Bringing students into computer age
By CHRISTINE RYERSON
(AUG. 23) -- To the uninitiated, the world of computers may seem like a hopeless maze. But in fact, the world is narrower (if not a lot deeper) than it was 10 years ago.
A look at computer offerings in local adult education shows the arena to be largely dominated by Windows 95 applications and the Internet.
Here are some of the Valley's computer resources.
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Victoria White offers computer training courses through her Northampton company, The Internet Connection, as well as other agencies such as Amherst Leisure Services. She is shown with her dog Betty.
Jerrey Roberts photo |
The Internet Connection
Victoria White is a familiar figure on the computer training scene. She teaches not only through her Northampton training company, The Internet Connection, but also through Amherst Leisure Services and Supplemental Education (LSSE), Springfield Technical Community College and Smith Vocational School, under the auspices of Greenfield Community College.
In two years, The Internet Connection has grown from two to four full-time employees and from three to 10 regularly scheduled computer and Internet classes. In addition to Internet searching strategies, White also teaches Windows 95 and Office 97 applications, and plans to teach Memphis (also referred to as Windows 98) once it's released next year.
White first worked with computers in the chemistry and polymer science departments at UMass, where she taught students and staff how to use computer-driven instruments. In 1994 she earned a master's degree in business administration and soon after was invited to join the Computer Ethics Board of the Brookings Institute in Washington D.C. She opened The Internet Connection the following year. White is currently a member of many other community groups and computer advisory boards.
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Victoria White is a familiar figure on the computer training scene. She first worked with computers in the chemistry and polymer science departments at UMass.
Jerrey Roberts photo |
White also regularly holds free seminars for seniors. "They are the fastest growing group on the Internet," she notes. Maximum class size is eight, with everyone on a computer.
"I used to cancel classes if they were under-enrolled, but now I'll hold them for one person," White comments. "My philosophy is that this is so empowering for people who've traditionally been shut out of computers that it's vital to keep it affordable and accessible."
The Internet Connection is located at 17 Hawley Street, Northampton, 584-8600. Fees range from $39 for a three-hour class on Exploring the Web, to $139 for an all-day computer camp.
Amherst Leisure Services
LSSE is one center to offer computer training. This fall, White will be teaching seven evening computer classes through LSSE. They are:
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS: Walks novices through the world of contemporary hardware and software, de-mystifies the jargon and, if you're in the market, helps you decide which system will best meet your needs. Meets Mondays, Sept. 15 and 20, 7-8:30, Amherst Middle School.
INTRODUCTION TO WINDOWS 95: Gives an overview of the operating system now in use on most home PC's and on virtually all business systems. White explains the main features of Windows 95, as well as how it differs from other operating systems. Meets Wednesday, Sept. 17, 6:30-8:30, Amherst Middle School.
INTERMEDIATE WINDOWS 95: Builds on knowledge participants have gained through an introductory class or personal experience. Emphasizes shortcuts, troubleshooting and personal applications. Meets Wednesday, Sept. 24, 6:30-8:30, Amherst Middle School.
INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET: Provides an overview of what the Internet actually is, as well as how to choose a service provider. Internet tools such as e-mail, USENET, Gopher and TELNET are also explored in this five-session course. Meets Mondays, Sept. 29-Oct. 27, from 7:00-8:30, Amherst Middle School.
BUILDING YOUR OWN WEB SITE: Provides an introduction to Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), the programming language of Web pages. White will also discuss the aesthetics of designing effective Web sites. Meets Wednesdays, October 8-22, 6:30-8:00, Amherst Middle School.
INVESTMENTS ON THE INTERNET: Shows you how to create an investment plan and build a portfolio through online research, stock quotes and mutual fund ratings. You'll also learn how to "chat" with other investors online. Meets Wednesday, October 29, 6:30-8:30, Amherst Middle School.
Verify all class times and locations by calling LSSE at 256-4065.
