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What Should a Community Computer Lab Offer?
Ballresin asks: "A local computer company is expanding and including a computer lab in their setup, and they want me to come in as its Administrator. I am supposed to be giving them input on what to teach/host. What does Slashdot think a medium sized tourist town (Okoboji, Spirit Lake, Arnolds Park, Iowa) should have to offer to the locals? I was thinking something along the lines of 'How to Use Windows 101' and 'How to Use Office 101'. My compatriots want to offer some off-the-wall classes such as 'Hacker Ethics: Why and How' and a few other odd classes. I have polled people in the area, which resulted the discovery that 80% of them are from out of town, so don't really care. What you guys think; What kind of classes or what games/LAN party setups should a new, small business offer? Any ideas/input is greatly appreciated."
No explanation needed....
Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
The most effective way to get porno on the internet. Heck, you might as well teach people something they want to know.
How many tourists (80% out of towners) are going to take a Windows 101 class on vacation?
I know that the post asked about courses, but I would have some good policies setup if you allow public internet use.
Too bad you posted it as Anonymous =P
cat
how to deal with tourists
Puzzle Pirates Beta.
I would set up a system of prerequisites, like they have in colleges or something, where the one main prerequisite to everything else is Computers 101: Assembly Programming with the Zilog z80 Microprocessor. After that, you can teach them how to use Windows XP; you know, things like how to move a mouse cursor, how to minimize and maximize windows on the display, etc.
You can get to theoretical stuff eventually as you guage community interest and expertise distribution. But the practical classes are the ones grandma and junior will find the most helpful. You'll get more potential teachers and students that way, and it will be easy to pass off the classes to other people if necessary.
Give them meaningful titles though. Don't title it "Excel 101". Title it "Using spreadsheets to make your life easier". People will come to classes in order to do things better, not to learn a specific app (well, most people at least). In the description, say "this uses iMovie, and we'll touch on moviemaker", but for the title, something like "making home movies that last forever".
good luck with your project!
why would i wan't to litter trashdot and have my name attached to it?
There's just 2 things that most users will want - the same 2 that made the internet what it is today:
Email
WWW
Email do's and don'ts would be good - including handling of spam and crap (the junk your father-in-law sends you that is either urban legend, or ancient, or both).
Web browsing, security (don't tell folks your passwords), and virii are all important things to know about.
Because if it is, I want to short.
well you should probably have a title or two from each category UT 2003 Diablo 2 Warcraft 3 AOE that kinda stuff and depending on the equipment Half-Life 2
Cool stuff is done by idiots........thats why its cool
Most people, especially in small communities, probably don't realize that they don't have to buy M$ Windows to do 90% of what they want to do (e-mail, surf the web, download pr0n). The other things like "Windows 101" they could get at the library or various adult education centers.
Not really an idea for a course, per se, but I wouldn't let users install any software onto PCs. Good luck!
C - A language that combines the speed of assembly with the ease of use of assembly.
I have seen several companies that offer MMORPG time at a cost. It seemed quite reasonable since you pay for what you use not the nasty monthly payment.
As far as classes, email would be great for a small touristy town. Everyone should be able to stop by and say hello to a friend. Also I think there are many opportunities for shopping on line. Teach them everything from amazon to ebay.
Good luck
Can you ping me now?... Good!
Whatever you do, don't name your subjects "blah blah 101" the 101 just makes you look like a tosser. Everyone knows its not a university :P
'Finding Information 101' -- GOOGLE. There are too many people that still haven't figured out how to use Google.
We offer our locals a variety of courses and are always taking suggestions. When an interesting idea is submitted we usually set up a sign-up sheet and post a notice in the paper to test the interest levels. Our regular classes include:
Building a Webpage
Intro. to Windows
Intro to Macs
Office 101
Using E-Mail
Finances and Bills with Your Computer
An Introduction to Digital Photography
And depending on your community...We have a lot of immigrants in ours and we offer a lot of computer-based ESL programs/courses
Good Luck!
But before you decide what to do with the lab, you've got to know why the computer shop wants to open one. If it's to drive up sales by pushing the shop's good directly, then tailor classes towards Making The Most Of The SB-Live! Audigy Card.
If it's to be an uber-cyber-cafe and hope that business picks up based on your civic contribution, then teach Using The Internet For Research and Homework Help, or maybe How To Install Filtering Software To Keep The Kids From Porn.
Whatever it is, it's got to jive with your employer's reason for doin' it!
--
Some suggestion, I work as a manager at a local university computer lab. Firs tthing is pick yourself up a copy of norton ghost. Second thing is buy licenses for Deep Freeze the best program ever as far as i'm concerend. Don't have to worry about people messing with settings and even allows them to install their own programs. I really, really, really love that program - it makes my job 10x easier.
Also, don't go with dell or gateway as your computer manufactures. Get somebody who specializes in corporate support, like Omnitech, they offer a 5 year warranty, online RMA's and no hassle returns of defective equipment as well as a parts closet. We are very happy with them
don't beleive it sucka, you didn't get it. I DID! move along and keep trying.
you fail it and i fail to fail it.
Maybe a basic, semi-techy discussion of how the internet works, so that the users can protect themselves.
They don't need to know how to configure a DNS server, but understanding basic concepts like cookies, HTTPS (and when it is safe to use your credit card), SPAM, etc. could be very useful for Joe User.
Also, creating some kind of list of common acronyms & buzzwords would be helpful to the same folks. When I say that to 'connect you Win2K box to the ISP with a CAT-5 cable w/PCMCIA NIC', I might as well be speaking martian to some folks.
"Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.
How about offering a class on computer self-defense? How to set-up a firewall, the importance of keeping your favorite anti-virus up to date, how to document your browser and e-mail client settings, for instance. As for frills - how about an introduction to eBay - might as well let them earn while they learn :)
If you're thinking of Windows 101 and Office 101, then I'd suggest Internet 101, and go over email, browser basics, Usenet, FTP, etc. It's remarkable to me how so many people think the Web, email, and IM make up the entirety of the Internet.
:)
A more advanced class on WWW usage would be good - teach people how to use search engines effectively, etc. That would be a short one-day thing that a lot of people could get a great deal of benefit from.
Another good idea would be 'Privacy & Security 101'. Teach people about software firewalls and hardware NAT routers, how to keep their privacy on the internet, and how to avoid spam, etc. Definitely a lot of value there.
Perhaps something about how to use digital cameras with photoshop to do photo editing / printing. And maybe another one for an intro to video editing. Lots of people take pictures & home movies. It'd be good to show them how to get that stuff off their cameras and onto CD-Rs and DVD+/-R(/W)s.
Basic home repair & upgrades, though that may cut into your business.
How to set up a (wireless?) home network, perhaps?
Connecting your TiVo to your home network.
Intro to Linux & the BSDs.
Considering that it sounds like a small town which probably doesn't have a lot of connectivity, teaching people how to set up or connect to a wireless network would be a great idea. That way, the city's inhabitants could share any connectivity (even between neighbors) it gets very efficiently and happily. Wireless also makes the tourists happy and might make them want to vacation there more!
;)
This of course, presupposes courses on Microsoft 101 and the Internet 101.
Don't forget Linux 101 for those who like a challenge!
-6d
would be to teach them about how to effectively use the Internet and all the different stuff that's on it. I mean, Office is basically something home users don't really use anyway and the OS itself is preinstalled or should come with support for configuring it.
The interesting thing is: once you have everything set up and want to do something, where to begin? So teach them about Google, how to effectively use it. Tell them about keeping an additional yahoo/hotmail-account to avoid a lot of spam in their personal inboxes. Show them how instant messaging works, what the different networks are and how to set up these clients so they won't get spammed and have some privacy. Tell them about cool VoIP software to chat with relatives on the other side of the country. Explain how to check whether a site has SSL when using your creditcard to buy stuff.
It's all so basic for most of us, but invaluable for the casual user - it'll really make them have fun using the Internet instead of hanging around on portals like AOL and MSN and not getting anywhere.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Tourist town, you say? You will make them happy by providing every digital media reader known to man, and the means to burn and e-mail the photos back home. They can burn a CD full of photos and empty their camera, and they can e-mail a few photos home to family/friends. This, in addition to "the usual" public kiosks that aren't annoyingly locked down, printing services, internet access for people with laptops, etc.
Also, get in touch with your local public library/libraries. See if they have a computer lab. See what they offer. Look into working together, if only from the standpoint of "oh, we don't offer that service, but they do". If you can refer people to each other, you will both benefit.
I'd definately focus at least half the machines towards basic Internet access, and would probably prefer using old junker (donated?) machines and Linux Terminal Server Project to host it. The other half should be quite a bit more powerful to run games and an "Office" suite. Quite a bit depends on what your target audience is, which currently seems vaguely defined.
Jonah Hex
Horror & SciFi Erotic Nudes
Since it sounds like it will be a Windows enviroment, I would customize each computer with 'mildly advanced' programs that they could probably use everyday. For example, AVG for antivirus, Sygate for firewall, Open Office, Opera, a popup stopper, AdAware etc etc etc. And for (cheap) good times, go out and buy a dozen copies of Half Life, and then patch/upgrade it with the latest popular mod's (counter-strike, day of defeat, team fortress etc) for maximum bang for the buck.
dude, i think you are posting in your sleep again. what you said has nothing to do with anything on the something we are talking about.
Keep your costs low and setup machines with Knoppix (cd based linux)...and show people how simple the world wide web can be without AOL. my 2cents
Robby Russell
PLANET ARGON
Robby on Rails
Free. Gratis. Libre.
Software y Libertad!
La computadora es de quien la trabaja!
By definition, SlashDotters are here because they're deeper into the community, the practices, and either the hobby or profession (for many, both) of computing.
We are going to have no idea whatsoever what Joe Average will want from a set of computer classes. Hey, we don't even know if you're dealing with residents, which won't want the same classes every year, or transients, which will want brief and to the point classes.
I suggest you take all the ideas that SlashDot comes up with, cull at least half of them, put them in a list, and put that list up in the business. Print it on flyers with five or so entries. Ask people to check which ones they would be interested in - maybe let them say sorta interested or very interested - and allow them to write in suggestions. Given that they'll be looking at other things of scale, they'll be able to input what's germane to them.
When you're writing down what you'd present, don't just come up with a topic and go. Think about it: what would Office 101 be? It's not going to be enough time to cover the whole suite. Some people will want document layout and setup in Word, like it was a publisher; some will want Excel and Access, for their small business (maybe tax stuff too.) Some will want to learn how to use Outlook, or Exchange, so that they can function in their corporate environment. Some will want to learn to make PowerPoint presentations.
You've got to remember that most people do not learn computer topics at the rate of a slashdotter. This isn't because they're dumb, or clueless, or any other such geek slander; it's because they have less context to bind to. I'm not stupid, but a mechanic is gonna pick up the specifics of fixing a foreign car way, way faster than I will, even though I likely have a better grasp of the underlying physics. You're going to need to allow a lot of time for basic cluestickery.
Maybe, here's a thought. Every month or so, offer a 101 course on one Office suite app. See how it goes, and have a second one prepared. If it goes well, do your second one while you prepare a sequel to the first.
Above all, don't get stuck in plans. The people that show up won't always be the same ones and they won't always want the same things. Some things (word) you'll be able to repeat. Prepare occasional side-tracks into the weird for geeks if you find them; if you don't, get ready to explain MS Project.
Basically, it's all about your audience, and we aren't your audience. What you get here is nothing better than a starting point.
StoneCypher is Full of BS
How to get game patches and driver updates after buying a new game.
How to rip CDs, and make MP3 CDs/DVDs.
How and when to re-install Windows.
How to use Openoffice.
