anything they don't already know. This paper presents an exercise that will excite and enthuse students about their computers and Information Systems in general. Every freshman…

Teaching students to create computer games has become a common practice in both K-12 and tertiary education to introducing programming concepts, increasing student engagement, and recruiting majors and minors in technology fields. This study describes a project where first-year college students in an introductory technology concepts course use a…

This study addresses why women are underrepresented in Computer Science (CS). Data from 1319 American first-year college students (872 female and 447 male) indicate that gender differences in computer self-efficacy, stereotypes, interests, values, interpersonal orientation, and personality exist. If students had had a positive experience in their…

The main objective of our study is to determine the challenges faced during the process of teaching Computer Science in a university of a country in transition and make suggestions to improve this teaching process by perfecting the necessary conditions. Our survey builds on the thesis that we live in an information age; information technology is…

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors related to self-efficacy for Java programming among first year engineering students. An instrument assessing Java programming self-efficacy was developed from the computer programming self-efficacy scale of Ramalingam & Wiedenbeck. The instrument was administered at the beginning of the…

Low retention rates in third-level computing courses, despite continuing research into new and improved computer teaching methods, present a worrying concern. For some computing students learning programming is intimidating, giving rise to lack of confidence and anxiety. The noncognitive domain of anxiety with regard to learning computer…

Computer literacy has evolved from writing simple BASIC programs to using desktop productivity applications. The shift from mainframe to personal computer brought about the need to rethink computer literacy courses to introduce basic skills and familiarity using desktop productivity applications. While these skills remain important, the recent…

A study was conducted at the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Eau Claire and UW-Stout in 1992 to assess the computer skills of incoming college freshmen. Information about the students' computer skills was obtained through the use of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to 92 students at UW-Eau Claire and 86 students at UW-Stout.…

Describes a project at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey to encourage women to enroll in courses with a large computer technology component and to enable those women to be successful when they take computing courses. Explains the development of a first-year seminar that was created to improve women's computer skills. (LRW)

Following the exponential increase in the global usage of the Internet as one of the main tools for communication, the Internet established itself as the fourth most powerful media. In a similar vein, computer literacy education and related courses established themselves as the essential components of the Faculty of Communication and Media…

This paper describes the change in student attitudes after taking a computer literacy course which is part of a 6-week pre-college summer session. The summer session is designed for the educationally and financially disadvantages students of the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) and students from the ACCESS program who do not meet normal…

This paper reports on the results of a preliminary investigation of the extent to which first-year students entering a university during the summer, who enroll in the introductory information systems course in a college of business, meet the requirements for the course upon entrance. A second objective is to recommend a course of action to be…

Many colleges and universities require incoming students to demonstrate a prescribed level of computer proficiency. Currently, many educational institutions offer introductory computer courses to assist students in meeting this requirement. Other institutions are considering eliminating introductory computer courses with the expectation that…