An assessment of students' technology skills at a California Community College: A mixed method design

This mixed method study investigated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills of California Community College students. ICT skills have been identified by a variety of educational authorities as critically important tools which are required by students to be successful in their educational endeavors and in the information based global economy.;The study used quantitative measures to analyze a select group of students' ICT skills prior to and after an Introduction to Computer Information Systems class. Quantitative measures were also used to measure students' perception of their skills by means of a Computer Self-Efficacy survey.;Interviews were conducted with a sample group of participating students to add a qualitative perspective to the quantitative results. The goal of the study was to establish the level of ICT skills that students bring to their community college experience and to shed light on the general functionality of the current method of assessing whether community college students need instruction in ICT skills, which is to let students judge that need or lack of need for themselves.