How to keep computer secure: using virus scanners and personal firewalls, and not being stupid.
NT
So back in the day my roomates and I designed an Operating System for the 21st Century, it was called: WEPOS.
WEPOS is the Warcraft, E-Mail, Porn Operating System.
I think that an off-the-shelf WEPOS system should facilitate all needs of the locals.
If people really are blowing through town all the time, then I'd suggest you target your services at them.
Advertise at the local hotels. At least once per month, drop off fliers with a listing of the services your lab offers and the class schedule. Most small town hotels have truly horrible business centers with one or two outdated PC's with no dialup access. Travelers love finding places to surf.
Have traveler-starter classes, such as how to check your home email account from anywhere, how to research flights online, how to get weather, etc.
And above all, ask people. You're on the right track by asking around - now ask the hotel people to find out what their guests want.
What's your damage, Heather?
Personally, I think your situation is custom made for a Lindows box. Avoid having to use ghost at all.
It is a solemn thought: dead, the noblest man's meat is inferior to pork.
It should offer pr0n, warez, and mp3z!! And lots of 'em!!!
First - assess age and experience. If very low, basics such as using the mouse and what is the internet. Introduce email and chatting to them.
Second - assess local business needs: spreadsheets and document writing. Basic desktop publishing. Also, give out certificates so people can take classes and have something to add to resumes.
Third - student and school needs. More than likely you have student classes needing access to computers. These range from low to high, but I'd start out w/ computer basic and hit the Gifted and Talented teachers to give you some nerds to work with linux and open source.
Fourth - Ecommerce classes: yeah, that's so five years ago, but you're not in San Francisco so maybe the dot-com is about happen there. Explain that a good website can boost mail order sales and supplement income for niche markets, primarily small vendors/manufacturers.
Fifth - programming courses. All this net stuff don't mean jack without programmers. Download perl and get people started with scripting - then build from there.
Invite members of the community to teach your courses (as long as they have a lesson plan), and if there's a local geneologist and/or historian, invite them in to teach about the local history.
-NJ
Quite frankly, the market for total newbie classes is rather frustrated. Most people who would want to learn the very basics have already done so. You have to offer unique choices if you want to appeal to a broad audience. How about "How not to get screwed online"? Teach people about spyware, trojans, the-nice-nigerian-man-really-doesn't-want-to-make- you-rich, etc. Things that have practical value to the average newbie who ALREADY has a working knowledge of AOL, windows, and office. The Hacker Ethics class and other ideas are good, and you should implement some to appeal to a wider audience beyond just newbies, which is going to be important.
Just remember, you have to get as many people interested and coming to class as possible. Trying to be a LAN party store is not going to work, as similar businesses in my home town discovered, for the simple reason that the kind of person that appeals to ALREADY has a capable computer and has no compunctions about bringing it to his friend's house and hooking it up to a network so he can play Counter-Strike. You're starting an uphill battle.
Intro to the PC, Internet I, Searching the Web, E-mail (free web-based), [MS Office stuff], Creating Web Pages.
At least that's part of what we offer at the local library (grant from Gates Learning Foundation)
For our demographic, we keep things simple. You figure people who frequent a computer lab don't have a machine at home with internet access...so we gear towards the basic stuff.
I'd have loved to do more OSS stuff like maybe some Linux or OpenOffice.org (again, the demographic...let them know they don't have to shell serious $$ to get decent apps) -- and if at all possible (unlike here) show them Mozilla and compare it to IE.
Any chance to let people know of the "alternatives" should be taken.
That's great if you want job security, I guess. It'd be nice if there was a course that could teach people how to apply what they learn about one program to another, even if it doesn't do the same things. For example, that the "print" menus are almost always under "file" or that "properties" are usually to be found in "file" or "edit." Simple things like that that will make them actually functional when they are faced with something novel.
I suppose that's really placing too much of a demand on the students rather than too much on the teachers, though. Sigh...
(Worked in computer labs for 2 years...has stories)
Out of town? Tourists or snowbirds? You mean your typical camera toting crowd? Teach them digital photography, a few types of image compression, and the best ways to e-mail photos to the family back home. And throw in a little Gimp/Photoshop to show how to remove the wrinkles from their faces, brighten the Oregon skies, and in general make the stay-at-homes jealous. I'll be happy to sell them the cameras....
"they want me to come in as its Administrator. I am supposed to be giving them input on what to teach/host."
If so did you falsely claim that you were an imaginative innovator and thermometer of pubic opinion on your resume?
Lot's O beer and party snaks.
Oh, and Lot's of those TV advertised
video teacher cds -- For Free!
"Open Source: What's out there and how to take advantage of it"
Starting with an explanation of the ethos of Open Source, you could then go on with some real examples of how Open Source has great appeal.
You could hit OpenOffice.org and a few other of the more well known pieces of software. In addition, you could do a segment on Linux - basic tutorials, that kind of thing.
I guess it would depend on how technical you wanted to get, but I would probably keep it simple. A lot of people have heard of Open Source software but have no idea what the advantages are.
"...Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam..."
How to get Paid writing Viruses for the RIAA..
:)
preferably with Working for the MCA by Lynard Skynard playing in the background
Don't Tread on OpenSource
How 'bout some classes on... 1) Distributed Scheduler Design 2) SMP, Spinlocks, and Cache Coherency 3) Rules-Based Simulator Design 4) Debugging Multi-threaded Assembly Language
Not a big deal to most users yet, but they are catching on. I'm a big fan of them personally - more reliable than floppies and easy to carry around ie. your keychain. Drives me nuts when I'm using a public lab or work computers and I'm not supposed to use one because I'm not allowed to install a new device. Yes there are ways around that ;), but most normal users wouldn't know that.
Anyway, if you're gonna restrict people from installing a new device on your windows machine, go ahead and install the USB flash drive ahead a time for everyone...i'm betting it'll pay off eventually.
puck
medium sized tourist town
Basics, of course (clicking the mouse, dragging and dropping, word, email, web browsing).
Advanced: Creating a web page, running a spreadsheet, maybe even setting up a simple database for logging hotel guests, etc.
"Provided by the management for your protection."
Keep in mind that once these people start learning, some of them will want to go on to more advanced stuff. Once someone learns the basics of a spreadsheet, they may want to learn some of the more advanced formulas available, or perhaps formatting techniques.
Also, those off-the-wall classes might not be as out there as you think. I'm constantly teaching my co-workers (they're bean-counters) about hacker ethics, and sometimes I can't get any actual work done because they want to know more.
I have no tag line
I've found that I almost always get blank stares when I start to explain to folks why they need memory, storage or processor upgrades. They especially have a hard time understanding the concept of disk space. "How can you run out of space in that big white box?"
Perhaps a class called "How Your Computer Works" would be in order. The class would have gentle, simplified explanations of all the tech "mumbo-jumbo". And how it all fits together.
People aren't stupid (well most aren't). Sometimes they're just overwhelmed by information and lingo. A guiding hand could make all the difference in the world and actually help make them computer literate.
wbs.
Huh?
Honestly I'd say that if your main base of users is out of towners, then you should head into a conveniece or entertainment avenue since they aren't going to be around long enough to take a class
Maybe open up a cyber cafe or a LAN gaming center, both are proven effective buisness models.
Anyone who whats to use email, usenet, google, ect. has already figured it out. I doubt your grandma wants to learn how to set up a spread sheet in excel. If she wanted to do her taxes she'd hire somone or get out the ol' pencil and paper like she's been doing the last 40 years. She'd probally get it done way faster than using excel.
People don't need to use technology just cuse it's there.
My grandfather still reads the newspaper rather than usenet and slashdot, because he's happy that way.
I wouldn't overestimate the avarage persons desire to learn anything new. You'll just end up with a empty class. (speaking from experiance)
but good luck anyway.
Silence Bossy Meat Creatures!
you really do.
First, I think it really depends on how strong your skills are and what your background is. Always teach what you know.
Second, watch out for online games if you are the type of person who can be intimidated by a pushy fifteen-year-old. Inevitably one will show up and try to change your lab into his person UT200X fantasy world.
Third. I am a frothing at the mouth Mac zealot, so don't rule out the opportunity of putting a couple Macs in there. It's an easy and safe way to experiment in the *nix world.
Fourth. Concepts are REALLY important for beginning computer users. Try to talk about why folders are called folders and how they help organize the computer. What RAM and hard drives are and why they're different. Lots of people don't have these basic concepts down, and they can be really helpful to starting to understand why the computer works the way it does.
Fifth. Have a great time. I grew up in Iowa and Iowans are great folks. I'm sure your lab will be a big hit!
I have consistently found that most people are clueless when it comes to buying a computer. Because of this, I think one of the classes you should teach is "Fundamentals of buying a computer". You should go over the basics, like what to look for in a computer, what brands to avoid, what brands to look for, the laptop/desktop option, the PC/Mac option, the building-from-parts option, etc. etc... The more you teach this class, the more feedback you will get from students about their purchasing experiences -- this will be great for you and your students.
Slashdot's first reaction to VMware
call them "certifications" and make stupid little "certificates" for them to hang on their walls. maybe then a local business will try to get all their employees "certified". it seems to make the people in my office think they're competent... you may also want to offer testing.
There's just 2 things that most users will want:
email and p0rn
The best games to get people to come in (assuming you're in the US) are going to be games like Half Life (with all the mods - CS, TFC, DoD, FLF, etc, etc), Quake 3, UT2k3, other FPS go down very well, you might also want to throw stuff like ICQ, MSN etc onto the computers, many people use them regularly as an essential.
You may also want to find some RTS games (Real Time Strategy), stuff like Command and Conquer etc, they are very fun over a LAN as well as over the internet.
Okoboji, Spirit Lake, Arnolds Park, Iowa
Anyone moronic enough to vacation in these towns needs only a direct connection to the US governemnt, so they can be quickly exterminated and removed from the gene pool before causing it irrepairable harm.
Thank you, that will be all,
-- RLJ
Since wireless cards and base stations are cheap, it might be good to show people they can use the cable modem/dsl from anywhere/any computer in the house without hardwiring.
First part of the class is how to put in the card and attach the router to the modem. Then to get to the internet with the wireless setup. Then how to run a peer to peer local network using the DHCP sever on a wireless router.
WEP and security are good topics for later. If you had people that wanted to share but were a little distance away from each other, you could even do Yagi 101, but that's a little much.
Have everyone bring a can of Pringles. You could have snacks for the class and materials for an antenna.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain with all your metadata.
Maybe you should do some research about Iowa. The 1st state to have an all optic fiber state network. Iowa set the trend for other states to follow.
"A plan fiendishly clever in its intricacies"- Homer Simpson
of Linux perhaps. If you have a class learning spreadsheets, then you might mention that there is another machine in the corner running "another operating system" (or some phrase designed to minimize FUD) that has a free spreadsheet on it. There may be people out there coming in who don't have a computer, but are thinking of buying one. Why not educate them about the choices in some way?
I am definitely telling all of my computer illiterate friends that there are choices, and when the come to me with "My computer is broken" I often have them bring it by just so I can show them my Linux (Mandrake 9.1) box. The idea that Windows is "easier" to use than Linux is patently false. Windows doesn't even offer better support, in that you have to pay someone to fix your machine if you don't have the knowhow.
Part of that is advocy. That involves teaching and listening. There are plenty of people here with a clue.
I've been teaching a newbies class for the last four or five months. I've worked in large and small companies and have some idea of what people want and what software can reasonably offer them.
