Computer Knowledge, Skills, and Experiences of Students Enrolled in Undergraduate Courses in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

NACTA Journal, Mar 2004 by Smith, James H, Villareal, Vanessa, Akers, Cindy, Haygood, Jacqui

In order for computers to be successful in the classroom, good software is essential. Departments and disciplines must address the use of computers in the courses, along with computer-related work. Faculty members need to consider how technology is valued by other colleagues in their discipline (Brent, 1999).

The final interest group is publishers of software and textbooks. Software publishers have an important position influencing the development of computer applications. Software must be appropriate for the course, interesting to the students, and capable of running on computers available to students and faculty. Today, textbook publishers are offering software with their textbooks, usually a CD-ROM. Additional resources for the classroom include Web pages supported by publishers in support of their texts.

According to Brent (1999), computers in the classroom will continue to be affected by the interaction among these various interest groups. "Successful technology in the classroom will need to meet the needs of each group" (Brent, 1999, p. 173).

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of this study was to analyze computer experiences, self-perceived level of computer skills, and computer knowledge of students enrolled in undergraduate courses in the CASNR at Texas Tech University. The following objectives were formulated to accomplish the purpose of this study:

1. Determine demographie characteristics along with computer experiences of students;

2. Determine self-perceived level of computer skills of students;

3. Determine computer knowledge of students as measured by scores on the exam portion of the Computer Experiences and Knowledge Inventory (CEKI); and

4. Determine relationship between demographic characteristics, computer experiences, self-perceived level of skills, and scores on the exam portion of the CEKI.

Method and Procedures

A descriptive-correlational design was used in this study. The instrument used to collect data for this study was a modified version of the Computer Experiences and Knowledge Inventory (CEKI) developed by the University of Arkansas. The CEKI consisted of three sections. The first section provided descriptive demographic and prior computer experience data. The second section included 8 Likert-type items requiring students to assess their selfperceived level of skill in specific areas of computer experiences. The third section consisted of 33 multiple choice items designed to measure computer knowledge.

The CEKI was pilot-tested by a group of students that were not included in the sample for this study, to verify instrument reliability and make changes and clarifications prior to conducting the study. The instrument was found to be reliable with a Cronbach's coefficient alpha of .89 for Part Two, and a Kuder-Richardson-20 of .72 for Part Three. The reliability of Part One of the CEKI was not assessed, since, according to Salant and Dillman (1994), responses to non-sensitive, demographic items are subject to "very little measurement error" (p. 87).