Smith Vocational-Agricutural High School
The vocational school, in Northampton (587-1000) is another center that provides computer training. Maximum class size for all computer classes is 16. Tuition is $145. The center offers the following courses:
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR PC: A basic computer literacy class designed to help newcomers overcome their anxieties. Demonstrates word processing, spreadsheet and database applications. Instructor: Victoria White. Meets Tuesdays, Sept. 16-Oct. 21, from 6:30-9 p.m.. (Also meets Thursdays, Oct. 23-Dec. 4, with an instructor to be announced.)
INTRODUCTION TO WORD FOR WINDOWS 95: Begins with an overview of the Windows 95 operating environment, then shows how to create, edit and print documents. Students also learn how to format, manipulate text and use a spell checker. No prior computer experience necessary. Meets Thursdays, Oct. 30-Dec. 11, 6:30-9:00. Instructor to be announced.
INTRODUCTION TO EXCEL FOR WINDOWS 95: Teaches the skills necessary to create simple spreadsheets using Excel. Students learn how to design, create, edit and format a spreadsheet, as well as how to use formulas and common functions. Meets Tuesdays from Oct. 28-Dec. 2, 6:30-9 p.m. Instructor to be announced.
Pioneer Training
This company in Holyoke (formerly located in the Mountain Farms Mall) specializes in quick, intensive classes in PC application software. "If you don't own a computer to go home and practice on, you'll get lost in our courses," notes owner Don Lesser, who started the company in 1989. "I'd recommend something like a community college class instead for people with no exposure to computers."
Pioneer Training classes are typically three hours long. Maximum class size is 10, with everyone on a computer. Basic tuition is $99 per class, with a 10 percent discount for three or more classes.
Internet training classes are held regularly. Also offered: courses in Word and Word Perfect word processing software; Access and Paradox database programs; Excel and Lotus spreadsheet packages; Quark and Pagemaker graphics and layout packages. Everything is currently taught on a Windows 95 platform.
"This is the first year we haven't taught any DOS courses or DOS-based applications," Lesser observes.
Pioneer Training is a Microsoft Solution Provider and a Beta test site for new products like Word 97. Through the arrangement, the company gets experience working with new software products before they're released. This way, the company becomes a troubleshooting resource for corporate clients after packages are available to the public. Lesser says that virtually all software is released these days before it is ready, and that as a result most companies shy away from new products.
"They don't want to be on the bleeding edge of technology," he comments.
Pioneer Training provides onsite classes and consultation for its corporate customers, and trains employees to be in-house computer gurus. "I've taken people who couldn't spell 'computer' and turned them into local experts," he laughs.
In all of his company's training classes, Lesser believes not only in getting people started quickly, but in teaching more than what buttons to push.
"A PC still requires you to know what's going on inside it," he says. "A MAC turns a computer into a toaster, which is why the few MAC loyalists out there don't take classes."
Pioneer Training also provides comprehensive user guides. "And they're written in English," Lesser asserts.
Pioneer Training is at Whitney Place, 14 Bobala Road, Holyoke, 536-1030.
Adventures in Lifelong Learning
Adventures in Lifelong Learning is part of the Division of Continuing Education at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
This fall, ALL is offering three Windows 95 classes, as well as three on the World Wide Web. All are taught by Thomas Jamate, who has worked as a computer consultant since 1998. He is currently a full-time database programmer in the Office of Information Technology at UMass.
"Teaching keeps me normal," Jamate laughs. "When you sit in front of a computer all day, you get strange."
Jamate designed his own degree program in software design and technical writing through the "University Without Walls" program at UMass. "I think technical writing is tied into cognitive psychology," he notes. He enjoys translating "gobbledy-gook" into normal language, as much as he enjoys getting up front of a class after a day of programming. "When it works well, it's a lot of fun for me and the class," he comments.
Jamate says the A.L.L. classes are designed to be quick, intensive seminars on a few key skills. "There's no way you can cover Windows 95 in three hours," he notes. "But you can achieve core competency in things like mouse skills, with a lot of hands-on practice."
The classes are offered in sequence, so that students can learn a progression of skills. "If people take them in a series, each is a prerequisite for the next class," Jamate says. "Or you can just pick and choose which ones you want."