Set up multiple OS for demonstration. This is the hardest thing for a newbie to do, so it's the best service to offer. Windows 101? Sure, teach it on KDE and give them a reasonable notion of why there's a log on, what it protects them from and what it gives them. Games, OK, windoze wins there for now. For everything else, free software is easier to use and maintain. "Sheilding" newbies from the "complexity" of different OS and desktop environments does them a disservice. They quickly master basic concepts of files and GUI. Giving them more makes them happier and lets them make up their own mind down the road.
Visit the, admittedly windoze heavy, Cajun Clickers Computer Club for an idea of what a community, all volunteer computer club teaches and people want to know.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Sure, you want to help the locals get there feet wet.
But you also need to allow tourist a place to get email. You might be able to offer thema temp email account and call them if it gets an email from a specific person(for a fee, naturally)
If ypour a sking town, you could offer the tourist a place to go to check the price and availability of things inside the town. make it a free service, then get your money from the merchants, either paying to be listed, or a finders fee.
Offer a WiFI account.
Not a lot of people go on vacation so they can learn Word. yes, some do and I know of geek cruises, but I'm talking about MOST people.
You could offer to send an email at a latter date, so a person boss thinks they are working, when they're on the slopes!
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
The basics are good to know, and will probably be the most attended classes you'll offer (Internet 101 and E-mail 101 are gonna be popular).
/.er, i would humbly ask you to offer something with a bit more meat as well. Maybe "Beginning C++" or ".NET". I'm sure the teenaged computer geek in your town will thank you for teaching them the real basics. Heck, it'll probably serve as a recruitment vehicle if you ever need to hire competent computer lab monitors who can also fix things in a pinch, just look up a few of your former advanced students.
As a humble
20 mil and I will! Learn Esperanto with 20M others.
Things like:
- Intro to Linux
- Word processing with OpenOffice.org
- Graphics with the GIMP
- Programming with Python
You can charge them a $5 materials fee that includes a CD-ROM of the software!
Finding God in a Dog
How to troll on slashdot 101
Are you going after tourist? If so, why not have a class for people who travel --> "Making the most of your computer while traveling" Some topics could include "finding great rates (air/hotels/cruises/etc) online, wireless connections, tech saavy hotels, etc" as well as how to allow them to be the "mobile techie" -- ie getting connected to the internet from various locations, using webmail, gps & computers, etc. If you want to gear toward the locals, decide on what YOU want to do -- if your looking for larger classes, then you will probably need to stick with the basics "Intro to the Internet, email, computers" with perhaps a few lan parties for the kiddies every few weeks :)
I've been tempted to get back into teaching classes such as this. One of my previous employers, an ISP, held such sessions for its customers to teach all sorts of interesting things, and they were generally well attended and well received.
To get people to show up, however, you have to teach them stuff they're not going to just be able to fumble their way through on their own (or with their neighbours kids help :) ). So, some of the ideas I can think up off the top of my head include:
Some thoughts, FWIW.
Yaz.
I would think some mix of Macs and PCs with a variety of software programs at least. You might want to lock down the OSes though so they have some good uptime.
If teaching generic 'word procesor' and 'spreadsheet' courses, consider at least one session on gnumeric and abiword. Both are quite usable. Their user interfaces are close enough to excel and word that the session won't be a huge culture shock, but at the same time different enough to make students have to understand what they are doing, rather than just clicking 'the third button from the left'. Abiword is available for Windows, in case you don't want to go the complete GNU/Linux step (though having used it for 6 months now, I actually prefer the Gnome 2.2 user interface to the WIndows UI.)
Consider setting up at least one machine, with a CD burner, as a 'software kiosk', where the community can come and download basic free (as in beer and/or GNU) software using a 'point and burn' user interface.
...what games/LAN party setups should a new, small business offer?
As a gamer-for-life kinda guy, I'd suggest throwing on some games. But then again, maybe not. How old will your users be? You could get a lot of angry parents in if you simply allow a bunch of 12 year olds to shed some virtual blood without consent. Perhaps a class about computer/video games that explains what those pesky ratings are all about. Most parents have no idea they exist! If pesky underage users aren't a problem, a few popular LAN type games are: Counterstrike, Warcraft 3, Battlefield 1942 (though it's made to support 32v32 player games, so make sure have you enuf PCs!), Medal of Honor: AA, Wolfenstein: ET, and Quake 3. Upcoming "must haves" are possibly Halo and Half-Life 2. And eventually Doom 3.
Don't bother lecturing to them about the evils of commercial software, big corps and the like. Try a common sense approach and see how far you can push it.
1. Show them in MS Office how easy it is to type a letter or to do home budget spreadsheet. Then show them how to do it with OpenOffice or KOffice. Then tell them the price of each, including what happens if they have more than one PC in the house.
2. Show them how easy it is to install Windows XP or SuSe (or Drake). Or let's push this one a bit farther: Show them how a pc they thought it was old and obsolete comes back to life as a web surfing station with free software you either downloaded from the web or it came in a CD with a magazine.
3. Show them the iApps in Mac OS X.
4. Demonstrate how there is virtually a website about every possible subject you can come up with. Dare them to the Google challenge!
The important thing is to show them there is always an alternative for what they are trying to do. If they are scared of computers because of past experiences, OS X 10.2, XP and Lindows can help turn them around.
Pedro
----
The Insomniac Coder
I think a course in steganography would be highly appropriate to the region.
For non-fans, the third episode in season one was set near lake Okoboji and involved ( amongst other things ) a small child who received binary coded messages through the television. Those messages later turned out to have a variety of interesting steganographic properties, of which I am sadly unable to provide a screen grab.SCULLY: Oko-what?
MULDER: Bogee. (Mulders get up and talks right into Scully's face) Okobogee.
This might be an opportunity to demonstrate new and exciting technology. Show people what is being done to make their lives on their home computers easier. Instead of showing them how to use applications on an outdated and burdensome OS, Windows, show them how some other people, particularly GNOME and KDE, propose to solve problems. At the very least, make this one of your "classes". In this sense, you could become a bit of an attraction for tourists. I know this is a longshot, but we're just here to give you ideas -- not do your job.
The most important computer skill anyone can learn is, IMO, how to Read The Friendly Manual. If you can teach people how to figure out how to do something, or fix a problem, without having to call tech support or their teenage son (I'm both), you will make the world a much better place.
For MS Windows, the best tool to teach people to use to learn is probably the Help files. Yes, these are all too often poorly written, but it constantly surprises me that not only do people sometimes have a hard time understanding the help files, but how many people don't even know how to use them.
Also, I would recommend teaching people how to read the PDF users manuals most software comes with. Perhaps unfortunatly, most software today only ships with a "Quick Install Guide" on actual paper, so I'm afraid all too many people think their new software doesn't have a manual.
If you intend on teach about Linux at all, make sure they know about The Linux Documentation Project and especially the HOWTOs there.
Join moola.com, play games to earn money.
$20.00 per seat for an "all-day" gaming pass. Or $5.00/hr. That would allow people to come in and hold LAN parties on your modern equipment - an attractive thing for poor students who have a Celeron 300 and ATI Mach64.
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
A vast number of questions asked both online and offline can be answered with what I call "5SOG": "5 Seconds On Google".
Warez. No seriously. If it wasn't for the Commodore Club at my local community center, I'd probably never have gotten into computers. The ability to borrow software for a week at a time was a great boon to my learning more about computers.
I'm a writer, a poet, a genius, I know it. I don't buy software, I grow it.
...and jump straight into it when people walk in the door, straight into predicates, lookahead etc...video tape the entire course...and post it to slashdot...mod +5 funny immediately
I runned a cybercafe myself for 2 years and quitted because it took too much of my time. It was in Europe so maybe the data will not be accurate in the US. It may go beyond the scope of your question but many issues in the success of such a place comes from marketing and such.
I suggest that you advertise some around the schools/universities (schools will give you more casual customers because they will not have probably already a computer)
I will divide the games market in 3 categories:
Action games: they work really good, it will attract many customers mostly during the day and week-ends, this category is the only one which will attract young children
Examples: Counter-Strike (the HL mod), UT2K3, Quake 3, and many others.
Strategy games: they will attract less people but these customers will probably return if they were satisfied, and the games requirements are quite low. ...
Examples: SC/BW, Warcraft 3, Cossacks, Rise of Nations, Age of Mythology,
MMORPG: although you may not think to these games, if you can attract some people relatively well known in the games, it can attract more customers, they will probably fill the holes in the hours where you do not have many clients, because they usually play late. Most of these customes will come with their own game and cdkey.
Examples: Asheron's Call 2, Planetside, StarWars Galaxies, FF Online, Everquest and many others.
How to improve efficiency
You can get top comps, in order to get the customers who always want top-notch comps with fastest hardware, but it will cost you really much more. I think the best solution is to find a rent contract where it is specified that equipment can be replaced each year. I dunno if you can get this kind of rent service in the US but here it saved our business. Hardware changes very fast.
Creating a community is really important. Customers will probably return if they find nice people to hang with in your cybercafe. So you may want to hire someone who has some charisma in your cybercafe. You may organize some events, weekly contests (best fraggers in the cybercafe get X free hours or anything else)
For the payment system, we used shiva, and it had many backdoors, security issues. So you should watch out for people who will try to get some free hours.
Keyboards, headphones, and mice will not last long, so buy cheap keyboards, headphones and mice. Get a decent quality but not the very expensive ones. After 1 month, you will see that many disappear, and have been stolen.
You may want to install a shared printer ro a printing service on the comp which will host permanent servers. Forums too may be a good addition, although it may be better to host them outside of your network so it will not decrease pings for customers playing on the net.
Don't you know it is now both immoral and criminal to think beyond the next quarterly report?
I teach classes for a training company, so I can suggest classes that are successful for us:
1. CD Burning. We teach using Nero, since it comes with the drives we buy, but the major topics are the different kinds of CDs (audio vs. data, CD-R vs. CD-RW). We just added ripping and burning DVDs (using DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink). VERY few people actually understand the filesystem; a substantial portion of the class is explaining that, say, "My Shared Folder" lives under the Program Files Folder on the C: drive. In real life, I've found most home users just don't do very much with files. Maybe that's another class?
2. Internet Security. The "anti-Spam class". We demonstrate pop-up blocking, programs like adaware, manipulating the hosts file, antivirus software, anti-spam techniques. All this is predicated on reasonably advanced internet users.
3. Troubleshooting. Break a bunch of computers in a thematically appropriate and easily fixable way (sound issues, network problems whatever). Let folks pound their heads against the display for awhile. A decent tech can have a lot of fun with this.
4. Internet Searching. Hard as it is to believe, many people click the search button in IE, that takes them to MSN search, which may very well be the worst search site on the internet. Teach google, refining searches, choosing keywords etc.
5. Shopping Online. Goes over magically in oh, October or November. Teach safety habits, finding product reviews and lowest prices (simpler now that there's froogle, but show differences between say mysimon and dealtime).
6. Digital photography. Many, many people buy a camera and never change the settings from the defaults. Showing things like color and white balance controls, basic photography (when to use a flash, whatever), and how to make things look good when you print 'em out.
Those are things that get decent numbers of sign-ups every time we offer them. Maybe you can do something similar.
-- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
the basics of privacy, and securing yourself to go online 101. It should be a REQUIREMENT to get your community lab drivers license so to speak...
Things like DO NOT INSTALL COMET CURSOR, YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE A URGENT MESSAGE even though that popup says you do, Broadcasting an IP address is NOT A BAD THING even though the OTHER popup says it is, How NOT TO respond to spam, what a GOOD password is, and the survival tools needed, such as a popup blocker, purging histories and the implications of using a SHARED computer. In a similar situation in Yuma, AZ, the snowbirds like email, you could not get an ID until you passed their very basic course, and the heightened awareness gets things reported.
