University students ’ perceptions 1 2007 AERA Annual Meeting University Students ’ Perceptions of Computer Technology Experiences

In today’s knowledge age, university administrators and educators have been committed to finding ways to make learning more meaningful, more transferable to various situations out of a specific context, and more conducive to self-directed, lifelong learning (Lim, 2004). There is no question that information and communications technology (ICT)—which is characterized as “service ” and “product ” specifically designed to organize and to speed up the flow of information—is a valuable, useful resource and tool for learning and teaching (Kompf, 2005). The following three intriguing and constructive inquiries posed by Roldan and Wu (2004) are the special interest of the research study reported in the present paper: 1. Are today’s college students well prepared for the challenges of the information age? 2. Do students possess the skills and motivation required for self-directed, lifelong learning? 3. How can educators help students to better prepare and improve information literacy skills? Guided by these inquiries, and at the same time on the basis of a survey as a research method, the author examined students ’ perceptions of computer technology experiences. A survey was administered to students enrolled in education courses at a comprehensive university in the western Pacific. A Likert scale instrument was developed to collect student data that wer