IT skills of university undergraduate students enrolled in a first year unit

The use of computers is becoming more widespread in education and in the wider workforce. This communication reports the results of a survey of first year undergraduate students at Deakin University, conducted at the beginning of the 2000 academic year. The high penetration of IT usage in this university sample is similar to that of a recent survey of school students conducted by Meredyth et al. [ Real Time: Computers, Change and Schooling, DETYA, Canberra, 1999]. The present study indicates that the level of IT skills is variable. There is an urgent need for IT training for university students in order to achieve successful learning outcomes using IT and to satisfy the needs of future employers.

[1]  Catherine A. Middleton,et al.  Asynchronous computer conferencing in the MBA classroom , 1999, Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences. 1999. HICSS-32. Abstracts and CD-ROM of Full Papers.

[2]  Rainer Glaser,et al.  Organic Chemistry Online: Building Collaborative Learning Communities through Electronic Communication Tools , 1999 .

[3]  James Krieger.  Chemistry Sites Proliferate On The Internet's World Wide Web: ▪ Chemical community ponders issues arising from increasing size and expanding variety of the web's chemistry domain , 1995 .

[4]  Paul Duguid,et al.  Universities in the Digital Age , 1996 .

[5]  Mark Freeman,et al.  Flexibility in access, interaction and assessment: The case for web-based teaching programs , 1997 .

[6]  Tim Duffy.  Microsoft Office 2000 Professional , 1999 .

[7]  Sue Willis,et al.  A national statement on mathematics for Australian schools , 1991 .

[8]  Denise Meredyth,et al.  Real Time: Computers,Change and Schooling , 1999 .

[9]  David McCann,et al.  Educational Technology in Higher Education , 1998 .

[10]  William F. Polik,et al.  Use of WWW Discussion Boards in Chemistry Education , 1999 .

[11]  Kieran F. Lim,et al.  Electronic communication media in the teaching of chemistry , 1999 .

[12]  Elizabeth A. Lahm,et al.  Using an Education Server Software System to Deliver Special Education Coursework via the World Wide Web , 1998 .

[13]  T. Zielinski,et al.  Teaching chemistry on-line: Why it should be done , 1996 .