Computer Operations/Concepts:

1. Can you start up, restart, and shut down a computer?

    Yes
    No

2. Do you know how to click, double-click, and right-click the mouse?

    Yes
    No

3. Can you open, close, minimize, and move windows and menus on your computer's desktop?

    Yes
    No

4. Do you know how to create folders and navigate a directory to locate files?

    Yes
    No

5. Can you save and retrieve files from storage devices such as a hard drive, floppy, zip disk, or external drive?

    Yes
    No

Word Processing Skills:

6. Can you create, save, delete, and print a word processing document?

    Yes
    No

7. Do you know how to cut, copy, and paste text in a document?

    Yes
    No

8. Can you change text formatting such as font style and size, paragraph alignment, etc.?

    Yes
    No

9. Do you know how to use the spell-check feature of your word processing program?

    Yes
    No

10. Can you rename, copy, or save a document to a floppy, hard drive, etc.?

    Yes
    No

Internet/World Wide Web:

11. Can you distinguish between a website URL and an email address?

    Yes
    No

12. Given a URL, can you access the Internet and go to that website?

    Yes
    No

13. Do you know how to use the "Bookmark" or "Favorites" feature of your browser?

    Yes
    No

14. Are you familiar with using Internet search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Alta Vista?

    Yes
    No

15. Can you download and install browser plug-ins for common software applications such as Adobe Reader, Windows Media Player, Real Player, etc.?

    Yes
    No

Email Basics:

16. Do you know how to acquire a free, personal email address, or have you already established an email account of your own?

    Yes
    No

17. Do you know how to send, receive, forward, and reply to email messages?

    Yes
    No

18. Can you save and delete email messages?

    Yes
    No

19. Do you know how to attach a file to an email message, and open an incoming email attachment?

    Yes
    No

20. Can you use the "address book" feature of your email to create and send "group" mailings?

    Yes
    No

Scoring the Assessment

Click the "Score Responses" button to score your answers. The score is calculated by assigning one point for every "Yes" and zero points for every "No" response. You can clear all your responses by clicking the "Reset Responses" button.

    Total:    

How did you do?

If you scored from 20-16:  Your technical skills and experiences are sufficient to make an online course a good choice for you as well as any other distance education courses requiring some use of technology. Check with your instructor to see if special software programs are required.

If you scored from 15-12:  Your familiarity with computer operations and the level of your technical skills may cause you some difficulty in successfully completing an online course. You should probably check with your instructor if you are taking a course via another delivery mode to see what level of technology skills is required to successfully participate in the course.

If you scored 11 or fewer:  Before registering for an online or other distance education course, you should develop your computer and electronic literacy skills to increase your level of participation and success in distance education courses relying on technology.

What's the next step for you?

Knowledge of software applications and electronic literacy demands will only continue to increase. You may be more proficient in one of the above skill sets than another. Whatever your assessment score, the self-help links below are worth your time. They provide information for you on the Internet and the World Wide Web, materials found on the Internet such as library databases, other educational materials and commercial resources, and tips to help you sort out the best materials for your courses. Taking a little time to work through these tutorials will give you that extra measure of confidence and success in your Distance Learning coursework.

• The Info Game  (Designed by ACC Librarians and Classroom Faculty)
• Finding Information on the Web  (Developed by ACC Libraries)
• net.TUTOR  (Developed by The Ohio State University Libraries)
• Learn the Net  (Trademark of Michael Lerner Productions)

ACC also offers a variety of computer skills courses for both college-credit and continuing education credit. Check the credit Course Schedule or CE Schedule for options.

All ACC campuses have on-site computer labs available to apply those new skills and use course-specific software applications. Check out your options at the College Computing Labs website.

Once you've completed the tech tutorial or course that's most helpful to you, retake the Technical Skills assessment to measure your improvement! We want you to have every opportunity to succeed in your Distance Learning coursework at ACC.