Self-efficacy as an evaluation measure for programs in support of online learning literacies for undergraduates

This study evaluated an intervention for building undergraduates' technological literacies for higher education in support of use of the learning management system and desktop applications. Self-efficacy scores between a control group and a treatment group were compared. Relationships between scores and demographic/experiential variables were also analyzed. The study failed to find (with limited strengths) significant differences between control and treatment. Differences between exempted and control students were found. Relationships between age, gender, and experience with online learning were rejected; however a relationship between experience with computers and scores was not rejected. For treatment learners, mastery experience and physical/emotional response to task performance were stronger self-efficacy sources than were verbal persuasion and vicarious experience. Results indicated that design might be improved by increasing sources of verbal persuasion and vicarious experience. The study also highlighted a need to monitor students' diverse backgrounds with technology.