Unlike more stable content and goals for other areas of school study, technology continues to change, bringing new goals for how learning should be served by and what students should know about technology. This article examines assessments of computer competence, factors influencing the definition of technology skills, state and district…

Twenty nursing graduate students in an Internet-based course were compared with 23 who did not take the course. The former were more likely to be connected to nursing networks, used Internet-based health information in practice, used computer skills for other classes, and understood the relevance of telemedicine. (SK)

Analysis of 23,704 want ads for computer-related jobs revealed that the most frequently mentioned skills were UNIX, SQL programming, and computer security. Curriculum implications were derived from the most desired and less frequently mentioned skills. (SK)

The Carroll (Texas) Independent School District's performance-based technology program aims to motivate all employees to learn new technological skills and teach them to students. Combining cash bonuses with personal satisfaction, the program rewards professional growth, involves adult learners in their own planning, and correlates individual…

To conceptualize and measure end user computing sophistication, a three-dimensional characterization of application, usage, and end user sophistication is proposed. A preliminary operationalization using 9 variables was tested with 505 users in 5 Canadian enterprises and found to be globally reliable. Contains five tables and an appendix which…

A study of 164 undergraduate students at Sultan Qaboos University investigated self-efficacy of computer skills and cognitive thinking style and found higher self-efficacy scores for students with abstract cognitive thinking style than those with concrete and iconic thinking styles, concluding this might be attributed to higher theoretical…

Situates technological literacy in its ideological context of competitive supremacy and conservative politics. In opposition to a "neutral" notion of this construct, negotiates a turn toward "critical" technological literacy, which represents an overtly political turn toward overcoming forms of power that sustain inequities in…

Addresses how first-year students understand the influence of computers by cultural assumptions about technology. Presents three meaning perspectives on technology that students expressed based on formative experiences they have had with it. Discusses implications for how computers and composition scholars incorporate computer technology into…

Outlines steps developmental educators need to take to win the cooperation of more students. Argues also that developmental educators must include computer literacy in their understanding of literacy. (SR)

A study of 357 university employees who received computer training showed that self-efficacy levels remained stable over 2.5 years. Previous training and computer use on the job predicted computer self-efficacy and transfer of training. (SK)

Of 175 freshmen agriculture students, 74% had prior computer courses, 62% owned computers. The number of computer topics studied predicted both computer self-efficacy and computer knowledge. A substantial positive correlation was found between self-efficacy and computer knowledge. (SK)

Discusses the goal of K-12 education to have students learn to use technology, defines computer literacy, and describes the Big6 process model that helps solve information problems. Highlights include examples of technology in Big6 contexts, Big6 and the Internet, and the Big6 as a conceptual framework for meaningful technology use. (LRW)

Adult literacy learners face uses of funding, access and lack of expertise and time related to technology use. Issues for literacy programs include funding, access, staff development, assessment, and maintenance. Technology can individualize literacy learning, allow privacy and asynchronous participation, and provide immediate feedback. (Contains…

Details the kind of information technology-related experiences that all curricula should share. Gives examples from elementary and middle schools. Lists goals, subgoals, and activities from the National Educational Technology Standards for Students. (JOW)

This brief article explains that effective professional development: (1) Involves teachers in the planning and selection, but balances the needs of individual educators with the needs of the campus and district; (2) Provides a practical, utilitarian component to all efforts; (3) Links educators to each other to create a larger learning community;…