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August 2000 microCHIP - Mid-Hudson Computer User Group newsletter

Features

Thoughts About SeniorNet

by Les J. Kizer pc.Les@Juno.Com

So, what have I learned about computers from SeniorNet. In the past year, I have had the privilege of coaching or teaching eight classes in three quarters at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Now it is summer. I look toward the fall and wonder, how can I more easily get the subject across so the students grasp the PC knowledge they want?

The PC and its predecessors have been around for several decades. Those of us who carry the scars of an earlier day take so much for granted. We zip about, click and type; everything is so very simple, so very easy.

Even with my long-term commitment to user groups, the knowledge in one meeting room is awesome. I have never walked into a user group meeting where I didn't feel that everyone in the room knows something about a PC that I would like to know. In a SeniorNet class such knowledge is not as prevalent and much more difficult to elicit.

The Mouse

Actually, I had a modem for a couple of years before I had a mouse. The result was that the modem connected to COM1. When I got the mouse, it was attached to COM2. I may still have a PC around here somewhere that is set up this way. Still, I have no recollection of having any problems using a mouse.

The mouse appears to be simple device. Not so. It has two buttons, or maybe three. It must be oriented squarely on the table, not turned at a forty-degree angle. As one moves the mouse, one watches the screen, not the mouse. One lightly rests one's fingers on the mouse button ready to click away_left or right please.

But maybe it is just an ingrained
hatred of mice.

With practice drills, we spend an hour teaching how to use a mouse followed by time in every class due to wayward mice. We send the students home for a week to housebreak the rodent over solitaire, paint and FreeCell. Then we spend the rest of the course wishing we could call the ASPCA for animal abuse. But maybe it is just an ingrained hatred of mice.

For some just resting their fingers on the mouse buttons is objectionable. Of course the result is that when they flick their fingers to press the mouse button, the mouse travels, and when the click occurs, the mouse is off the target. I told one woman I was going to bring her a training aid to help her keep her fingers on the mouse buttons. She asked, "What might that be?" I replied, "Two Band Aids, one for each finger. We can lay the Band Aid over the finger and around to the bottom side of the rodent." She improved magnificently.

A major infectious mouse disease is that the poor critter is unable to reach the spot that needs to be clicked. "What you say, I have to pick up the critter and set him down a few inches over?"

Oh, yes, there is the wayward mouse. As one moves the mouse

horizontally or vertically across the tabletop, the cursor on the screen is running in triangulations that have nothing to do with the table movement. Looking down at the hand holding the wayward mouse, one sees the mouse's tail at the same angle the cursor marches obliquely across the screen.

Solitaire anyone?

The Keyboard

Prior to teaching and coaching these courses, it seems everyone I know types, maybe not well, but they type. When I was a young man, my college papers had to be typed, so I laboriously used the hunt and peck, two-finger method on a 1920's Woodstock. A decade later I forced myself to learn touch-typing by masking the letters on the typewriter keys.

I was not mentally prepared for the number of people from all walks of life who were, for the first time, approaching a keyboard. SeniorNet does well to run courses on using the keyboard, which years ago we would have called typing classes.

The PC Itself

Ah, the mystery box. Those of us who reach in and manually tweak hardware and software have no idea of the trepidation the inexperienced have. The danger of course is that they might do something that would be eminently more expensive to repair. In truth, how many hours have we spent having the fun of recovering from our mistakes? Breaking the mystique is important.

On one occasion I took the class to a round table in the break area. I placed a PC in the middle and showed them how accessible it is. I then turned to a woman student who was a retired middle school teacher. "Can you handle a screw driver?" "Well, yes, I'm considered quite handy." "Good. Here is a screwdriver, and a new modem. Would you replace the current modem with the new one?" The shocked expressions around the table were priceless, as I walked away to let them figure out where the current modem was and how to replace it.

Even this simple exercise bolsters confidence.

In Summary

We are told that seniors make up the fastest growing segment of the computer market. For many recent retirees, they have the money, the time and the interest. Helping to bring these people into my world is my pleasure.

Still, my greatest joy is when a student learns something I don't know and returns to share his or her newfound knowledge with the rest of us. In the end, I am affirmed: Everyone who uses a PC knows something about PCs that I don't know and would like to know.0

There are SeniorNet Classes in our area. You can check the website http://www.idsi.net/~senpok1 for information and class schedule for the Poughkeepsie area. For more information check out http://www.seniornet.org. Ed.

