Blumberg Center for
Interdisciplinary Studies in Special Education

promoting achievement for students with sensory loss (PASS)

Blind, low Vision, or deafblind

distance education

computer skills self-assessment

The following self-assessment of your computer skills will help you gauge your ability to be successful in an online course. Check the box that describes your skill level. After completion of this assessment, print this page and use it as a guide to improve skills in which you are not proficient.

Proficient: To mark yourself as proficient in a skill, you must know and be able to do the following:

* verbally define the term mentioned
* perform the skill
* show and tell someone else how to perform the skill

Basics
Proficient
Not Proficient
Turn on and shut down a computer
Install and uninstall software
Copy a file from your hard drive to a floppy disk
Find, copy, move, rename, and delete files
Save files to a diskette or hard drive
Compress files/folders and decompress files
Log in to a system using a username and password
Word Processing
 
 
Create and save documents in a specific format/type such as HTML, text, Word
Cut, copy and paste text
Change paragraph formatting, indentation, and alignment
Change margins and tabs
Create a bulleted and numbered list
Insert a header and footer into a document
Presentation
 
 
Create, copy, move, and delete slides
Define a layout for the slide
Create a color scheme
Add text to a slide
Insert objects into a slide
Save the presentation as a web page
Internet |E-mail Client
 
 
Create a new message
Attach files to a message
Send a message to multiple addresses simultaneously
Reply to and forward messages
Save messages into folders
Web Browser Client
 
 
Open a web address
Use a search engine
Use bookmarks by adding and editing
Copy information from a web page and paste it into another application
Add browser extensions and plug-ins
Download software
Communications
 
 
Understand proper online etiquette while chatting
Participate in online discussions and forums

NOTICE: If you are NOT PROFICIENT with any of these terms or skills, you should expect challenges using the technology required in an online course. Your instructor and PASS staff should not be expected to define, teach or help you with any of these skills. It is therefore STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that you become proficient with each of these skills, BEFORE the first day of class.

Adapted from the Computer Skills Self-Assessment Form, Stephen F. Austin State University, http:www.oit.sfasu.edu/webct/skillsassess.html, 2002.

 

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