Purpose

This study aims to build context-specific measurement tools to assess first-year students' digital literacy skills. The purpose is to collect data to provide more meaningful skills support for new students and raise their awareness about the digital literacy skills fundamental to academic study.

Design/methodology/approach

A set of three scales were developed and piloted at the beginning of 2018 and 2019 fall semesters: (1) a self-assessment survey, (2) an online test to collect indirect evidence and (3) a set of performance tasks. In both rounds, the scales were examined for reliability and construct validity and improved accordingly. The third round, conducted with a different scope, enabled a final reliability check for the online test.

Findings

The results indicate that first-year students need support with higher-order digital literacy skills. Low performers tend to overestimate their skills, so self-assessment surveys fall short in providing needs assessment but provide evidence of awareness when combined with the other scales. Performance tasks provide direct evidence but are not practical with larger numbers of participants. An online test to deliver indirect evidence works well but requires careful reliability considerations.

Research limitations/implications

The conceptual framework for digital literacies offered in this study was narrowed down to the immediate skills to maintain a feasible scope. The sample size was small in both rounds, but the findings gave insights regarding the skills under scrutiny. Similarly, the scales were subject to close examination and were continuously improved, and the imperfections were monitored carefully while drawing conclusions.

Practical implications

All of the three scales are ready to be used. Depending on the purpose, they can be given to first-year students together or separately to define their needs for support. Both versions of the survey and performance tasks are presented in the paper, and the test can be found at this link: Digital Literacy Test for Preview.

Originality/value

There are three methods to measure digital skills. Although there are studies using individual or paired methods, this study is distinctive as it combines all three. While other scales to measure digital literacy skills exist, they are not appropriate in every context. Therefore, this study will serve as an example for those wishing to devise context-specific scales.

中文翻译：

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定义需求：大学一年级学生的数字素养技能

目的

本研究旨在构建特定情境的测量工具，以评估一年级学生的数字素养技能。目的是收集数据，为新生提供更有意义的技能支持，并提高他们对学术学习基础的数字素养技能的认识。

设计/方法/方法

在 2018 年和 2019 年秋季学期开始时开发并试行了一组三个量表：(1) 自我评估调查，(2) 收集间接证据的在线测试和 (3) 一组绩效任务。在两轮中，都检查了量表的可靠性和结构效度，并相应地进行了改进。第三轮以不同的范围进行，为在线测试进行了最终的可靠性检查。

发现

结果表明，一年级学生需要更高阶的数字素养技能的支持。低绩效者往往会高估自己的技能，因此自我评估调查在提供需求评估方面存在不足，但在与其他量表结合时提供了意识证据。表演任务提供了直接证据，但在参与者人数较多时不切实际。提供间接证据的在线测试效果很好，但需要仔细考虑可靠性。

研究限制/影响

本研究中提供的数字素养概念框架被缩小到维持可行范围的直接技能。两轮的样本量都很小，但调查结果提供了有关受审查技能的见解。同样，这些量表也经过仔细检查并不断改进，并在得出结论的同时仔细监测缺陷。

实际影响

所有三个秤都可以使用了。根据目的，它们可以一起或单独提供给一年级学生，以确定他们对支持的需求。论文中提供了调查和绩效任务的两个版本，可以在此链接中找到测试：预览版数字素养测试。

原创性/价值

衡量数字技能的方法有三种。虽然有使用单独或配对方法的研究，但这项研究是独特的，因为它结合了这三者。虽然存在其他衡量数字素养技能的量表，但它们并不适用于所有情况。因此，本研究将作为那些希望设计特定于上下文的量表的示例。