A View From The Other Side: Looking at HE students perception of IT and IT skills
Pete Reffell
University of Leeds
UK
Paper: 1/2 hour
Empowerment, Enhancement, Enrichment
At the beginning of the 2002/03 academic year approximately 500 students taking either one or more IT skills modules, or in their first year of a computing related degree were asked to fill in and return a questionnaire asking them about the IT skills they thought they had, the ones they wanted, why they wanted them and what they thought about IT generally. The questionnaire is part of ongoing research into user responses to IT tuition and education in higher education.
This paper will look at the results gained from this survey, along with the students' academic performance during the year, and the results of a previous questionnaire from 1999/2000. Based upon the findings from this research I will look at how different student groups have different expectations of their own skill set and the skills they hope to acquire. Has there been a noticeable shift in emphasis in the 3 years since the first survey was undertaken, and how do the views and expectations of students from a non-computing background differ from those who taking computing as a major part of their degree? Finally how does the perception and expectation of the students' IT skills compare to their academic achievement, and are there any patterns of skills already acquired or desired based upon discipline, gender, age, etc.? How does this compare with the perception of educators?
Having considered these questions, the paper will outline some ways in which we as educators may be able to bridge the gap between our - the teachers - perception of what they - the students - should and do know, and their perception of what they do know and what they want to know. How may we use this insight to provide a broad framework for IT and IS education that will empower both the students, who often do not understand the 'why' of IT education, and the teachers, who often find it hard to engage a wide and diverse student body in a difficult subject area.
