A general consensus prevailed throughout the surveys that some people do not completely understand the options WPI offers through the Novell Network, with E-mail and what their computer or terminal truly has to offer them. It was also discovered a large number of people are uncomfortable using UNIX commands. I will be working in conjunction with other CCC members to coordinate training sessions devoted to "Understanding Your Computer Hardware/Software Options at WPI", "A General Understanding of Your Connections to Others Through E-Mail and the Novell Network." and "The Most Common UNIX Commands and Their Purposes."
Many individuals are using personal computers with Windows to expedite their work. There was an overwhelming response to the need for a training session on "How to use Windows". Over three-quarters of those surveyed had used Windows, but did not feel entirely comfortable nor did they realize it's full potential. This area of concern will be targeted first in developing training. It is very necessary for people to feel comfortable in a Windows environment before they move on to more specific software and I would consider this training a pre-requisite to learning additional software.
The software used by the select group surveyed concentrated on word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software and surprisingly the results suggested a campus-wide use of Microsoft Office products which includes Microsoft Word for Windows, Excel, Powerpoint and MS Access. Many use Word for Windows for their word processing needs and feel they are at the basic level but wish to learn more about the other options it has to offer as well as how it works in conjunction with the other members of the package. The numbers are about the same for those who want to use Excel, Powerpoint and MS Access for windows but most of this group has never used the applications but wishes to start from scratch to learn them. There was a good following of those who want to learn more about WordPerfect for Windows, WordPerfect Presentations and Lotus. This group will not be dismissed; there will be training sessions from time to time, but training at the moment will concentrate on Microsoft products.
Students use these applications as well as many other applications to complete their studies and projects. What are the applications for which you feel you need training? Send E-mail to myself at dldexter@wpi or the helpdesk at box5888@wpi.
Because many software products offer an extensive amount of options, training will be presented through "topics" so that people will be able to learn different functions or benefits their software extends to them instead of reading the manual to try to comprehend everything the software has to offer. There are probably some functions that will not relate to a person's everyday responsibilities, and learning them would be a waste of time.
Questions were also targeted at E-mail preferences. There appeared to be a general consensus that training is needed on how to use E-mail and which E-mail package you should use. I will be developing training on the options WPI users have on means of communication.
Lastly, the choices for the times to train were again overwhelmingly constant. I will try to make training session times flexible. The sessions will be constructed to be generally two hours in length. The schedule will adhere to the needs of those who may need private instruction, but will concentrate on group training sessions to compensate for the great need for training. Therefore, there will be an effort to maintain two morning training sessions daily, with afternoons for private instruction or questions by phone. If enough students are interested in taking advantage of computer training, I would be glad to adjust the schedule to include one to two nightly sessions per month if people can not attend a day session, but I would need some feedback from the students. All training sessions will be held here in the basement of Fuller Labs in the Projects Room unless other arrangements are necessary.
I will be posting training sessions in different areas like newsgroups-events, general E-mails, Newspeak and WPI This Week. Registering for training sessions will be necessary due to the limited number of computers; registering can be done by phone or E-mail to dldexter@wpi AFTER a posting has been published. In the future, I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible and servicing you to the best of my ability. Again, I invite anyone from WPI to send me any suggestions or requests in regards to training.
Give feedback: newspeak@wpi.wpi.edu