Understanding the Writing Habits of Tomorrow's Students: Technology and College Readiness

Relles, Stefani R.; Tierney, William G.

doi:10.1080/00221546.2013.11777299

Cited by 18 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…This paper extends what has already been found in the literature whereas major skill deficiencies of students entering higher education are consistently found Dixon, 2017;Mishra et al, 2015;Hanson et al, 2011;Relles & Tierney, 2013) through an examination of five years of student performance on an international assessment of digital and information literacy. Further, student perception surveys were included in this study and, similar to what has been reported by ECAR (Dahlstrom, Walker, & Dzuiban, 2014), students expressed that they wished they had come to college more prepared to use computer software applications and that their high school had not adequately prepared them for use of technology in higher education.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

“…These findings are further supported with Table 6 that considers weighted IC 3 exam scores for 2690 entering freshmen with a mean score of 566.34 out of 1,000 observed. Holistically, all of this information is considered positive confirmation that students do not come to college with the technology skills needed for success and are consistent with what has been reported by Hanson et al (2011), Marakas, Johnson, andClay (2007), Mishra et al (2015), and Nataraj (2014) as well as in the literature focusing on the technological readiness of students attending minority institutions, such as Buzzetto-Hollywood et al (2017), Buzzetto-More and SweatGuy (2007), Relles and Tierney (2013), and Zielezinski, (2017). This hypothesis was measured by considering agreement to the statement "It is important for college students to take computing courses."…”

Section: H1-computer Applications Courses Are Effective At Building Tsupporting

confidence: 72%

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Addressing Information Literacy and the Digital Divide in Higher Education

Buzzetto-Hollywood

Wang

Elobeid

et al. 2018

IJELL

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Aim/Purpose: The digital divide and educational inequalities remain a significant societal problem in the United States, and elsewhere, impacting low income, first-generation, and minority learners. Accordingly, institutions of higher education are challenged to meet the needs of students with varying levels of technological readiness with deficiencies in information and digital literacy shown to be a hindrance to student success. This paper documents the efforts of a mid-Atlantic minority-serving institution as it seeks to assess, and address, the digital and information literacy skills of underserved students Background: A number of years ago, a historically Black university in Maryland developed an institutional commitment to the digital and information literacy of their students. These efforts have included adoption of an international certification exam used as a placement test for incoming freshmen; creation of a Center for Student Technology Certification and Training; course redesign, pre and post testing in computer applications courses; and a student perception survey. Methodology: A multi-methodological approach was applied in this study which relied on survey results, pre and post testing of students enrolled in introductory and intermediate computer applications courses, and scores from five years of placement testing. Student pre and post test scores were compared in order to examine degree of change, and post test scores were also assessed against five years of scores from the same test used as a placement for incoming freshmen. Finally, a student perception and satisfaction survey was administered to all students enrolled in the courses under consideration. The survey included a combination of dichotomous, Likert-scaled, and ranking questions and was administered electronically. The data was subsequently exported to Microsoft Excel and SPSS where descriptive statistical analyses were conducted. Contribution: This study provides research on a population (first-generation minority college students) that is expanding in numbers in higher education and that the literature reports as being under-prepared for academic success. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of current studies examining the information and technological readiness of students specifically enrolled at minority serving institutions. As such, this paper is timely and relevant and helps to extend our discourse on the digital divide and technological readiness as it impacts higher education. The students included in this study are representative of those enrolled in Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs) in the United States, giving this paper broad implications across the country. Internationally, most countries have populations of first-generation college students from under-served populations for whom a lack of digital readiness is an also an issue therefore giving this study a global relevance. Findings: The digital divide is a serious concern for higher education, especially as schools seek to increasingly reach out to underserved populations. In particular, the results of this study show that students attending a minority serving institution do not come to college with the technology skills needed for academic success. Pre and post testing of students, as well as responses to survey questions, have proven the efficacy of computer applications courses at building the technology skills of students. These courses are viewed overwhelmingly positive by students with respondents reporting that they are a necessary part of the college experience that benefits them academically and professionally. Use of an online simulated learning and assessment system with immediate automated feedback and remediation was also found to be particularly effective at building the computer and information literacy skills of students. The total sample size for this study was over 2,800 individuals as data from 2690 IC3 tests administered over a five year period were considered, as well as 160 completed surveys, and pre and post testing of 103 students. Recommendations for Practitioners: Institutions of higher education should invest in a thorough examination of the information and technology literacy skills, needs, and perceptions of students both coming into the institution as well as following course completion. Recommendation for Researchers: This research should be expanded to more minority serving institutions across the United States as well as abroad. This particular research protocol is easily replicated and can be duplicated at both minority and majority serving institutions enabling greater comparisons across groups. Impact on Society: The results of this research help to shed light on a problem that desperately needs to be addressed by institutions of higher education, which is the realities of the digital divide and the under preparedness of entering college students in particular those who are from low income, first generation, and minority groups Future Research: A detailed quantitative survey study is being conducted that seeks to examine the technology uses, backgrounds, needs, interests, career goals, and professional expectations with respect to a range of currently relevant technologies.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: H1-computer Applications Courses Are Effective At Building Tsupporting

