An Assessment of Computer Awareness and Literacy among Entry-Level University of Colombo Undergraduates: A Case Study

As the demand for the computer literate is increasing at a rapid pace, possessing of computer skills is an important asset for a university student. Thus having a good computer knowledge improves the quality of their study programs. This paper discusses a case where information was collected through a survey to assess the computer knowledge of entering freshmen in five Faculties (Science, Arts, Management & Finance, Law and Medicine) of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. A survey was conducted among 300 new entrants of the above Faculties. A descriptive analysis was used to identify the patterns of computer usage. It is found that from the entry-level University of Colombo undergraduates, majority of students have used a computer (93%) and/or Internet (60%). Moreover, 60% are computer aware while only 47% are computer literate. It must be noted that males in general outperformed females in computer awareness, computer literacy and Internet usage. Since Chi-Square test confirmed that the two variables, computer awareness and computer literacy are associated with each other, rather than considering these two variables separately, considering them jointly is or was??? expected to yield better results. Hence, the two variables are combined into one, with 4 levels and a generalized logit model isor was??? fitted to this nominal multi-category variable to find the factors affecting computer awareness and/or computer literacy. The model suggests that the new variable is dependent on the factors: usage of Internet, monthly family income level, methods of obtaining computer knowledge, and locations of using a computer.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/icter.v4i1.4671

International Journal on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions 2011 04 (01) : 15 - 25