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
I would start with data management. I think its important to teach people how to make backups and move their data between systems.
On the other hand if you're not willing to touch the command line could we possibly recommend you never touch a computer again?
people may disagree, but i think one of the best things you can teach is some basics of computer hardware - basic components, installing peripherals, etc. possibly even put together a box during the course.
a problem i encouter a lot working with and supporting novice computer users is an unreasonable fear of their machines. i think learning how the guts of the thing work demystifies computers for people, allowing them to see it for the electronic tool it is, rather than some fear producing "magic box." in my experience such a shift results in users being much more bold with their all around use of the computer - trying new things, experimenting, etc.
Just a thought...
--
If I actually could spell I'd have spelled it right in the first place.
Foreign language and English improvement labs are great applications for community centers, libraries, etc. We have sold them to hundreds of organizations and people love them and actually learn something useful. What's more, they are quite affordable.
For more information email me or visit www.esl.net
A class on how to interface PDA's with computers, and what PDA's are good for what uses.
I teach a class to local kids (5-10yrs) on basic troubleshooting skills.
Stuff like where to start if you have a problem, where all the cables go, when to admit the problem is beyond your skill level.
The kids seem to really like the class.
Most people have little knowledge of computers and how they work. How about a Computers 101 where you describe the various components of computers and terms used in computing. I do a lot of help desk, and most people don't know the difference between RAM and hard drive space -- it's just memory to them.
Wouldn't the first day of class go something like this?
Teacher: Okay. So today we're going to be learning about BSD. BSD is dead! Class dismissed.
One topic that I've always thought would help your average user:
:)
Effectively using a search engine (or how to use Google
I actually volunteer & teach such classes.
The relevant ones would be:
Intro to MS Word
Just show them all the menus & such.
Intro to the Internet
VERY basic, show them how to use browser, Google.
Intermediate Internet
A little more talk about how to find useful info online (e.g. google). Homepages, hyperlinks, bookmarks, etc. Brief lecture on 'safety' (see below).
Basic Online Security
Talk about passwords (esp. how to make a good one--half the advice I've seen is wrong--you want length + more charsets [upper, lower, number & symbol... *especially* the last one] + no consistant pattern -- e.g. no keyboard runs like jkl; make it from a phrase or similar), using credit cards online, etc. Viruses (and fake virus warnings), spyware, common ads, etc.
Note that there isn't much demand for anything past the intermediate level. Or rather, if there is, it's not something you can cover in a two-hour class very well.
My mother works at a library and part of the staff has been taught how to work the system, etc (her half). However, whenever they type up any sort of bulletin or flyer (done frequently) they NEVER use tabs. They space everything out with spaces, or occasionally the default tabs. So I deeply sugget you, in your office explanation, show them the basic tabs. Be sure to include all types of tabs (left, right, justified) and how you can put them wherever you want instead of relying on the default half inch.
Live life to the fullest. It's not that life is short, but that you are dead for so long.
The community lab needs to provide a lot more than just courses. In fact, I would think that its best buisiness would come from being an internet cafe catered to a non-tech community.
Get some of the local kids onto LAN gaming and encourage it in your lab. In addition to weekly classes (in the evenings or whatever), make it clear that it is a place where people can come to check their email, type up something in word, or whatever. The most important part though is to always have someone friendly and knowledgable staffing the place so that people know if they come in at a slow time they can get personal help with whatever they're working on. This help shouldn't cost them above and beyond what the computer time is costing them, nor should it be the only reason they come there. They should come there to get stuff done, knowing that if they get stuck someone will be there to help them out.
Don't be dicouraged that nearly^H^H^H^H^H^H everything you'll teach will be something that a savvy user could look up online. -- Your students will be the people who either (a) don't know how to look it up online or (b) prefer a live human teacher.
May I also suggest "Intro to Digital Photography: How to Get Great Prints Without Having to Learn How Anything Works."
"We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." --The American President (20.1.2009)
I work at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in downtown Baltimore and spend a lot of time signing people up to use our public terminals. In this position we mostly get questions relating to basic computer and Internet skills, followed by questions about applications like word processors and questions about how to design and host a web page. The web page questions is very common.
You might want to target classes to different groups in the community, maybe divided by general interest areas and age group. Let the gamers and the senior citizens learn skills they want with people who're interested in the same things.
It's important to remember that we take a lot of our skills for granted. I just helped a woman figure out how to use a Hotmail account (logging in, reading, composing, and responding to mail) and in the process needed to spend some time explaining conventions like case sensitivity, how to type in a URL, etc. We get questions like these all of the time from people of every age, ethnicity, and level of affluence. It's not uncommon for us to work with people who have no idea how to use a search engine or even a mouse. You'll want to make more advanced offerings available, but don't forget to provide a lot of offerings covering the basics.
I sort of disagree. If 80 percent of the people are tourists, then you should cater to the tourists. I did a bit of traveling this summer, and I remember signing the visitors book a few times at the tourist centers of the states I went though. It was kind of fun to see where all the people came from. It might be interesting to have the tourists in your lab do a web page about themselves and their travels. This could be added to a main web page that lets you check out all the people who came into the lab. Digital cameras might be an option. You could teach basic HTML, or an easy editor like Frontpage.
Why, the iLoo, of course!
Oh, wait...you said Lab. I thought you said Lav.
The classes are good use of a computer lab. Just make sure that total Idiots are not in the same class as normal people. Normal people get pissed about wasting their time waiting around for the idiots.
Don't bother with lan games, unless you rent out the whole lab by the hour. One or two machines at a time will become a problem in a hurry.
BTW, get really good at disk imaging......
... do not allow users to actually use the installed OS on the physical hardware. You'll spend more man hours than you will budget for fixing user mistakes (whether or not they are malicious). Reinstalling the OS, drivers, running something to find adware, maintaing the file system and scanning for trojans is time consuming like you would believe. I say this as the administrator of a single computer shared amongst my two other flat mates.
The solution is to:
1) Install Debian (or other Linux you are comfortable with).
2) Install X and some window managers.
3) Install VMWare. Get a volume license, they do discount for educators. Call them and they will help you.
4) Install your virtual machine OS. This way you can have Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP,
5) Back everything up at this point. There are various methods and reasons to pull from a back up, but do it. You never know when you'll need a machine in its virgin state.
If you don't want someone to ever see VMWare or KDE or Gnome, you can set up your machine with some work to look like it boots right into Windows. I'm not even sure my flat mates know the machine is running Debian.
You should run into very little trouble with the virtualized OS. Unless you are gaming or doing something that is consumptive of physical resources (like a sound card or video card), most people can't tell the difference, even with VMWare tools installed.
And don't forget to install the VMWare tools where they are available, they are helpful.
Although "Why" might pertain to ethics, I somehow doubt that "How" would...
This side up.
I'd imagine you'd get a fair degree of interest in a course teaching people about what the bits of computers are, and how to decypher the local computer stores' advertisements to choose the system that suits their needs best. So many people will go out and buy a high end gaming machine with a super video card they'll never use, to check email and use Word. Alternately people whose kids want to play Star Wars Galaxies need to know they should ask for a better video card upgrade than is included in the basic word processing machine. So many people don't even understand the difference between hard drive and memory, and what affects what. I had a part time job selling computers a while back and the number one type of question was "so what does memory do?" "so how do I know which system I need?"
A more advanced course on how to build your own computer might be something to consider in the future if you see interest.
I also definitely agree you don't want to call your courses things like "Internet Basics 101", instead call them something more user friendly and descriptive.
All I ask is a warm bed, a kind word, and UNLIMITED POWER
and a tribute to one very basic principle of teaching and/or lecturing: know your audience.
If you don't teach to them on their level, you'll simply piss them off (either by dumbing it down too much, or by cultivating a sneer and treating them like idiots). I applaud your efforts to understand what your audience truly wants... so many teachers and lecturers either don't care, or have so much ego that it simply fails to occur to them that THEY need to adapt to their audience.
In the vein you mentioned, however... how about a tutorial on the wonders of travel-info sites? URLs like
Mapquest
Cheap tickets
Orbitz
would be good starting points... make the web useful for travelers! (Note: I don't work, directly or indirectly, for ANY of the above organizations or sites)
Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
Like many others have said, most people see internet and think email,www. First..poll your resources. What kind of talent do you have to show these average joes. If your going to teach something you damn well better have someone who not only knows the subject, but is somewhat of an expert. Find out what your resources are and schedule accordingly.
1) How to avoid identity theft on the web (don't sign up for stuff using your real info)
2) How to combat spam (don't sign up for stuff using your real info; use filters)
3) How to avoid spyware (don't click on banner ads; use ad-filtering software; don't install file sharing or useless stuff like cursor/theme changers)
You could offer stuff like "How to pirate software and not get caught" but hopefully people would have enough of a clue to not sign up for a class about that...
Kallahar
If you found 80% of the people don't care I'd say seriuosly rethink classes.
you could make a cybercafe style setup. But with a few perks such as: card readers, scanners, web, e-mail, etc. Allowing users e-mail photos to loved ones where ever they may be. Games are never bad either for the kids who dont want to go see some sites with mom and dad all day or go shopping all day let them game all day until mom and dad get back.
If you absoulty must do technical classes do more research to find out what people will want or use. What about appealing to other local businesses to train their people to use word, outlook, excel, acces etc?
I work in Chicago's housing projects and have taught lots of little and big courses on computer skills.
What I've learned is that teaching a class in any given application is 1% of the work of teaching people how to use computers. What's most important, in my experience, is providing space and time for motivated people to just keeping banging away and learning new things. The great fallacy of many computer technology centers is that they are closed to the possibility of letting people goof around for a couple hours, when that's exactly what teaches folks.
When I started working on resume writing with some folks in the projects I work at, I was really disappointed that they couldn't remember anything I'd told them, etc. Now, three years later, a couple of those folks have home computers, write lots of email, are good typists, know how to use spreadsheets, etc. Persistence, time, and self-exploration and discovery are what teach lasting technology skills.
Lastly, it's important to remember that you should be trying to teach computing principles. One of my aforementioned buddies has been able to quickly pick up all sorts of other computing skills because he digs on the principles of how computers work, networking works, etc. I think that should be a goal.
Online citizen journalism from the inner city: The View From The Ground
The question most folks who havn't used a computer before will have is: What can I do with it an why is that better?
For the Internet part, cover things like:
Read the local newspaper
Check the weather report
Use Google to find the complaint address for the company that made your shoes
and so on
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
A class that taught people how to assess their needs, order parts individually, and then assemble them into a computer would probably be very useful.
I think it would help a lot of beginners to lose their fear of computers and give them a better idea of what the different components do and why they do them.
Not only that, but part of the curriculum might invole leaving with your own PC that you built yourself. And then once you have it, knowing what to do when a fan fails, or if you wish to add more memory.
As my dad always told me, everyone who drives a car should know how to change a tire, change the oil, and get a jumpstart. In my opinion, computers should be looked at the same way.
Everyone else seems to be giving you the usual "teach them windows and office and wwww and e-mail", so I'm going to take a different spin. People need to learn those things, but they also need to learn that the internet is built ontop of a set of established protocols. People don't know what http means, or why you even have "http://" in front of a URL (assuming they know what a URL is too). Explaining to people that web pages are actually composed of plain-text and pictures that tell your web-browser to display something in some fashion will enlighten a ton of people and possibly get several of them interested in how plain ASCII text causes a picture to appear in my web-browser. Moreover, now that they understand that HTTP is a protocol, you can teach them that they can use any program that speaks HTTP to browse the internet HTTP servers. Many people only know of IE's existance. That would be a great opportunity to explain to them about netscape, mozilla, or opera (assuming an all windows environment). You can explain the differences between each, and what each can and cannot do, and why.
