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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."
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!
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.
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.
Free. Gratis. Libre.
Software y Libertad!
La computadora es de quien la trabaja!
In this same vein...
How to conduct meaningful web searches period.
People often waste too much time trying to track down useful/pertinent information on the web.
Cater to the locals instead of the visitors. Since this is a tourist town, I'd suggest courses in computers for small business. This would include classes in email/www/word/excel/database/simply accounting/cash register apps (or freeware variants etc...).
You could tie it together in a series and work them up to bookkeeping/inventory control packages. You could even partner with an accounting firm to teach bookkeeping on a different night. Customers could run the apps on a dirt-cheap used computer & improve their businesses - you would be helping to support local industry.
When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
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 ?
One topic that I've always thought would help your average user:
:)
Effectively using a search engine (or how to use Google
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?