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Is a freshman-level microcomputer applications/introduction to technology course obsolete? Are students, especially new freshmen, enrolling in the course already computer literate? To determine the students' computer-literacy level, students enrolled in a Computer Information Systems course entitled Microcomputer Applications I-Introduction to Information Technology during the fall 2004 and the spring 2005 semester completed a computer literacy exam. Results indicated that the students enrolling in the course by and large were not computer literate in general computer technology and spreadsheet applications, but were computer literate in word processing, e-mail, and Internet usage. Other data from the research revealed significant differences in the pretest scores of entering freshmen and other freshmen. The higher the ACT, the better the students scored on the objective pretest exam and the performance-based pretest exam. Only a weak relationship existed, however, between taking a previous computer course and pre-test scores.
Defining computer literacy is like trying to define "life," "space" or "energy"-pursuits that may be entertaining but don't really bring much to the bottom line or shorten your to-do list....Computer literacy may be hard to define, but computer illiteracy is costly (Coffee, 2006, p. 55).
Computers are here to stay. The explosion of technology and the abundance of accessible computers in every phase of a person's life have made it a necessity for everyone to be computer literate (Higdon, 1995; Reid, 1997; WoKe, 1992). In order to prepare students with the technological knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to be productive members of the world of work, educators must be able to determine the computer literacy competencies students already possess. Currently, only approximately nine states have some form of computer literacy requirement for secondary graduation. New Jersey, for example, requires that computer literacy be integrated into the curriculum, and North Carolina requires that computer literacy be demonstrated in order to graduate (University of Minnesota, 2005). The identification of the computer literacy status of incoming students will assist educators in the planning of curricula as well as provide documentation to meet accreditation guidelines and standards.
In the literature, we found numerous definitions for the term "computer literacy" (Higdon, 1995; Laubacher, 1982; Matthews, 1997; Reid, 1997; Wolfe, 1992). In bill H.R. 3592, known as the "Education for the 21st Century (E-21) Act," computer-literacy skills...