Computer Lessons To Go – Training the Public (online learning course) - Rural

Instructor: Enid Ruth Costley

Computer Lessons To Go – Training the Public

(An Infopeople Online Learning Course)

March 21, 2006 - April 17, 2006

If you need to train the general public on how to use computers for anything from writing a resume to planning a vacation to selling their stuff on eBay, help is just a point and click away. Why reinvent the wheel when you can use and adapt any of thirty professionally developed lesson plans to improve your library's training offerings and make your community more computer savvy? Each lesson plan includes all the information you need to present a 90-minute exploration of a high interest topic while teaching fundamental computer skills. This course can save you time and help you guide users from "I am so-o-o computer illiterate" to "Wow, I learned something new!"

Workshop Description: During this four-week online course each participant will select and adapt one of 30 existing computer lesson plans, designed for training the public. The lesson plan you choose will be modified specifically for your library and will include handouts as well as evaluation forms. Teaching, presentation, and promotion guidelines will give you all the skills you need to implement your plan successfully. This course is led by someone who knows firsthand the challenges and delights of teaching the public. The instructor will offer practical tips that can be applied to your work immediately.

Preliminary Course Outline: Using your web browser and your Internet connection, you will log in to the Infopeople online learning site and complete the following learning modules:

• Module One: Introduction
  • Why teach computer lessons
  • Format of computer lessons
  • Content of computer lessons
• Module Two: Modifying Computer Lesson Plans
  • Ways to modify computer lesson plans
  • Resources
  • Copyright issues
• Module Three: Learning Styles
  • Different types of learners
  • Presenting ideas to learners
  • Teaching styles
  • Teaching rules
• Module Four: Nuts and Bolts of Presenting a Lesson
  • Timelines
  • Promoting the program
  • Registration
  • Dealing with "interesting people"
  • Copyrighting your lesson plan

Online Learning Details: This four-week course will be taught online using the web. When you register, you will receive a registration confirmation, which will include the URL to get to the course, as well as a username and password.

Every student proceeds through the online learning modules at his or her own pace. However, students should expect to commit to spending a minimum of 2 to 2 1/2 hours per week on this course in order to be successful. You can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, you will be expected to log in to the course each week to do that week's assignment. We ask that you log in sometime during the first week of the course to begin the course work.

Your instructor will be available for limited consultation support for two weeks after the official end date of a course, and the course material will stay up for an additional two weeks after that, to give those who have fallen behind time to work independently on the course. However, you will be expected to accomplish the majority of the course in synchronization with your peers during the first four weeks.

Who Should Take This Course: If you like to share with people, if you like to enlighten people, if you desire to promote your library while helping people in your community become more confident using the computer - this course is for you.

Prerequisites: This course is taught over the web. You must:

• Have an Internet connection.
• Be able to save Microsoft Word .docs or Adobe .pdf files to your computer and print them out. (For .doc files, a free Word Viewer is available at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en. Search for "Word Viewer." For .pdf files, a free Adobe Acrobat Reader is available at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html).
• Be comfortable navigating on the web and navigating back and forward on a website that uses frames.

System Requirements: The online learning product that Infopeople uses is called Angel. The following are minimum system requirements for using Angel. You will need access to a computer that has at least these specifications to participate in an online course:

• Windows:
• • Internet Explorer 6.0 and above, Netscape 7.1 and above, or Firefox 1.5 and above.
• Macintosh:
• • Mozilla 1.4 and above which is the same engine as Netscape 7.1, Safari 2.0 and above, or Firefox 1.5 and above.
  • OS X and above (OS 9 will NOT work with our online learning product)

To be successful in this course, you should also be comfortable using a word processing program and a desktop publishing program, converting a document to PDF and using e-mail.

If you are not comfortable with any of the above, please consider taking this course with a colleague who does meet these requirements.

Course Start: This 4-week-long online learning course starts on March 21, 2006.