M.Ed. (ICT in Education) / The purpose of this study has been to explore computer-illiterate first year students’ experiences of initial engagement with ICTs in their first weeks of study at the University of Johannesburg, by examining meanings they construct for themselves of these experiences. Pressure on universities to adopt ICTs in educational practice is intensified by South Africa’s legacy of un- and under-prepared first year students. Many factors impacting first year students’ transition to university have a direct bearing on their learning. Students who are able to engage with ICTs during first year orientation seem rapidly to become more confident and motivated to experiment further with these technologies, while students who struggle to engage show signs that may be interpreted as fear or lack of confidence to do so. I have argued that current interventions do not sufficiently support new students in their initial engagement with ICTs. In some modules, academic tasks are due within the first few weeks of study, suggesting possible implications for later academic performance. Eight students without prior experience of ICTs who attended basic computer orientation sessions during 2011 were interviewed immediately after their sessions, in a basic generic qualitative study. Interviews were transcribed and analysed. Elements from the taxonomies of Bloom, Krathwohl, Masia, Anderson and Shulman have been combined into a heuristic to examine to what extent learning and engagement took place during the sessions. Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and Engeström’s extended mediational triangle have been employed as analytical tools to guide me as researcher in an understanding of student activity, and to help me to interpret students’ stories as they struggled to engage with ICTs. Tensions that were exposed between the students and different components of the activity systems (the orientation sessions) have been exposed, and from this a joint account of students’ experiences has provided a framework for understanding their initial engagement with ICTs.

M.Ed. (Media Studies) / The twentieth century is characterised by technological development, and even more by electronic development. It is therefore logical that the computer is increasingly used in the labour market and at home. This puts greater pressure on schools to educate and train pupils to attain computer literacy. As it appears that teachers are insufficiently trained to convey these skills, there is a definite need for in-service training regarding computer literacy. The function and task of the media centre teacher are such that he is the most suitable person to present this in-service training. In-service training is non-formal and andragogically grounded. The presentation of in-service training must .therefore be based on specific principles. To be of any value it must be directed at the teacher's professional needs. These needs determine that in-service training may be presented from the macro-, meso- and microlevels. The direct involvement of the media centre teacher in computer literacy occurs at microlevel and it is indicated that In-service training and guidance are related matters. The computer, as an aid and a medium, has qualities which make it useful in education. Although the computer has many advantages as an educational medium, many didactitions object to its being regarded as a super medium. At present there are many limitations which curtail the maximal usage of the computer as an educational medium. The concept of computer literacy is non-static and differs from culture to culture and person to person; consequently a variety of knowledge and skills is needed for computer literacy. An effort has, however, been made to identify the generally valid knowledge and skills. A model of the guidance activity, as a teaching skill, has been applied to computer usage. The given reference framework and guidance activity are followed by guidelines for the media center teacher's androgenic guidance task regarding computer literacy.

Information literacy has become more important as more information is produced and communication has become easier. Better information skills are vital for individuals working in governmental organizations as well as in the business sector. Employees are expected to be confident and competent in interacting with information in their workplaces in order to deliver better service to customers and to the public. This study examines the differences in information literacy skills (ILS), computer literacy skills (CLS), and frequencies of use of information sources (FIS) among police officers, based on their socio-demographic characteristics, namely education, departmental affiliation, ranks, and experience. Information literacy process models developed in an educational environment are combined to explore information literacy process in the workplace. Bivariate and multivariate analyses indicated significant differences of ILS and CLS based on education, departmental affiliation, and ranks but no difference for experience. In addition, there were differences of FIS for all demographic variables except departmental affiliation. The findings of the study may guide both future researchers in the process of developing new models in understanding information literacy process and the managers in police organizations in planning better training programs by considering information and computer literacy skills and use of information sources of police officers.

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Doctor Educationis / Background: The increasing use of technology and informatics in the provision of nursing care encourages the consideration of whether final year undergraduate nursing students are prepared for the use of informatics in clinical care and what the current state of knowledge, skills and attitudes on nursing informatics is. Purpose of the study: The overall aim was to investigate the perceived relevance, competencies in nursing informatics and attitudes towards nursing informatics of the final year undergraduate nursing students at a selected University in the Western Cape. Methodology: A quantitative research approach using a descriptive survey design was used in the study. Self-administered questionnaires were used to investigate final year undergraduate nursing student’s perceived relevance of informatics skills for nursing, the perceived level of nursing informatics competence, and attitudes towards nursing informatics. Nursing students currently enrolled in the fourth year in their undergraduate bachelor nursing degree programme were the target population for this study (n=198). Frequencies of the perceived relevance of computers literacy skills, informatics literacy and information management skills for nursing, and competencies in computers skills, informatics literacy and information management skills and attitudes towards informatics were calculated and presented. Results: The findings suggested that even though only 28% (n=28) and 4% (n=4) of nursing students has attended computer and informatics classes respectively, 99% (n=99) confirmed that they perceive nursing informatics as relevant in nursing education and nursing practice. Computer literacy skills (4.23 sd 0.8) were rated more relevant