confidence: 72%

Addressing Information Literacy and the Digital Divide in Higher Education

Buzzetto-Hollywood

Wang

Elobeid

et al. 2018

IJELL

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“…From an integrative perspective, the Metasociocognitive Model of Written Composition [33,34] conceptualises writing as a metacognitive interaction of cognitive and sociocultural factors, which are deployed by the action of motivational factors. This interaction is highlighted in the literature on the subject (see for example: [35][36][37][38][39]. Therefore, the importance of checking the level of students' awareness of their writing process globally [40,41] is emphasised, in order to guide learning towards new levels of writing conceptualisation, that give efficiency to written communication.…”

Section: Writing Metacognition At Universitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The 2030 Challenge in the Quality of Higher Education: Metacognitive, Motivational and Structural Factors, Predictive of Written Argumentation, for the Dissemination of Sustainable Knowledge

2020

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The United Nations 2030 agenda includes quality university education, highlighting the importance of writing competence, as a basic skill for the dissemination of sustainable knowledge. However, there is little evidence of the factors that predict effective written communication to support such quality. Among these factors, the literature highlights motivation and writing metacognition, as well as the adequate structuring of the academic and/or scientific genre. The main novelty of the present research is the study of the relationships between the mentioned factors, measured with validated instruments. To this end, content analysis is first applied to determine the rhetorical moves of argumentative essays written by a sample of 72 university students. Secondly, the correlations between each of the rhetorical moves, metacognition and argumentative writing self-efficacy are calculated. The relationships are studied in depth, applying step-by-step linear regression models. Finally, the dependence of the results, observed with respect to unmeasured factors, is contrasted by means of a confirmatory analysis based on structural equations. The analyses show that it is the practical ability to express rhetorical moves—Conclusion and Bibliographic References—which predicts a students’ writing metacognition. Moreover, the minor relationship that argumentative self-efficacy shows with the expression of rhetorical moves, compared to writing metacognition, point to the need to consider another motivational dimension that is driving the learning of the argumentative essay at university level, a hypothesis that is confirmed with the structural equations model. These, and other findings, allow for the establishment of a series of educational quality criteria for the empowerment of written argumentation in academic and scientific contexts.

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“…As a result, students who have extended experiences with writing on computers and who are used to utilizing online dictionaries are poised to perform better on timed NAEP writing tests than students who have not had much experience writing on a computer. Relles and Tierney, (2013) found that administering writing tests on computers dramatically disadvantages poor and minority children who may lack access to the latest technological tools. They write:…”

Section: New Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Language Arts as Foundational for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics

Baines

2015

Emerging Technologies for STEAM Education

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To what extent are the language arts relevant, useful, and self-sustaining in an era of rapid technological and scientific innovation? Historically, the language arts have been influenced by three curricular models-competency-based instruction, the Heritage Curriculum, and the process approach. The suitability of these curricular models for the future, the myriad ways that the language arts support and extend innovation, and the unique attributes of 21st century literacies are discussed.

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Understanding the Writing Habits of Tomorrow's Students: Technology and College Readiness

Cited by 18 publications

References 45 publications

Addressing Information Literacy and the Digital Divide in Higher Education

Addressing Information Literacy and the Digital Divide in Higher Education

The 2030 Challenge in the Quality of Higher Education: Metacognitive, Motivational and Structural Factors, Predictive of Written Argumentation, for the Dissemination of Sustainable Knowledge

The Language Arts as Foundational for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics

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