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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?
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.
'Finding Information 101' -- GOOGLE. There are too many people that still haven't figured out how to use Google.
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.
And teach people HOW NOT TO SHOUT.
I'd include more, but the LAMENESS FILTER piped up.
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
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.
Building a Webpage Without a star-pattern as a background nor using the blink tag. would be a better course.
Just my $0.02.
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
Intro to LINUX would be pointless. Everthing is self explainatory.
Galium Arsenide is the material of the future, and always will be.
Yeah the entire class could consist of a 20something yelling RTFM at the students. ;>
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"How to get by with only 1 wife" might be useful
And for the kids:
How To Hide Computer Files and Delete Browser History
And for the older kids:
How To Change Security Settings on Folders
Hypocrisy is the 8th deadly sin.
[You have a stable society when some nut guns down a schoolyard and the law doesn't change.]