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August 2000 *microCHIP* - Mid-Hudson Computer User Group newsletter
Features
Thoughts About SeniorNet
by Les J. Kizer pc.Les@Juno.Com So, what have I learned about computers from SeniorNet. In the past year, I have had the privilege of coaching or teaching eight classes in three quarters at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Now it is summer. I look toward the fall and wonder, how can I more easily get the subject across so the students grasp the PC knowledge they want? The PC and its predecessors have been around for several decades. Those of us who carry the scars of an earlier day take so much for granted. We zip about, click and type; everything is so very simple, so very easy. Even with my long-term commitment to user groups, the knowledge in one meeting room is awesome. I have never walked into a user group meeting where I didn't feel that everyone in the room knows something about a PC that I would like to know. In a SeniorNet class such knowledge is not as prevalent and much more difficult to elicit. The Mouse Actually, I had a modem for a couple of years before I had a mouse. The result was that the modem connected to COM1. When I got the mouse, it was attached to COM2. I may still have a PC around here somewhere that is set up this way. Still, I have no recollection of having any problems using a mouse. The mouse appears to be simple device. Not so. It has two buttons, or maybe three. It must be oriented squarely on the table, not turned at a forty-degree angle. As one moves the mouse, one watches the screen, not the mouse. One lightly rests one's fingers on the mouse button ready to click away_left or right please. But maybe it is just an ingrained hatred of mice. With practice drills, we spend an hour teaching how to use a mouse followed by time in every class due to wayward mice. We send the students home for a week to housebreak the rodent over solitaire, paint and FreeCell. Then we spend the rest of the course wishing we could call the ASPCA for animal abuse. But maybe it is just an ingrained hatred of mice. For some just resting their fingers on the mouse buttons is objectionable. Of course the result is that when they flick their fingers to press the mouse button, the mouse travels, and when the click occurs, the mouse is off the target. I told one woman I was going to bring her a training aid to help her keep her fingers on the mouse buttons. She asked, "What might that be?" I replied, "Two Band Aids, one for each finger. We can lay the Band Aid over the finger and around to the bottom side of the rodent." She improved magnificently. A major infectious mouse disease is that the poor critter is unable to reach the spot that needs to be clicked. "What you say, I have to pick up the critter and set him down a few inches over?" Oh, yes, there is the wayward mouse. As one moves the mouse
		horizontally or vertically across the tabletop, the cursor on the screen is running in triangulations that have nothing to do with the table movement. Looking down at the hand holding the wayward mouse, one sees the mouse's tail at the same angle the cursor marches obliquely across the screen. Solitaire anyone? The Keyboard Prior to teaching and coaching these courses, it seems everyone I know types, maybe not well, but they type. When I was a young man, my college papers had to be typed, so I laboriously used the hunt and peck, two-finger method on a 1920's Woodstock. A decade later I forced myself to learn touch-typing by masking the letters on the typewriter keys. I was not mentally prepared for the number of people from all walks of life who were, for the first time, approaching a keyboard. SeniorNet does well to run courses on using the keyboard, which years ago we would have called typing classes. The PC Itself Ah, the mystery box. Those of us who reach in and manually tweak hardware and software have no idea of the trepidation the inexperienced have. The danger of course is that they might do something that would be eminently more expensive to repair. In truth, how many hours have we spent having the fun of recovering from our mistakes? Breaking the mystique is important. On one occasion I took the class to a round table in the break area. I placed a PC in the middle and showed them how accessible it is. I then turned to a woman student who was a retired middle school teacher. "Can you handle a screw driver?" "Well, yes, I'm considered quite handy." "Good. Here is a screwdriver, and a new modem. Would you replace the current modem with the new one?" The shocked expressions around the table were priceless, as I walked away to let them figure out where the current modem was and how to replace it. Even this simple exercise bolsters confidence. In Summary We are told that seniors make up the fastest growing segment of the computer market. For many recent retirees, they have the money, the time and the interest. Helping to bring these people into my world is my pleasure. Still, my greatest joy is when a student learns something I don't know and returns to share his or her newfound knowledge with the rest of us. In the end, I am affirmed: Everyone who uses a PC knows something about PCs that I don't know and would like to know.0

		There are SeniorNet Classes in our area. You can check the website http://www.idsi.net/~senpok1 for information and class schedule for the Poughkeepsie area. For more information check out http://www.seniornet.org. Ed.