Building on that, you can teach people about other internet protocols like POP, IMAP, SMTP, and FTP. You can teach them that there are many different e-mail clients, mail servers, ftp servers, and ftp clients. When people start to see that there is choice and that computers are logical, well-thought out devices running well-thought out protocols, they will stop seeing computers as some magical box that they can't comprehend, and rather something composed of modular pieces. This breaks computers down into (relatively) easily digestible pieces.
Assuming that interest in these classes becomes and remains high, you'll likely have people asking more about computers. How do I protect my computer at home? How do all these computers here connect to one another? Before long, you could possibly start a class on basic netowrking and IP. How are networks sub-netted? How do firewalls work? How do bridges and switched and hubs work?
Perhaps people will start asking wuestions like "How do I setup an FTP server for my two machines at home to share files?" or "What can I do to protect both of my computers from hackers?". Then you can introduce them in how to setup Linux or BSD and run services on their own.
I really think the trick to teaching people about comptuers and getting people interested in computers is to break things down into pieces like this so they can understand one part of the puzzle before building the next piece.
Slackware, what else when it must be secure, stable, and easy?
You might have a class titled, "Linux: operating system of the future?"
You can make it just as easy as the Winblowzzee courses. Show them OpenOffice, Evolution, Mozilla; if nothing else, it could raise awareness. Enrollement will probably be small, but I think you'll get a few people interested in seeing what a free operating system has to offer (slip 'free' into the description somewhere). You'll need to warn them that Win programs won't work, however at the same time you can counter that by saying Linux is not susceptible to Windows virii and worms (of course, it has its own worms). But, if all they do is type up papers and surf the web, then it could be for them.
I believe more babes would be conducive to productivity -- reproductivity as well.
Wireless setup/lan cards could be nice too (along with some end-to-end encryption tools for wireless, or a more functional link layer encryption tool).
that perhaps we have done some of this before as an admin? Or perhaps some have only come to Slashdot after being a n00b? Also, we are always looked toward for answers from people, perhaps some of the most common questions we are asked (how do I do e-mail?) can be suggested and lighten the local nerds' load.
This is my digital signature. 10011011001
Learn industry secrets they don't want you to know, how to scam riches from high density spam bombing
Having worked in a number of dotcom cities and now living the grand rural life, I teach at the local community college. I teach web, linux and intro classes. You might even visit your closest local college and confer with some of the intro profs there.
In my latest intro classes, email and WWW were the most necessary areas. I had underestimated this, but even people with public webmail accounts didn't really know how to use them.
Searching is a big deal. Search engines are very confusing to most people.
Everyone wanted to know more about using general office applications but nobody really liked that portion of the class too much.
Photoshop, on the other hand, was a hard start and then they loved, loved, loved it. We spent three times as long on that portion of the curriculum as I had planned.
I would probably suggest a standard lan set up, with minimal firewalling to start. Restrictive firewalls for IM clients, chatting and the like are rather weak.
Ghost the machines with your chosen software, and have them built from the ghost daily, rather than worrying about restrictive PC controlls. The goal is to educate, rather than restrict.
I would probably run a few basic courses as you have mentioned, but try to pull in instructors from other groups, rather than just yourself, or the computing firm. This will help enrich the community aspect.
I would go prodominantly with Windows machines, it is what the community at large is used to after all.
Perhapps labelling a few 'More Kid Friendly' machines would be a good idea, with some parental controlls enabled.
paul reinheimer
I would like suggest preparing handouts for the classes you hold. This will also help you organize and structure your course. In my experience of attending classes, I learn more when I have material to go home with and study. Often times in classes where professor do not have handouts, I have to take notes on everything they write on the board and miss most of what is being said. Bottom line is a lot of people learn at a different pace than you teach, so giving handouts with details can really help.
Good luck!
Lots of it. Big, high end machines to play it on. big high end networking equipment to make sure the pings don't fall below 10. Big boobs to curl up nextt o when done playing.
that'd be the best community computer lab ever.
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
Think about an open forum as well, where you could have an intro class, and the people who came could submit possible things that they were interested in learning how to do, have the class vote, and let that be the topic for the day.
Just my 2c.
Nick
http://nicholasbernstein.com
having installed and admin'd a few community labs, my current opinion is that they should offer the kitchen sink. anything less is a disservice to the community. providing opportunities should be the name of the game. not just "office productivity" apps (geez, are these the things that attracted us to computers?!!?) install games, audio apps (headphones for public spaces), cd-burners, video editing apps, programming tools, network utilities, DTP apps, etc.
configure the machines to be easily rebuilt. if you don't know how to do this run all the machines off Knoppix CDs.
and that segues into the last but not least most important point. install some free *nix on the machines. community labs should be enabling NOT disabling. if you install all kinds of proprietary software you are making people dependent on tools that are by and large poorly supported. imagine installing Knoppix on all the systems and then making Knoppix CDs available to the users so that they can use the same tools at home! that's the cherry on top of a community lab sundae.
You will find a fucking WEALTH of information regarding searching and search information at +Fravia's searchlores. Additionally, he does speeches and is known for them being really interesting. Since he also reverse engineers software in like 5 minutes to make the class interesting (or so I've read).
http://searchlores.org.
one idea would be to get a license to serve alcohol and hold LAN parties with a full bar every saturday night. Hell, I'd go to that! It would be like Dave & Busters for the rest of us (cool) kids.
Many parents of the 50's-70's generation have no idea what their kids are doing on the internet, and would like to know.
Download all the popular chat clients, some irc clients, and install all the common browsers.
Offer clases teaching parents how to find browser history, change their security and ratings settings. Show them how to review chat history and url history for IM clients. How to check file sharing folders and search their computer for images, movies, etc.
You'll find that (80%) disinterest or not, you'll draw quite a few attendees, especially if you repeat the course and offer a basic and advanced course.
"Is open source computing viable in the face the ubiquitous presence of commercial software? Will you be able to exchange data with clients and peers or will you edge yourself right out of the market? We are here to help you maximize your TOA." Oh yeah... chew on that one. It sounds impressive allready doesnt it? Of course it is up to you to make it informative as well.
"Web Standards: Please, Oh Please, Test Your Site On Something Other Than IE".
:-)
It just rolls off the tongue
...because you have two audiences.
First, you need your tourist side. Very simple stuff. Web browsing, email, a scanner for photos, a color printer for stuff they get from home. This can be on any OS, and might as well be on something robust (*nix) if you can get the right drivers. If you can afford credit-card reader setups, do that... if people can walk in, stick in a card, do their thing, get their total, and click ok and walk out without ever talking to you, they'll be very happy. (Just make sure there's someone easily available to talk to if something comes up... don't *rely* on the no-interaction setup.)
But your locals need something very different. I've done a lot of support and teaching in some pretty wacky environments, and I have a pretty different idea of how it should be done. So these are the kinds of classes I'd offer:
- What is the Internet? This is not a class on how to use Outlook to check your email. This class, if someone's paying attention and taking notes, will after several hours allow someone to get on the phone with their ISP and actually get their internet connection fixed. Learn the general topography of the Internet, insofar as data turns into packets and hops from server to server. Learn how to do and read a traceroute. What a DNS server does. Why email and web are not the same thing. Why they might be able to get to one website, but not another. People use the internet hours and hours a day without having the slightest idea what's going on... and when there's inevitably a problem, they are completely at the mercy of a $9/hr tech in Texas who has a script, but no brain. (Not a comment on Texas... that just seems to be where companies go for cheap tech labor. We have the same brainless idiots here in Los Angeles, but they cost $11/hr.)
- Computer structure. Open up the case. Here's your memory... this is what it does. This is the hard drive, and this is how it's different from memory. That over there is your processor, and it performs this function. People won't necessarily come out knowing how to build a computer, but they'll be able to buy one without being dizzied by the gigahertz and gigabytes. The difference between RAM and drive space is crucial, and very difficult, mostly because it's measured in the same units. Actually showing them the parts may help to make the distinction. It will also help with a surprising number of error messages... I can't tell you how many people I've talked to who were very dissapointed that the "low memory, close programs" message didn't go away after they deleted a bunch of documents.
- Databases. Sure, teach SQL, Filemaker Pro, or even *retch* MS Access. But offer a class on what a database *is* and how it works. One-to-many relationships. Fields and records. Just try to get across the three-dimensional nature of database information. That way, once they learn a database program, whether it's Postgre SQL with PHP or MS Access with VBA, they'll actually be able to *use* it as more than a glorified spreadsheet.
- Microsoft Word productivity. Lots of people have been using Word for years, but they will spend hours and hours trying to make a somewhat complex document print out correctly because they don't really know how to use tabs, tab leaders, tables, etc. A couple hours of the "tips and tricks" can save people cumulative days on typing up their simple-seeming menus, brochures, flyers, and resumes.
Teach them what they ask you to. Listen to the questions they have. Maybe offer "office hours" where people can just come in with their questions and others can sit in and (hopefully) learn from them. Make it a community thing. You've got a heck of an opportunity to empower people (yes, I used that word... but it's appropriate here) with technology, and you can do a lot with it. Make it your goal to put yourself half out of business, because when people know the fundamentals of computers, they won't need your expertise nearly so much anymore.
Don't you wish your girlfriend was a geek like me?
Not necessarily either camp's version of the truth, but a basic explanation of what issues are involved with P2P networks, what the hell does this EULA mean, why will the RIAA slap a law suit on me for sending this song to my friends back home, etc. If you are going to teach them about computers, you might as well give them an overview of the landscape.
Hm, I have actually been there. Its gotta a hella lot of mosquitos. Arnolds Park is very cool in a retro sort of way. It is a classic amusement park, with a wooden roller coaster and some old rides. Its very Iowa.
What the heck do you need computers for in Lake Okoboji???
Find out what a tourist would need in the ways of computers on vacation. Email, web surfing, Instant Messaging are probably the biggest needs, but what about that past-time that only the vacationer loves: Taking (and then sharing) Vacation Photos?
Set up a system that the tourists can either email their pictures to themselves, or burn the pictures to CD. You could also rent the camera to the people (Getting their credit card # before you lend them the camera, of course)
Works great for the tourist that didn't take along enough memory.
...I'm from the Flyover too, and I went to college in Iowa (a misunderstood and underestimated state), but WTF do you have for tourist attractions in, where is it? Ok, cut and paste: Okoboji, Spirit Lake, Arnolds Park, Iowa?
However, if education and innovation are the driving factors, try to have a huge range of equipment. Old PCs, new PCs, Linux, Windows, Macs, heck even some old 8-bit computers like the C64, Atari 800 or TRS-80 will teach people more about computers than any amount of playing Quake. Personally, I'm rather enjoying my PS2 Linux kit and I'm learning quite a bit setting it up. Rather than providing a boring platform for run-of-the-mill "entertainment", target an audience that will find enjoyment in the equipment itself.
Building a Webpage
:)
Intro. to Windows
Intro to Macs
Office 101
Using E-Mail
Finances and Bills with Your Computer
An Introduction to Digital Photography
Here you have a perfect illustration of what to do, and what to avoid
The best thing you can do is to send people away with computer skills, NOT skills specific to a certain version of a certain application. Teaching someone to use Microsoft Outlook 2000 won't be helpful to those who don't use that email client, and it won't be much use when Outlook changes things around.
Courses like "introducing digital photography" and "introducing email", as well as "advanced x, y, z" are a really good approach. It also lets you introduce alternative applications where appropriate, e.g. Outlook / Eudora / Thunderbird, Windows / MacOS / GNU/Linux.
