Student Questionnaire: Commentary
Of the 101 students questioned, 92 used computers on their placement. The vast majority work with IBM PCs. (82/92)
Not surprisingly, earlier versions of the Windows operating system (3.xxx) have been superseded by Windows 95, 98, NT. (69/82)
There is a requirement for students to be able to cope with what I have described as 'basic housekeeping tasks', i.e. knowing how to copy, delete, move and rename files. In a PC environment, running under the later versions of the Windows OS, that implies a knowledge of Windows Explorer or some other file management utility, which can by no means be taken for granted. The questionnaire returns confirm that students are receiving some IT induction, but it appears not to cover this area explicitly.
The data indicating what students are doing in IT are not unduly surprising:
| Word processing | 71 |
| Desktop publishing | 11 |
| Spreadsheets | 41 |
| Databases | 25 |
| Presentations | 26 |
| Reference media | 18 |
| Data entry | 29 |
| 52 | |
| Web | 53 |
| Fax | 48 |
Institutions providing an induction covering word processing, email and the WWW are meeting a significant proportion of the needs. However, the figures for spreadsheet and database work cannot be ignored. Knowing how to operate a fax machine and data entry also needs to be addressed. The employer returns for data entry suggest that a high degree of accuracy is expected and that keyboard proficiency would be a major asset.
I suppose we can take some satisfaction from the fact that more students felt that they were adequately prepared than not. This question was addressing the issue of preparation only in the area of IT and none of the other issues surrounding placement briefing and preparation.
The section dealing with skills acquired during placement provided the most interesting and, in a couple of instances, the most surprising information. The returns indicate that the vast majority of students acquire skills that they would like to have recognised in some shape or form. Clearly they recognise the value of having some evidence regarding these newly acquired skills that will distinguish them from other language graduates. To obtain accreditation, a significant number indicate that they would be prepared to follow an optional module and even pay for it!
| Students at the University of the West of England are able to follow an extra, optional module at a heavily subsidised cost and have been quick to spot a bargain. A large number indicate their willingness to follow a keyboarding course. In the event, networked software (Fingers for Windows) is freely available to all students. This is something they are told about and urged to do as part of the first-year induction programme. They clearly need to be reminded of this facility as part of their placement preparation. |
A relatively simple and inexpensive aid would be the preparation of an IT glossary covering a range of terms both in English and the foreign language. Such glossaries abound on the Internet and can be freely accessed.
A significant number of students indicate their preparedness to acquire or accredit these skills using self-instructional materials. Again, these are plentiful and reference to them can be found in the relevant section of this project.