DATE 09/26/2007
LOCATION: 1500 CHERRY COTTONWOOD ONE-STOP VERDE CONFERENCE ROOM
TIME: 1:00 TO 4:00PM
COMPUTER SKILLS FOR PROFFESSIONALS
This class:
is designed for staff that use computers frequently in their jobs, and work with clients who use assistive technology with computers. The focus is use of computers, hardware and software to handle common activities needed for those pursuing business needs in job-seeking and online communication.
During Training: demonstration and discussion of all common computer skills that people need to have. Follow-up training and documents are available at:
http://groups.msn.com/EulessBasic/
Training is geared for a wide range of skill level within the same training session: beginner to advanced computer use. Participants receive one of three customized handouts ("beginner", "intermediate" and "advanced" to meet their own level of experience and interest.
Each handout has the same agenda but the details may differ on the explanations and content. Please write down your questions about doing these tasks as you follow your agenda with the demonstrations. Opportunity will be given to ask the questions in class at planned times. Other individual questions will be handled by using the posting forum listed above at msn.com. The trainer and developer of these sessions and materials is BJ Bolender, Assistive Technology Trainer, ATAZ Staff Training Program, ACBVI Inc.
Basic Computer Skills: Training Agenda
10. Word program tips and tricks
11. NotePad and WordPad tips and tricks
12. Excel and other table programs, spreadsheets
13. Using general keyboard commands (instead of the mouse)
14. How to set up your "desktop" and screen settings to suit your own needs
Every one of these agenda topics are listing in the msn.com posting community called EulessBasic. This is an msn.com “group”, one of thousands. This site was created years ago for assistance and continuing education for students who have attended classes and training in computer skills by BJ Bolender, Assistive Technology Trainer, ACBI Inc. Here is the link to explore this free and public website:
http://groups.msn.com/EulessBasic
Why is it titled EulessBasic? At one time I conducted classes at a public library in Euless, TX. Can’t change the address or the group name, but the site has been continuously used with hundreds of students now for the last three years. It stores a lot of documents, help information, photos, and resources that beginning and intermediate computer users will appreciate.
All those who attend the “Missing Link Solutions” training sessions are welcome to access and use this site. Feel free to join the group and post questions in the message board. All the topics of the training are in the message board here:
http://groups.msn.com/EulessBasic/messageboard.msnw
Per topic on this training agenda, here are some of the most helpful links and tips for beginners on computer skills. If you received the handout marked “C, this means that you have MOST business communication computer skills, but can use some additional alternative methods and links to resources to solve common tasks. It is provided to those who have advanced level skills.
Also look at the website set up for Online Strategies:
http://groups.msn.com/EulessEasy
Also look for the Documents heading in the Sidebar on the website. When you click there, you will see a list of all the Word documents and plain text documents that will give you more information you may appreciate having for new resources.
All the rest of the agenda items have topics set up in the message board for you to follow along and get more information following training. Go to the message boards and start first in the “Missing Link” message board. You will see all the agenda topics there and can look up the topic you wish.
These are just some of the topics that have entries at this time:
Just In Case You Have a Crash
Photomemes.org List of Sites
Adobe Acrobat
Image Posting in this site
Wambooli Lesson on Dialog Boxes
Posting Online in msn.com groups - fonts
You Know You are Addicted to the Net When...
To Copy File or Text Info to a document Downloading Documents in EulessEasy
msn.com Help Topics
Discussion during this training: Notes for advanced computer users in basic computer skills
NotePad and WordPad tips and tricks
If you have the ability to download and/or install simple applications, consider using NoteTab Light in lieu of NotePad that comes with Windows. It is more powerful and far less of a resources hog than NotePad. It will also give you the ability to very quickly text edit, even with html source code. You view a web page in the page source and copy to NotePad, where you can click one button to strip all html coding but preserve the URLs. WordPad is used instead of NotePad when you want to capture the font styles, colors, diagrams and images. This is used to capture instant message and chat conversations, as well as sections of web pages. The two drawbacks are the resources drain and the usual mode of creating a rich text format document (.rtf) instead of a regular Word document. Some users you pass the page along to will have trouble converting it for viewing depending upon their version of Word.
Excel and other table programs, spreadsheets
Excel is a very “deep” program that most people have little experience with, other than to open and read someone’s spreadsheet. If you create one for other people to view, consider using the colors to highlight the cells of data that are of key interest. Far easier for people to have a focus on the page. Use Word for creating a spreadsheet in a table format – the advantage is that you can create a second version with the Tools>Convert feature. This will provide the same information in an accessible format for users of screen readers.
How to set up your "desktop" and screen settings to suit your own needs
Most people prefer to see their own desktop up without having to see the default Windows screen, often of clouds, flying Microsoft logos or a green hill. Technically an office computer user may or may not have the permission to select their own image for the desktop, but the vast majority of people do this. Suggestions: stay away from using a screensaver if you have many applications running at one time – to reduce sluggish performance. Stay away from using a download made for desktops and screensavers – you’d be surprised how often they care free cookies and spyware with the free download. If you like to have a rotating screensaver of photos, use ones you select from your own photos and have in a “My Pictures” folder you can browse to in “Settings”. Great source for desktop images that are large and unusual, copyright-free and no bugs – http://www.imageafter.com. See samples of desktops I have used in the EulessBasic group.
If you prefer to set your home page to a particular site, I recommend RefDesk, for it has the best links to everywhere you may commonly want to go for news, reference, diversion, etc. If you like to have good reading in short doses AND have great links for reference AND have streaming audio radio to listen to while you work, try Arts and Letters Daily, from the Chronicle of Higher Education: http://www.aldaily.com
If you want to have the most efficient use of your time, consider making your own html webpage that has links to the places you go most often, sorted into categories. It’s not hard to do this and a sample is in the EulessBasic group in the photo gallery. Here is a section of mine:
What are BJ’s recommendations for computer applications (can’t live without ‘em)?
See details in EulessBasic, these are all freeware.
Karen’s Power Tools – get Karen’s Directory Printer to print to a file all your documents and lost text files where you can’t remember the names and where you stored them….
Iranview and/or PhotoFiltre – two basic but deep graphics editors that are far better than the photo editor in Windows. Both are small downloads and small programs.
NoteTab Light – replacement for NotePad in Windows.
CC Cleaner – fastest removal of recycle bin and the miscellaneous Windows files that are hidden and clog up the resources – http://www.ccleaner.com. Many options and tools here.
MW Snap – powerful screen captures, great for small sections of a web page - http://www.mirekw.com/
What computer skills are necessary to use assistive technology software effectively?
Please notify Michael O’Brien your Disability Program Navigator at MO’brien@azdes.gov or at (928)649-6870 of numbers who are attending. Thank you Michael