INTERNET-SAVVINESS OF IRAQI UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Abstract

This exploratory study investigated the construct of Internet-Savviness (IS) exhibited by undergraduate Iraqi students at a four-year university in Iraq. Internet-Savviness is a new construct based on six dimensions: 1) social collaboration, 2) Internet fluency, 3) creative expression, 4) Internet self-efficacy, 5) information gathering, and 6) computer mediated communication. The IS scale, developed in 2007, was used to collect data from two hundred ninety six undergraduate students during the fall and spring semesters, 2008 through 2012. The instrument was re-evaluated and modified slightly to accommodate the new population of Iraqi undergraduate students. A subset of the results showed that although there were significant differences between males and females regarding Internet self-efficacy and self-report assessments of their own expertise in using the Internet, females’ overall scores on the Internet-Savviness scale was comparable to males’.