Online course receptivity related to student perceptions of fluency in use of computers, email, and the Web

This study analyzed university student perceptions regarding their CEW (Computer-Email-Web) fluency and their willingness to consider participating in online instruction. The study was conducted at Chung Kuo Institute of Technology (CKIT), Taipei, Taiwan, in the second semester (2005) of the 2004 academic year.; A total of 575 students were randomly selected from 2,024 undergraduate students who were enrolled in the Information College (with its four departments of Information Management, Information Communication, Computer Science and Information Engineering, and Computer and Communication Engineering). The study considered differences in the levels of respondent CEW fluencies and their willingness to participate in online instruction, considering the demographic variables of gender, age, and academic majors in both continuing education and traditional education.; Regarding comfort in use of computers or the internet, both traditional on-campus students and continuing education students had strong means. The respondents were somewhat less satisfied with their current skills for using the internet. The means of both groups for CEW fluency ratings were high to very high with a range of M=3.90 to M=4.57. Nearly 70% of students responded that they would be willing or very willing to take online instruction.; No significant differences were found in the level of attitude toward willingness to select online instruction based on students' gender and academic division. No significant differences were also found in the level of attitude toward selecting online instruction based on students' academic major and age, as well as in the level of CEW fluency and the four subfields of skills based on students' gender. But there were significant differences in the level of the computer skills, email skills, web navigation skills, and CEW fluency based on academic division, with MIS students higher than the other departments. Continuing education students were slightly higher than traditional students in CEW fluency and the four subfields of skills.; Faculty online instructional designers need awareness that students are likely to have differential skills and confidence. Varied learning activities are needed to fit a diversity of student needs, interests, and perceived comfort with CEW fluency.