As for the idea of introducing Hacker Ethics and other such courses, if you can get people to attend, they'd be great, but I'd try to be a little more interesting and subtle in your approach. Get people who are interested in IT careers, school kids, CS students and other such people into more advanced classes and introduce Free Software in a big way, explaining why people use and develop FS instead of proprietary solutions, and try (if they seem responsive) to introduce the Hacker Ethic while you're at it. You could also use a similar approach on courses in managing offices where IT plays a big role. Go on... throw some community task driven management at followers of the top-down-monkey and see what happens!
Counter-Strike and Warcraft 3 (Starcraft too), period
Open Source software and ethics should be of the utmost importance. Letting people know they have a choice. Also that they can be "part" of something. Communities joining communities, growing and learning together.
here it is in Portuguese!
Os muitos de acrônimos & de buzzwords comuns seriam felizes ajustar
acima um quarto devotado para cobrir isto, assim que não têm segundo
quando você poderia se ser intro. Eu focalizaria definately na trilha
direita pedindo ao redor - a conversa sobre trazê-la vai sobre, como
AOL. Também uma pessoa que possa ajustes do cliente do E-mail, para
seus próprios programas. Se você tiver uma rede wireless que tenha
conceitos básicos para baixo, imprimindo serviços, Internet e assim
por diante. Tenha algumas fotos da HOME para resumos. Uma maneira
segura mais rapidamente do que demasiado do connectivity, povos
ensinando pode funcionar dentro e não um bit mais material de OSS e
provavelmente preferi-lo usar o junker velho (doado?) as máquinas e
esperam que as tomadas do material e do lingo do kinda prendam.
Conectando suas audiências, e routers NAT da ferragem, antes de
causar uma demanda. Se você fizer exame bastante, para ser o
associado do computador. Você figura os povos que não podem ser
nenhuma idéia que isso que prestam serviços de manutenção.
Seriously, whenever a friend of mine needs his or her computer fixed I always find Gator and several other similar programs running.
1. Basic maintenence for windows (whatever).
2. Virus self protection
3. Basic web use
4. Google
5. Email
6. file types
7. P2P ang legal info
8. Linux basics
9. How to use the web for job searches
We have C@P sites in Canada: IE local libraries, job skill centres, other smaller sites that provide free internet access to any and all...these are the type of mini courses that are offered within...seems to work well.
Wow. I didn't know anyone else from Iowa was reading Slashdot... I think that most people could learn to use Google a little more effectively; try this page for some ideas. Also, I think that most people don't know that the 'ennner-net' is much more than www.*.com and e-mail. Usenet archives have lots of useful information, and mailing lists are great any type of newbie. Oh, and a guide to Netiquette would be a good thing to do.
Quote from somebody else: If everyone is thinking the same thing, then no one is thinking!
Since this is a community lab it should reflect the community. I know the area. You got vacationers, lots of students, (college nearby,) as well as common PC users. You will have your hands full. I agree with most of the replies you got, but I think you shouldn't forget the more involved crowd either. How about a Linux user group?
Labs are difficult to maintain. Use knoppix.
;)
Knoppix is very easy to maintain lab with. Because it is a bootable CD-OS, it boots like a CD based game station. Even a minimally trained shapperon can reboot or grab a fresh knoppix CD to run the lab most of the time. And it is linux with all the zero licensing cost and ideals to boot.
I was the first person to mention knoppix on slashdot and know it will slash your maintenance budget and hassle factor.
Give people links to sites that matter, email, media, classifieds (ebay and dating), search engines and more. Link with every local media organization. TV, radio, newspaper. I help set-up a lab in a poor and mostly black section of DC, linking to African newspaper intrigued many otherwise disinterested adults. Classified ads such as ebay and dating websites are very useful for many people.
Train Office tools and provide a printer, but call the courses "writing school essays", "resumes and cover letter writing". This will break your audience into school aged, and adult job seekers.
Setup a graphics worksation, to scan and edit photos. A cheap fixed in place camera for taking and email photos will help those using dating sites or emailing distant friends (e.g. in college or the military) pics of themselves or new babies.
These steps will rope in users and start a community of interest. Hopefully things will snowball from there.
MacOS refugee, paper MCSE, Linux wanna be!
first person to mention knoppix on slashdot
Good question. I teach "Adult Continuing Education" (non-credit) computer stuff part-time at my local community college. My student's LOVE anything that saves them money... e.g.... . StarOffice/OpenOffice (instead of MS Office)... . using a free service such as MyDomain.com to "alias" their email and/or web space... . student discounts at sites such as www.academicsuperstore.com ...
. shareware and freeware offerings at www.shareware.com ...
. PopUp ad blockers such as www.webwasher.com ... ...and so on. See http://eselgroth.com/computers.html (Not exactly a stand-alone page... it's designed to support my classes).
_Very _basic newbies are enthralled by "tips" such as keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl-X = 'Cut'), Line Returns (Ctrl-Return), "Tab" to jump to the next whatever, email using "bcc", exploiting "phrase quotes" and "+" or "-" in search engines, and so on.
--TE
If your town has networking, how about basic home networking so that the citizens can set up their own internet sharing? And along the same vein, teach them something about how they can use a firewall to secure their network, etc.
You could always offer a class in how to find a great lawyer for when the parents of kids using Kazaa get sued.
Teach Linux, and Java. Linux could cover shell programming, usage, etc.
"How to get by with only 1 wife" might be useful
At the lab in which I teach, we have the usual Intro and Advanced levels of Windows and Office, as well as a few others like HTML.
We also do two other popular courses;
-How to buy a computer, which is a vendor neutral description of the latest hardware technology and what people should look for to suite thier particular needs when they are box shopping, and
-Using the Internet, where we talk about all things internet, including browsers and searching, firewalls and viruses, file sharing, messaging, online gaming, home LANs, and ISPs as well as many other things.
I'd like to convince the commitee to add an Intro to Linux course in the future, but I doubt the administrators will consent to partitioning all the labs HDDs and installing Linux, so I'm hoping I can use something like Knoppix or Suse Live for starters.
Privacy, and Kleenex.
How about no filtering of any kind? And no records kept of anyone's surfing habits.
people are doing less reading these days and kid would rather sit home watch TV than go to their own libraries and use community computer labs for educational stimulations. here's a dialog i overheard the other day between the folks trying to figure out a way to change it for the better...
"so what do you need, besides a miracle"
"... pr0n, lots of pr0n"
"nobody has ever done that before"
"that's why it's going to work"
my blog
Offere classes like OpenOffice101
and KDE101
Please use [ informative / summarizing ] SUBJECT LINES
Flame me here
Yes, Intro to: Windows, Office, web/email. Boring, boring, boring -- but true.
.6% DNA just isn't enough in the main.
Since it looks like my scsi drive(s)/controller went south and I'm writing this on a Knoppix CD and a jumpstick, it is tempting to have a class with a $5 fee: "take home your desktop on a CD -- just add hardware!"
But they wouldn't get it. Have to spend half a class explaining why a Jumpstick shows up as "Hard Drive Partition[sdxx]" and how to mount, save something to it, and unmount. That extra
Windows, Office, web/email. For sure.
[You have a stable society when some nut guns down a schoolyard and the law doesn't change.]
Offer a free/pay-per-use wireless hotspot. This is especially good for tourists to check their e-mails, browse web, IM, etc. without needing a terminal. It wouldn't cost a lot to operate and would attract more customers to purchase other products or services from you.
Googling for a Better Vacation Spot than Iowa
It should offer free ice cream to everybody. Along with free health care, spas, the finest french roast coffee, plus plenty of nutricious organicly grown vegetables for the kids to snack on. Furthermore, there should be a room devoted to the expression of African American culture along with an adjacent women's resource center. There should be no smoking allowed, nor any cigarette vending machines. Computers? Purely optional.
Oh my god. That was funny as fuck. LOL
Growing up 30 miles south of Okoboji (Spencer), I know that Linux just doesn't exist in that area. I think some good starter classes on Linux and a little open source theory would do the area good.
A Community Computer Lab should definitely offer a mare for everyone interested!
http://saveie6.com/
There are many suggestions here for the basics (win 101, excel, photography, internet)
How about a ground rules class?
Brief overview of computing today. Platforms, types of computers, and the very general reasons people use them. Perhaps a bit about where we came from, where we are today, and where we could be going.
Then a bit of positioning for them. The sort of thing that helps them place themselves in charge of their experience. Let them know they have choices and how those choices can potentially affect their computing future.
Then expand by area.
The computer itself. What does save really mean? Does it mean "keep this for later?" or does it mean to "toss what I had in exchange for what I have now?" Continue with that sort of general sort of knowledge that will help them to make sense of what they are doing no matter what the application.
The Internet. Putting new people on the Internet without some basic cultural guidence is like walking around in the worst part of town with no clue. Use scenarios to illustrate how things like e-mail, IM, web forums and such work. Let them know what others expect. Let them learn by interactive example. Make sure they can e-mail you and others in the class. Be sure they have a forum to use both in class and away from it. Privacy on the Internet. (Read: what privacy?) USENET in the form of google groups would be nice as would be the rules.
One thing about e-mail in particular to illustrate and allow them to work with is the fact that things can easily come across far differently than intended. Tell them why and help them with creative and funny examples they can remember. Same goes with forums. Tell them what a troll is...
Their Data vs other peoples data. What are backups and how best to perform them. What needs to be archived for later and why?
Software and data. Let them know the difference between Open Standards and Closed ones.
Getting help. If you have framed the discussion right and managed their expectations, they should be able to make use of USENET, web-forums (Your own in particular with volunteer help from the smarter ones helping along), friends, and books.
Lay out the rules for technical support. Let them know exactly what they can expect for a few common situations. They should know enough to decide what is worth the money and what is not.
All of these suggestions are directed toward empowering these people to help themselves as much as possible.
Computing today is really easy if one has the right expectations. It all can be done one simple question at a time. Everyone getting started should somehow know that.
A lot of things would be a lot better if they did.
Good luck with your project.
Blogging because I can...
The article lists several more sources for information:
I hate call waitin`~+~~~
NO CARRIER
Apple gets this. Microsoft gets it but has a business-model problem with it. The Linux community doesn't get it at all.
and
(so we can finally ditch that achilles heel of not having any goddamn games. Yes, I do know a few major titles have been ported, and 1% of all games ever written might run under wine, but try and be realistic here)
then offer intro's to both environments, and "get into the workforce" courses. A group I work with in DC may give you an idea... www.byteback.org
Not just firewalls, but explaining wireless networks to people and how to use the basic security SOHO wireless routers/routers provide.
I know WEP isn't all that secure, but I suppose it's better than nothing. Also, explaining the MAC access lists to people would be helpful
On the peripheral side, demonstrating how easy it is to add a PDA, scanner, or printer to a computer might be good. An overview of USB might be useful, too: when to buy a usb hub, the differences between USB 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0.... And as an unrelated point - demonstrating how people set up autoupdate on virus scanners might be useful!
Try and get the kids of the community first. Do it by first catering to the techies among the kids, high school or middle school age. If you get one or two of them, they will tell their friends, who will tell their parents, who will tell their friends. Ad infinium. Also do it the other way at the same time by getting the tech oriented adults in the community. Get them by having classes they will like, example Beginners Linux, or RIAA vs. You. Good Luck.
"What we have here is a failure to communicate"
The Warden, Cool Hand Luke
I work at a public library, and part of my job is teaching introductory computer classes. Our most common _request_ is for "Basic Computer", but the people requesting this have no clue what they want to learn how to do, so you have to probe them a bit to see what they really want. Usually if you offer them some options ("Do you want to learn to type letters and papers and print them? Learn to surf the internet? Learn about email?") they'll be able to make a selection (or else they'll sign up for all of them, which is okay too). Once in a while you'll get somebody who insists those things are all too advanced, and they just want basic computer. This is a symptom that what they really want is help solving a specific problem or question they have and are embarrassed to ask about, because they don't know how to explain it.