To verify class time, tuition and meeting places for A.L.L. courses, call 545-0474. Some of their computer training programs are:
INTRO TO WINDOWS 95 ON THE IBM COMPATIBLE PC: For total beginners, an introduction on how to use the mouse and to open and find files. Also gives a tour of popular Windows applications. Typing skills are not required. Meets Thursday, Sept. 18, 6:30-9:30. $35.
INTRO TO MS-WORD ON WINDOWS 95: Teaches the basics of the most commonly-used word processing package. Covers formatting, cutting and pasting, changing fonts and saving. Prerequisite: some ability to type and control a mouse, familiarity with Windows 95. Meets Thursday, Sept. 25, 7:00-9:00. $30.
INTRO TO MS-EXCEL ON WINDOWS 95: Introduces the basics of using a spreadsheet in the Excel software. Shows how to enter data, use formulas, format text and control printing. Prerequisite: some ability to type and control a mouse, familiarity with Windows 95. Meets Thursday, Oct. 9, 7:00-9:00. $30.
FINDING IT ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB: Overview of the Internet, as well as how to get the most out of Web-based search engines. Prerequisite: some ability to type and control a mouse, familiarity with Windows 95. Meets Thursday, Oct. 16, 7:00-9:00. $30.
INTRODUCTION TO WEB PAGE DESIGN AND CREATION: Teaches the basics of creating and designing your own World Wide Web page using Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML). Multi-media effects incorporating sound and motion are also explored. Shows how to set up a Web page on standard Internet accounts. Prerequisite: some ability to type and control a mouse, familiarity with Windows 95. Meets Thursday, Oct. 30, 6:30-9:30. $35.
ADVANCED WEB PAGE DESIGN AND CREATION: Pushes the limits of HTML using tables, images, maps and forms. Also discusses topics from mail to actions, CGI and Java. Prerequisite: some ability to type and control a mouse, familiarity with Windows 95 and HTML. Meets Thursday, Nov. 6, 6:30-9:30. $35.
Skills
This business in downtown Amherst provides an alternative to classes and workshops. A private business school since 1974, Skills offers individualized curriculum and programs of study in computers and other office functions. Students choose from 17 computer training programs and seven business programs, including keyboarding, bookkeeping, medical and legal transcription and Business English. They then decide on a 20 to 80-hour course of learning, and sign up for two-hour blocks of time on the computer throughout the day (evening time is available as well).
They are provided with lesson plans that take them step by step through functions in whatever software they've chosen to study. Though students work alone on the computer, instructors are always available to coach, guide and answer questions. At the end of each program, students are awarded certificates, and are encouraged to write resumes and cover letters for job applications. "We aim our instruction at getting people jobs," says owner Lawrence Giambione. "It's amazing - people come here with absolutely no experience with computers, and leave with jobs and great confidence in themselves." Although job placement is not formally offered through Skills, Giambione says he gets calls and job postings from many companies (there is no charge for this service).
Giambione has been with Skills since 1990, and has been the owner since 1995. He came from a background of furniture design and manufacturing. "But I've always been very involved with employee training programs," he notes.
Skills is licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Education and is involved in job-retraining programs for the Massachusetts Department of Employment and Training, Massachusetts Rehabilitation, Highland Valley Elder Services and the Office of Transitional Assistance.
Skills also helps insurance companies settle workers compensation cases by helping people get back to work in new jobs after injuries.
Giambione says Skills is also in the process of equipping several of its thirteen computers with magnification devices and voice recorders with the help of the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind.
"This makes the computer an even more valuable tool for visually impaired people," says Giambione. "It allows them to function in the workplace as though they weren't blind."
Skills offers courses in Word and WordPerfect, Lotus, Pagemaker, Excel, PowerPoint and Access; many are offered in both DOS and Windows 95 environments. Fees range from $190 for a 20-hour course to $680 for 80 hours.
Skills is located at 150 Fearing Street (the Creamery building), Amherst, 549-2686.
This is from http://www.gazettenet.com/.
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