computer skills of first-year students at a south african university
With increasing use of information and communication technologies in education, students entering university need a basic level of computer proficiency to be able to access course material and complete assignments. At the University of Cape Town (UCT), all new first-year students are required to write an online computer skills test, so that those who lack the necessary skills can be identified and provided with basic training. This paper analyses the results of the computer skills assessments written by 4169 first-year students during orientation 2009. We conclude that there is a definite need to provide computer training for new university students, and that African students are most at risk of being disadvantaged by their lack of prior skills.
computer skills gender race computer literacy