Our most popular class is Introduction to the Internet, which mostly covers the www. My course materiels are here (though the materiel there is intended mainly as handouts, and since I try to make the classes at least somewhat interactive, so not everything can be covered in the handouts). These materiels won't be directly usable for your purposes, but you can use them as examples. I get positive comments from our patrons, and this is a fairly technophobic community. The Windows Basics and Introduction to Word Processing courses are also very popular. Surprisingly, the Searching the Internet class is much less popular; either my Introduction to the Internet gives them all they need in that direction, or else they're just scared off by the idea that it has a prerequisite and therefore must be advanced. (NOTE: under no circumstances offer a computer course with the word "Advanced" in the title, unless your target market consists of computer geeks. If you want to establish a series, go with Part A and Part B, or something like that.)
On a side note, you can win MAJOR brownie points with users by treating them as if they were intelligent, but maybe just computers aren't they're field of expertise. They're so accustomed to computer people treating them like dirt, they will almost worship you if you treat them well. You'll get free word-of-mouth advertising this way. We put announcements in several local papers, signs all over the library, and advertise on the radio, but over half of the people taking my courses were encouraged to do so by someone else who did previously.
One more piece of advice: Make a survey that fits easily on a single half-page, with multiple choice questions about what other courses people would be interested in taking if you offered them. Also have an "Other" choice where they can write something in (but most people won't). Encourage everyone who takes any of your courses to fill one out. This will help you know if there's a demand for something. We added the email class due to write-in votes on our eval forms, and it's been more popular than we otherwise would have imagined.
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
I used to run a small local computer shop and to draw the community to us I set up classes on how to build your own machine, much like a Home Depot demo. Very well received. Not only would people buy parts, but they started helping others build machines too, and we were the heros who knew about any problems that might come up.
You can be as mean as you want to be, as long as you're funny about it.
Ok, I just moved to this very area from phoenix, and i must say(WTF is it doing on /.!!!!), the locals dont have a clue on just how useful the internet is, its still looked on as a fad rather than a tool here so the email/WWW tip is dead on.
Outside of that i dont want to say too much else yet until i have the better lay of the land.
Well i will say this, you will have competition.
The average user will want the following things:
If Male, the individual will most likely want:
- How to more efficiently use a search engine (for good, free porn, basically)
- how to cheat in games online
- maybe some basics that go above-and-beyond what is generally considered the basics: hardware, software, and just generally cool hackish things
- games, and lots of them. I'd recommend starting with Enemy Territory, being as it's free. For multiplayer, you can throw UT2k3 and Q3A demos on all the machines, as well, which will provide a due amount of multiplayer goodness.
If the user is Female:
- how to make web sites
- how to use office
- possibly how to sign up for bulletin boards, MMORPG, and things like everything2
- how to properly search (so as to find recipies, designs, purchase things, fan sites, and the like... maybe porn, but doubtful)
If the user is dumb as shit:
- porn
- email
- web
- maybe some games
If the user is a teenager:
- What do they need teaching for? They already know everything.
- Games. and some more games
- porn
- oh, and porn.
- search engines (for porn... and maybe free homework reports, etc)
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
I grew up in Sioux City IA. I also know the business community in Spencer, Storm Lake and surrounding area.
Focus your Lab. Develop tracks on Farming, Business, Communications and Personal Computing. Publish dates where you'll have a featured speaker on hand to address a subject, problem or product. Get to know your community and what they "want".
Work with vendors to jump start your Lab. Gateway owns a good part of that country's goodwill. You could make inroads into the user base by sponsoring "application specific" Install Party's.
Lastly, consider making your computer lab "virtual". Post your Telephone number so people can call-in to find out if your Lab really can solve their problems or offer a solution.
Demystifying the Digital Divide, The simple binary notion of technology haves and have-nots doesn't quite compute.
There are a lot of times when I want a job done, and would like to just bring it in, and having an idea of how good he is, hand it to a DTP guy, and let him do it. For that reason, sometimes I would go to Kinkos -- but they had only one guy usually, and he wasn't always all that good.
That said, I think there is something better that could be: set up, with a computer database, a market system for DTP people. There is a list: normal hours of contact; contact telephone; and then for each job, price per hour requested; self-rated competency; rating averages by previous customers on the questions: "value[1-10/ not applicable]", "quality of job [1-10/not applicable]", "speed of service [1-10/not applicable]", "teaching skill [1-10/not applicable]".
Finally, allow "virtual logging": if you come in, and are available to work, you can log in without a computer and without paying for the computer. As long as there is a computer free, you will be reported as "available", and ratings can easily be shown. That way, a customer can come in, look at the list of skilled workers, and walk right over to the person they want and say "I have this job I'd like you to work on, if you don't mind."
If there is nobody currently there that seems satisfactory, they can then query for the skill, and pick up a list of contact IDs.
Customers, meanwhile, can get rated on issues of "prompt payment" "haggles too much", or "unpaid contract creep".
By doing this, a person can query the job database, and find someone immediately available and competent, or someone to call. A skilled computer worker, in turn, can probably set up classes where he can teach 3-10 interested people at a time. This also allows for subcontracting: someone wants a job done fast and well; I take the contract, and then filter it down for preprocessing to people whom I know are good.
Do that well, and you'll find that there are a few real professionals who can actually make your computer lab their place of business; in turn, people will realize that when they want a computer job solved quickly and professionally, they know where to go: your lab.
Correct Horse Battery Staple: 72 bits of entropy. Enter "Correct H" into google. When it generates the phrase, that's
I should point out that you shouldn't sit down and program this all into your computer at once. Rather, work out a physical system first, involving notebooks, photobadges + seal, and whatnot.
Then, as you settle down to something that works, program each part into your database piece by piece. That way, you won't ever have the problem of "good possible idea, no time to implement it".
Rather, you'll end up with "Excellent idea, it's working, it's making us money, but it's a little too labor-intensive -- here's $1000: automate the next part."
Correct Horse Battery Staple: 72 bits of entropy. Enter "Correct H" into google. When it generates the phrase, that's
I still believe in the power of an interactive multimedia driven Internet to improve society, especially in small isolated geographies.
Webcams would be great. Grandparents love webcams. Older people love being able to see pictures of grandchildren or actually hear their voices. Ergo, a computer would need support for a wide range of audio/video codecs as well as solid set of players to handle them.
I used to spend a lot of time using GOPHER. There was something thrilling about moving from one part of the world to another through the Internet. Perhaps the computer should have links to very cool sites around the world so that people can be encourage to think globally instead of locally...
I killed the Video Professor...
Try America's Army Online for a good FPS game. The bonus is that its free for download/use (apart from it being payed for by US taxpayers).
Man watching 6 MSCE's around a sun box, looks alot like the opening scene's of 2001:space odyssey...
Wouldn't it be best to teach "how to use Office 2003" rather than the 1900-year-old Office 101?
In the UK, a lot of community-centred projects will offer government online classes as so many benefits, tax claims etc. can be processed online and the take-up of government benefits can be rather low.
You know what I miss? Leeches.
Set up a membership scheme that gives locals cheap access to the whole works, but charges visitors more for cybercafe facilities. Then get your business customers to give you free advertising pitched at visitors.
Paul.
You are lost in a twisty maze of little standards, all different.
Make your own GNU/Linux distro based on kernel 2.4.20 and KDE3. Slackware would be a good starting point if only because it's so customisable {and also available in a non-installation, "live CD" format}. Have this on all the public machines, and give away copies to customers who want the Linux experience at home. But here's the good bit. You don't actually tell people it's Linux. That way, you don't risk putting them off.
When your students are surfing in Konqueror, producing documents in KWord and working figures in with KSpread and KChart, or banging out their own valid HTML in Kate and uploading it to the web with gFTP, then and only then do you tell them the awful truth: That wasn't Windows! Like some ancient TV advert for margarine or a m**t substitute, where the "victim" seems totally shocked to discover it wasn't butter or m**t, [side note: where do they get these people with no taste buds?] they don't find out till it's too late. But here's the beauty; with one of your free CDs, they can put the same software on thir home PC.
But whatever you do, you've got to integrate it seamlessly. Don't be like one of those "one book for the whole range" instruction manuals that come with a piece of cheap kit and shows you the pictures of a more expensive one so you end up wishing you'd bought that instead. Integrate the distribution with the course.
And don't even mention vi or emacs. Stay with Kate if you're running X, pico otherwise.
Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
We're a small computer company in a local business park. While some of the other small businesses have computers they are not really USING them other than expensive typewriters. Showing these people that the printers can be shared, that they can fax from their desk, even to the point that they can do more than just type up documents.
We also offer user accounts - people from the business park can log in using their unique details and get email and web hosting. For some small businesses it's cool to be shown how to do a web page.
You should set up your machines as dual boot Linux/Windows 2000/XP. That gives you the flexibility to offer courses relevant to both operating systems.
Let's be honest - people 'want' windows, because they don't know any better. Maybe a course explaining how to use linux in a business/at home etc would open up a better choice to people.
Lots of good suggestions above, so rather than add to them I'll throw in my 2 cents on layout: I used to teach high school computer science, and I ended up rethinking the traditional computer lab layout (i.e. parallel rows of tables with computers lined up facing the front of the room). The problems with this layout are: 1) It's hard to move around so collaboration is limited. 2) Screens are too distracting when the instructor is trying to demonstrate something. Instead, I put the computers around the periphery of the room, then put a table in the middle with one more computer, a keyboard and mouse on an extra long cord, and an LCD projector. When students were at their own computers it was easier for me to wander around the room, and they also would move around quite a bit to help each other or just show off their programs. When it was time to demonsrate something I would say "Table!" and they'd all spin around and roll their chairs to the center table (even though it was crowded). Often I would want a student to demonstrate his/her work, and the single keyboard/mouse would get passed around. Best of luck with your project, --David
Actually, I was trying to be Insightful, not Funny.
Think your wife is having an e-mail affair?
What exactly is your 17 year old chatting about?
Is your husband a porn addict?
Ways to avoid monitoring and detection.
Course will demonstrate the use of browser history, programs to log instant messanger and e-mail traffic. Techniques for disguising ilicit online activity (e.g.: encryption, clearing browser history, clearing MRU lists) and detecting/counteracting monitoring systems. Glossary of chat lingo.
For better revenue split the class into two parts -- how to avoid detection and how to detect.
Could also target businesses as well -- how to spy on employees and how to avoid being spyed on by your employer.
Just a thought...
"But actually trying to use m4 as a general-purpose langage would be deeply perverse" --ESR
don't give them information. let them look for it. if you give them all the hints, they'll show up to bugger you! after getting teached some Javascript/ActiveX our school network was busy spreading little anonying scripts! like the window for confirmation OK/Cancel moving away from the mouse-pointer ... if they learn it in school or something it's mostly destructive / annoying not productive ... sorry it's a fact.
if they want to know, the productive ones will go look for it or ASK you personally.
don't give them weapons; they're prone to start shooting around.
don't do the work FOR them. if someone wants to have a web-page they'll learn some HTML and do it themselfs!
we got a network and what are they doing? downloading MP3 / porn-dialers / viruses/ keyloggers / ping-of-death / etc. and playing games. so much internet and information, but harldy anybody goes to look for it, unless they get an assigment.
anyway, good luck!
* What directories are and how to use them. Again, the number of people who just save to a default directory and then can't find the file later is surprising * How to use Office or similar - word processing using your favourite package, etc. By default this tends to be MS Office because that's what they'll face when they hit the real world. You can push OO or similar which may be ethically nice but it's less useful.