In this paper, we have focused on possible connections between Esports, more narrowly League of Legends, and increased Computer Literacy Skills.  The purpose of this study was to research Esports and Computer Literacy skills and analyse the possible link and how it might overall help one’s day-to-day life, job prospects and more by using Esports as a tool for learning Computer Literacy Skills. This study is guided by the theoretical perspective of transfer of learning. Using a cross-sectional observational study, we have come up with a 10-exercise test which analyses the computer literacy skills (CLS) of Esports players and Non-Esports individuals. Data were collected from 20 participants through observations to gauge participants’ performance, supplemented by a post-test survey to gather additional insights. Results between the two groups were similar, with a slight edge towards the Esports players group which has shown greater efficiency at completing the test overall and each individual task. Overall, our results show that people who enjoy these titles do tend to be more efficient at completing daily computer duties. However, both groups possess capable computer literacy skills in order to handle the ever-evolving digital world. Further research is mandatory to explore the causal relationship between League of Legends and computer literacy skills, as well as to identify strategies for incorporating Esports in educational settings regarding computer literacy skills.

Virtually all government and industry information and control systems rely upon computer professionals for systems development and maintenance. With the national workforce growing at only one percent annually and enrollments in computer and information sciences college programs declining, the need exists to obtain a continued contribution of good work from our existing workforce. A multiple-phase, multiple-case study research project was performed to develop an understanding of how technical currency is maintained, not as a discrete phenomenon, but within the setting of the work environment, considering project experiences, organizational relationships, professional preparation and continuing professional education, and individual motivation. Previous research indicated that project experiences contributed to, or provided a vehicle for, maintaining technical currency. Maintaining technical currency was found to require a continuous process involving organizational relationships, the individual's perceived value in the organization, constant assessments and evaluations of current and desired project involvement or position attainment, repeated and varied learning episodes, and actual project experiences. Individuals were motivated to take specific actions, such as participating in training courses, when such action was expected to yield a benefit. Project experiences alone were not sufficient to maintain technical currency, although they were an essential element. While formal education in preparation for a career was critical, formal courses did not contribute as significantly as other forms of continuing professional education to maintaining technical currency. A Technical Currency Model was generated that explains how individuals expend energy in one or more of five focus areas depending on their motivation at the time: (a) technical qualification for a project or position; (b) political qualification for a project or position; (c) performing on a project or in a position; (d) determining that change is appropriate; and (e) seeking the next project or position. / Ph. D.

This study examined the effects of a computer-mediated intervention on "at-risk" preschool students' receptive vocabulary development, computer-literacy skills, and enthusiasm for leaning. Twenty-two preschool-aged children attending an urban primary public school and participating in government subsidized school lunch program participated in the study. A pretest/posttest control-group design and case-study participant observations were used for data collection. Students were assigned to one of two treatment groups. Eleven preschool students with pretest School Readiness Composite (SRC) standard scores of 80, or below, on the Bracken Basic Concept Scale-Revised (BBCS-R), were assigned to the intervention group. Eleven pre-school students matched by age level and teacher comprised the comparison group. The intervention group received computer-mediated instruction while the comparison group received classroom teacher instruction. The first research question examined the effect of the intervention on students' receptive vocabulary analyzing groups' pretest and posttest BBCS-R School Readiness Composite mean scores. Combined analysis of a Two-Factor Repeated Measures and a Posttest only ANCOVA revealed that computer-mediated instruction was as effective as classroom teacher instruction in helping "at-risk" students acquire readiness receptive vocabulary. The second research question examined the effect of the intervention on "at-risk" student's computer-literacy skills analyzing participants pretest and posttest mean scores on the Computer Input Observation Rubric (CIOR), a rubric developed by the researcher. Analysis of One-Factor ANOVA and of Two-Factor Repeated Measures indicated that computer intervention significantly increased students' computer literacy skills. The third research question examined the impact of computer-mediated intervention on preschool students' enthusiasm for learning and followed descriptive case study methodology. Students' level of task involvement and positive-self statements confirmed enthusiasm for learning with technology.

Computer literacy has recently emerged as a new topic, complementing traditional literacy. While this issue affects every one of us, it is particularly important for people of post-productive age, who have not been able to become acquainted with information technology during their professional life. The National Computer Literacy Program provided a great opportunity to eliminate this illiteracy; unfortunately it came to an end together with termination of the Ministry of Informatics of the Czech Republic. It is striking that the State has been preparing projects in the area of e-Government, electronic census and electronic elections without having any developmental strategy for users of these ambitious projects. An opportunity to improve personal skills after the end of a professional career is provided by the University of the Third Age at the University of Economics, where students learn to use not only computers, but also the multimedia in the Graphic and Multimedia Laboratory. Unfortunately, this university is not accessible to everyone. The limitations consist particularly in the precondition of completed secondary education, but also in the available capacity. Thus, an option that is really available to everyone lies in the commercial sector, which offers a wide range of courses. These courses are provided either by software companies or by the ECDL (European Computer Driving License).

Examines the use of Information and Communicative Technologies (ICT) by high school students from economically-disadvantaged households to complete homework assignments. Results of a survey of 240 high school students at an urban, inner-city high school located in Southern California, indicated, (1) the Digital Divide is narrowing among social classes, as most students reported having Internet access from their homes, (2) students willingness to embrace new uses of ICT in their studies, (3) the speed of completing homework was increased through the use of ICT multi-tasking and the use of search engines and, (4) computer maintenance issues were not a significant hindrance, as most students have some basic computer literacy skills.