Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Approximately 600 students in the Principles of Information Systems course, our
introductory computer course required of all undergraduate business students, participated
in this study as a required assignment. During the first two weeks of the semester, the
participants completed two phases of the research study. Phase I, conducted outside of the
research facility, was actually a two-part exercise. The first part involved a Web-based
questionnaire that was used to gather basic demographic data from each participant.
Additionally, the questionnaire asked the students for a general self-assessment of their
proficiency (expert, advanced, average, some skill, or beginner) regarding computer con-
cepts, email, WWW, word processing, spreadsheets, database packages, and presentation
packages. The second part of Phase I, also a Web-based questionnaire, asked the students
to provide a detailed self-assessment of their technology proficiency. The self-assessment
asked the students to rate their ability using a five-point scale (not at all, not very well,
sometimes, most of the time, all of the time) for 29 computer concept questions, 10 Windows
Operating System questions, 19 Excel questions, 11 Access questions, and nine PowerPoint
questions. The questions were chosen to cover basic skills we would expect the students
to achieve in our traditional introductory computer course. A representative sample of the
Phase I, Part 2 questions is shown below.
Operating and File Management Tasks (10 questions in total):
- I am able to display the contents of the computer's hard drive.
Access (11 questions in total):
- I am able to delete records from a table.
Excel (19 questions in total):
- I am able to edit a formula to use absolute references.
PowerPoint (9 questions in total):
- I am able to apply a transition to a slide show.
Computer Concepts (29 multiple choice questions in total):
- I am able to identify the differences between application software and system
software.
- I am able to explain phases of the Systems Development Life Cycle.
The five areas we chose for more detailed self-assessment in Phase I, Part 2 were based
on the design of our current course. We did not ask any detailed questions about word
processing in Phase I, Part 2 because of the ubiquity of the application in education today.
We imagine that word processing would be one application in which students would self-
assess their ability at a relatively high level.
Phase II, conducted in a university research lab, was an actual assessment of the skills
that were described in Phase I, Part 2. A Web-based, multiple choice exam was used to assess
the students' actual knowledge regarding the computer concepts material. This objective test
included an “I don't know” choice for each question in an attempt to avoid having the
students guess the answer. SimNet XPert, McGraw-Hill's assessment software for Microsoft
Office XP, was used to assess their Windows, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint skills. The
assessment software tasks, as well as the concepts questions, mapped directly to the self-
assessment questions asked in Phase I, Part 2 of the study. For example, the students had
an Access activity to perform that asked them to delete records from a table.
Test administrators used a common script and were trained on the testing procedures
to avoid biasing the student answers. Students had a maximum of 90 minutes to complete
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