*Use of the internet. This includes web searching, email and *usenet*! There are kids today who think "Google Groups" is news!
*Run options in things you think they'll be interested in: DTP, graphics, etc etc
*Anyone who runs a "hacking 101" will be rebuilding their community PCs every few hours and fending off enquiries from their ISP. Why give yourself the hassle?
Neo: Porn. Lots of porn. ..and lots of handy wipes.
1) hardware scavanging/repair/build .. obvious, teach others how to build a machine from scrapped parts. troubleshooting hardware issues is the #1 time waster of friend of family, see? .. Any modern OS has man pages, F1 key, or something that will help you solve a strange situation. .. jesus, heres an art that someone should be able to point a link to, but really takes time to learn finesse, IMHO. .. Python, Perl, or for the mathematically endowed Scheme/Lisp. They can study C++ or Java in college. .. Go forth and multiply (not forth the language).
2) how to use a help menu.
3) web searching techniques.
4) programming.
5) Simple networking.
Listen to me carefully. You are living a dream. The people stumbling through that tourist trap (and a poor one at that) have no interest in computing, or learning for that matter. Your users will consist of a bunch of bratty teenagers and their drunken parents. Better commit your resources to a local community college where users might actually come to learn, otherwise, Arnold's Park is NOT the place for this. MAYBE Spencer, but not AP.
Being perfectly serious here.
A friend of mine is involved in a similar project in a rural part of the UK. The predict that once XP-style licensing (and it gets worse in Longhorn) is unavoidable for Windows users, then most small business will start having to use non-MS systems.
The average small business cannot afford legal MS software. If MS make piracy impossible, small business will have to find alternatives. Why not get in early: "Running a Small Business Cheaper with Free Software" would be a good title
If you're community offers services like tax information on computer ( see about connecting a dedicated terminal to provide access for Community Members)
Provide some system for Reference (think online or off line Encycopedia, etc... Think School Projects... talk to your local library to see if you can complement them )
Provide Education. Offer Educational Software for use and sale/resale. Think all Ages, talk to the local School to complement them )
Offer intro to computers, Intro to Internet, Intro to Office (not MS office, generic Office products { star/open office ) computering, intro to programming ( Java / Html ) Offer more advanced class or allow users to suggest classes.
Get people into it, get them hooked and cater to their needs.
Then take all the other ideas from Slashdot
I went to the mountains on vacation, and one of the things to do was to go to the local nature museum and take a class on the local flora and fauna. Very informative, and related to the surroundings. Now about computer classes as something to do: Most newbies want to know how to do the internet thing, so I taught a class once on "basic surfing the internet". Easy to teach, and students were very attentive. Class was about 40 minutes long, and they loved it. Mostly older folks, wanting to find out basic stuff
about using a web browser and surfing the web, sending email. Can use a linux based system, with a nice browser like MozillaFirdbird, that can be customized with simple controls. Need to use what the students are most likely to have when they set up their own boxes, however.
I'd suggest a course on how to use e-mail which includes helping them set up a free account somewheres. Also another course targeted toward older people perhaps titled "The Power of the Internet" which shows them how to search for medical information, weather, news, and sports.
Teach people how to keep the system running and performing well. As a UNIX Engineer/Admin, I am constantly assailed by users who can do make a computer do a thousand things quite well, but trash the machine in the process, and expect me to help fix it. People need to know what breaks the machine and what keeps it going. Example classes include:
- Anti-virus software
- Simple firewalls
- Using Windows update
- Uninstalling programs correctly and completely
- Driver maintenance
- Disk defragmentation
- Why to not install all of those silly programs floating around the internet, and how to get rid of all the spyware those programs install.
If 80% of the population are tourists then a media portal for vistors would be useful. You can go out with a digi cam and video all the sites that the tourist are there to visit, stick in online with a mapping system and have your own digital tourist information center (With email etc obviously). How about digi cam hire, so people can hire a camera for a day, bring it back and upload their days filming so you can slap it on CD and they can take it away with them, (For a fee). Then you can use the labs for evening classes.
How about you set up the "Computer Lab", and assuming you can get locals to come in and learn, or just to check their email, sell advertising space to local businesses where you show the tourists that businesses' home page, maybe even set it up as the default home page in the browsers? At least that way, even if no one wants to take a class on "How to double-click 101" or "The Basic Fundamentals of the Any Key", you can pull in advertising dollars...
Being from the great state of IA myself, AND having spent many weekends up at the in-laws condo in Okaboji, I can speak first hand as to the nature of questions I receive when people up there find out I'm a computer geek.
When you're on vacation (of which a MAJORITY of folks up there are), you DON'T want any schedules, work, or being stuffed in front of a computer screen listening to some geek rattle off terms you don't understand. People are interested in playing and having fun. That should be your focus. Razzle them with wireless internet! Go to Arnolds park and arrange a wifi setup, then grap your laptop and a usb camera and do impromptu demo's, taking peoples pictures. Then have them walk over to the wifi computer, and for a small fee, they can have a color printout of their pictures. You could then do a quickie little demo of what's necessary to do wireless network in the home, and, at the same time, demo the neato-whiz-bang features of Linux! Then, if folks want a little seminar, THEN you'd give them the info to attend your lab & receive a 1 to 2hr overview & demo of Linux, wireless, etc.
I'd LOVE to be there helping you set this up!
Say a big "HI" to the folks of Iowa for me!
-- Tom Sandholm --
Step 1 of converting the world to Linux is teaching beginning computer users how to use it. Imagine if everyone's first OS were Linux. People would be afraid of Windows because they would think it is just for geeks.
WEPOS is the Warcraft, E-Mail, Porn Operating System.
" Your ideas are intriguing and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter."
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
I strongly suggest that you check out www.ctcnet.org. It is a collaboration of people who run computer centers across the country. They will have some very insightful information on this topic that they can speak about from experience. As you probably know, there are many more issues in running a computer center than just what courses and trainings to offer. The site has numerous resources, including a Center Start-Up Manual. I believe there is also a listserv for the members, and much information can be learned there.
At a local Junior College where I work we had some summer classes for older women. IT was highly successful. It was just basic usage, but women in general were found to be uncomfortable outside their peer group.
Another class would be technical skills for younger girls- Networking and the like. You could probably get money from Cisco for this, they are forever trying to attract women into the field with their Cisco Academy program- just look at the frontpage of cisco.netacad.net.
Even better if you can get a women to teach this. Go find a local college girl to do it.
Do Open Office classes instead. You can give each student a free copy and it runs on windows as well as Linux. A digital camera class could be very good. Gimp will run on Windows now so you could use that. Family History classes could be a big draw, PAF from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is free and is very good.
I would also offer classes on Linux. You could use Knoppix. If enough people like the Linux class then you could offer classes on GNUCash as well.
I would love to see a place teach people that they can do most everything they need with out Windows.
A project I would really like to try someday would be to find a company to donate there old computer systems to a comunity group.
Load Linux on them and set up computer labs with them. I would love to see a small town Library or School where all the Videos, Flims, Records, and tapes where converted to digital audio and Video and available for viewing on their network.
I know there are some groups doing this in California.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Winselect
The Community Technology Centers Network (CTCNet) is a national non-profit membership organization of more than one thousand community technology centers. Its web site and membership has advice on what to do -- and what not to do -- in a community computer lab.
J Cravens http://www.coyotecommunications.com
OpenOffice is cross-platform. No other office software solution that I know of makes sure training is so relevant should the IT staff change the operating system.
Frankly, if it works nicely and easily but looks ugly, people will put up with the look. People still run on NT4, simply because it just works.
Stop the brainwash
Being from the area I'd say close the place down, the locals are just going to look up new ways to hide their meth labs and the tourists won't be sober enough to use a computer.
"Secrecy is the Beginning of Tyranny" "No intelligent man has any respect for an unjust law" -Robert Heinlein
GnuWin is a distribution of Free/Open Source software for Windows. It includes among many other things Mozilla, OpenOffice, PHP, Apache, several games, programming languages and tools, and more.
There are several other similar projects out there that might be worth considering as well.
Please check them out. It will cost you little or nothing, and will provide your users a wealth of interesting, Free and Open Source software.
Nonaggression works!
My family has a place on East Lake Okoboji, and I am totally shocked to hear of this happening. There are only two places like this in the entire area as far as I know, and each place only has one computer. During the summer months when we are there for weeks at a time it would be nice to have some way to check up on the rest of the world through the internet. I think that just having basic internet access would be helpful to a lot of the tourist. It would be nice to be able to stop by for a game of Warcraft. The people that would primarily be interested in gaming would be the tourist, because the locals either have it at home, or they really just don't care about that kind of thing.
I didn't look though all the repies, but they're as creative as
"I'm responsible for training people in Quickbooks, what should I teach:
- the joys of double entry bookkeeping
- typing without looking at the keyboard
- transferring data to tax prep application
- how to find free alternatives to quickbooks"
Computering as a field is as relevant as blacksmithing was in 1900. Or typing was in 1975.
Yes, typist was a growing profession until about 1975. Computer and web code monkeys are going the way of the typist.
So, what is the future of computing. Well, it's a basic skill, like reading and writing, typing, presenting ideas in an organized manner.
The future of computing is integrating it with products. We see it everywhere but don't see it. How many people look at a VCR and say "What a great software design and implementation!". How many people drive down the road and say, "Man those coders really did a great job on the engine control loop!".
The quick and easy way to excite kids especially is with Mindstorms. You combine embedded system design with mechanical design and system integration. BUT, there is lots more beyond the software that LEGO provides. There is software that does all the embedded system design tricks of tool suites, cross compilers, etc. You can implement distributed control systems.
But you can go beyond that system. Parallax has focused increasingly on the education market with its BOEBOT, and various other prototyping systems and tools. They even have a gate array system. Why do I mention Parallax out of the hundreds of companies offering similar systems and components - merely that they have focused specifically on the education market after coming from the hobby/lab world where their advantage was that they saved a chunk of time for a modest premium - as they move "up market" they are charging a higher premium, but they are adding value by bringing together components from multiple vendors.
There is a growing amount of interest in "CNC" and with it a growing body of components, both software and hardware. There are several somewhat ready made packages of motors, controls, and software to allow building some simple, but very interesting machines. The costs start getting up there - certainly well in excess of a couple new computers. (Mindstorms are slightly less than a computer.)
To provide a simple, somewhat focused activity, you could go the Sumobot route. There are a few pretty much turnkey somobot kits available and the emphasis would be on developing good automous programs to competition. The competition rings are inexpensive and small (about 5 feet square to the ring and an area around them, minus the space for people).
I would consider my mission a success then, I've annoyed an AC :) I can die happy
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
From what I recall of a July visit to the "Okoboji, Spirit Lake, Arnolds Park, Iowa" area, the number one thing any computer lab needs is: INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH AIR-CONDITIONING.
And maybe a few bug-zappers too.
100% humidity, 100% bugs, 0% comfort.
Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
sig
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
I metamodded this as unfair. Off topic means that the post was not about the topic at hand. He was answering the question posed by the article.
Man, some of you dweebs with mod points really need understand what the fuck 'off-topic' really means. You also need to study up on that little blurb in the FAQ that says "if ya got nothing interesting to add, be funny!"
Sick of these stupid moderations.
"Derp de derp."
-Classes/Seminars : Securing Windows, Proper Internet Ethics (Specifically File Sharing), Searching
-Computers : Mostly Windows XP boxes, 1 Linux box, and 1 Mac OS X box
-Events : LAN Party
Of course all of this is money consuming, so hopefully you have a large budget.
And a private viewing room.