More Google!
We trained the final group of Phoenix employees on Google mail last week. There were 37 people from our print and warehouse areas with various degrees of computer knowledge and English language skills.
There were people who didn't have a clear idea of what the internet entails, no concept of what a browser is and I think a few had never actually used a computer. Many of them were completely unfamiliar with a keyboard and mouse. There were folks from Vietnam, Ethiopia, Sudan and Gabon and several Hispanics with limited English abilities in both speaking and writing.
We divided everyone into groups of 3, 4 or 5 by estimated computer knowledge and native language. Each group had ½ hour for training. I was the nuts and bolts mail instructor, one of our Human Resources people did the intro and another HR person helped guide the students through the class.
The training started with "What do you know about the internet?" That was followed by "What is email?" We explained browsers and how they tab windows, where to put the website address (and what an address is) and gave everyone documentation that included step by step pictures of how to access the web, log in to the Google Apps account and how to compose and send an email.
Luckily for us, our class size limit proved to be a good one. It was small enough that the three of us could keep an eye on one or two people at most and make sure everyone stayed in sync. However, I had to give a stern talking to to my co-trainers as they were taking their people further into the training and mail when their people were more skilled than the others.
It was a challenge and also very rewarding. There were a few people who felt it was useless and that they would never use email at the start of the class but we converted them pretty quickly. The foreign born students all did great and I think a lot of people have kids at home who are computer literate so it wasn't entirely new. Everyone was quite appreciative of the opportunity to learn a new skill. It's hard for me to fathom a life without email and the internet in this era so I hope they use their new knowledge and tools productively.
There were people who didn't have a clear idea of what the internet entails, no concept of what a browser is and I think a few had never actually used a computer. Many of them were completely unfamiliar with a keyboard and mouse. There were folks from Vietnam, Ethiopia, Sudan and Gabon and several Hispanics with limited English abilities in both speaking and writing.
We divided everyone into groups of 3, 4 or 5 by estimated computer knowledge and native language. Each group had ½ hour for training. I was the nuts and bolts mail instructor, one of our Human Resources people did the intro and another HR person helped guide the students through the class.
The training started with "What do you know about the internet?" That was followed by "What is email?" We explained browsers and how they tab windows, where to put the website address (and what an address is) and gave everyone documentation that included step by step pictures of how to access the web, log in to the Google Apps account and how to compose and send an email.
Luckily for us, our class size limit proved to be a good one. It was small enough that the three of us could keep an eye on one or two people at most and make sure everyone stayed in sync. However, I had to give a stern talking to to my co-trainers as they were taking their people further into the training and mail when their people were more skilled than the others.
It was a challenge and also very rewarding. There were a few people who felt it was useless and that they would never use email at the start of the class but we converted them pretty quickly. The foreign born students all did great and I think a lot of people have kids at home who are computer literate so it wasn't entirely new. Everyone was quite appreciative of the opportunity to learn a new skill. It's hard for me to fathom a life without email and the internet in this era so I hope they use their new knowledge and tools productively.
