Are Your Students Like Mine?  
Preservice Students' Entering Technology Skills

The College of Education at California University of
Pennsylvania, a small regional public university, has
approximately 6,000 students enrolled in undergraduate and
graduate programs; 1,900 in the College of Education.  All
undergraduates are required to complete an introductory
educational computing course in which students study computer
operations, common productivity tools (word processing, data
base, and spreadsheet), and instructional software.

The students entering this course seemed to be largely
unfamiliar with computer hardware and software, even though
they had access to computer technology in high school (before
entering the university).  To substantiate this, quantitative
data about the nature of studentsU computer literacy skills was
collected.  The results of this study will be used to guide
curricular revisions which would also incorporate a shift from
teaching common productivity tools to teaching multimedia
technology.

During 8 semesters from the fall of 1991 to spring of 1994,
data were collected from students enrolled in the introductory
educational computing course.  Students were asked to complete
a questionnaire at the second class meeting of the semester.
The questionnaire required that students evaluate themselves
(on a scale of 1 to 5) in seven areas pertaining to computer
literacy:  hardware; operating system software; Macintosh
equipment; word processing software; database software;
spreadsheet software; and the use of a mouse.

Results of the study reveal that most preservice students have
little awareness of these areas.  In the areas of hardware,
operating system software, Macintosh equipment, data base
software, and spreadsheet software, at least 70% of the
students indicated less than basic familiarity with the
topics.  More students are familiar with word processing and
the mouse; only 60% indicated less than basic familiarity.  

Creative and systematic problem solving strategies involving
the whole university may lead to institutional solutions to
this problem.  For example, an undergraduate computer literacy
competency as a general education requirement would free the
teacher education program to concentrate on advanced
educational computing.  If the role of teacher education
programs is to produce teachers who are able to use the new
computer technologies, we must advance the next generation of
teachers from where they are when we get them to where the
technological society needs them to be.

For more information, contact:
Caryl J. Sheffield, Educational Studies
California University of Pennsylvania
250 University Avenue
California, PA  15419-1394
Internet:  sheffield@cup.edu
.