Abstract
A group of 625 college students taking the introductory computer course were tested for their knowledge of computer terms. The results were analyzed several ways—as a whole, by those who thought they knew the definitions (omitting those who did not guess at the answer), by those who owned a home computer, by type of magazines read, and other relevant attributes. The results showed that, generally, these attributes were not related to the level of understanding of computer vocabulary. A further analysis revealed that there is widespread, inconsistent use of common computer terms with little regard to their technical meanings. The implications of these results for teaching introductory computer courses are addressed.
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