My first Microsoft Office class was last night.
Hello computer. We spent over two hours getting to know how a computer works. I have been using computers for 15 years and I learned things I never knew.
The instructor, Vince, explained to the class, comprised of middle-aged women who are working or looking for work, that his first goal is to teach us to not be intimidated by computers. He actually took apart a tower to show us the processor, the mother board, the hard drive, and the memory cards. He told us to always touch the outside of the tower to diffuse any static and never to vacuum inside because it could cause a static charge; use a can of air to blow out dust.
The most useful and entertaining part of the evening was to watch Vince put into action his analogy of a library to show how a computer works. He told us to imagine that the wall behind him was covered with shelves of books, which work like the hard drive because that is where the data is stored. Vince, acting as the librarian who retrieved books from the shelves, was working as the processor. When he retrieved imaginary books from the imaginary shelves and placed them on a cart that stood in place of a desk, he explained that where the data is placed while it is in use is the memory; when our computers run slowly it might mean that we need more memory because there isn't enough room on the "desk" for all the things we want to open.
The bigger the hard drive, the more data you can store.
The faster the processor, the faster your computer retrieves data.
The more memory in your computer, the larger number of programs you can open and use at the same time.
The class ran 15 minutes over because we have so much to learn. We are not scheduled to have class this Thursday because it's the night for parent-teacher conferences at the school. However, if we can use the computer lab many of us want to meet with Vince for more time to learn our way around a computer. We have a lot to learn and he is anxious to teach us.
I already feel more confident when I use my computer. That's a good feeling.
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8 comments:
Sharon, I need to take a class like this. I have not seen one offered in this small town.
Pass on any information that you care to. I like the part of referring to a library.
Hi sweetie have a surprise waiting for you at my blog :)
I second One Woman's Journey's comment, and hope you'll share interesting facts with us, kind of like having your own computer class going on. I never knew that about static, and touching the tower to diffuse it. Thanks, looking forward to your lessons!
Glad lesson 1 was successful -- may there be many more just as fascinating...and do keep us posted with interesting tidbits as you learn.
He sounds like an outstanding teacher! I love his library analogy. I'm a visual learner and that really works for me.
Vince has a way with words -library shelves and a desk that is really good. You are well on your way to doing all the stuff on your "restart" list!
I need a class like this too. Plus one on how to adapt my keyboard to Word and also how to do fun things on my phone;-)
I like Vince already! Sounds like a better introduction to Microsoft Office Suite than the class I had to take as part of my paralegal training at a local community college. I hope you'll give us more installments!
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