From AptivateOER

Collecting some ideas for a basic ICT training course. This isn't a 'one fits all' problem, but there may be some common elements.

Here are some printable introductory materials that Aptivate created for two training courses in Zambia, with a group of students who had never used a computer before.

[edit] 1 What do you teach?

Suppose you are starting from scratch, what sort of things do you have to cover?

As a concrete example, look at the Src page, in particular Src/courses, which states that the Samfya resouce centre teaches

• How to operate and use the computer,and access to internet.
• How to browse
• How to login into email account,
• Printing,photocopying.
• How to search on Google.
• How to send, forward, reply and receive emails.
• How to attach document to an email.
• How to create folders.
• How to type.etc

More formally, where related to computing, this covers

• BIT/How to use a computer (basics, such as switching on, using the keyboard, mouse, logging in)
• BIT/Basic operating system skills: Creating folders, logging in, logging out, printing
• BIT/Learning how to type (touch typing)
• BIT/Instant messaging (in Samfya was used as a fun way of learning how to type, but is Skype is also an important skill)
• BIT/Web basics: Browsing, opening a url, basic searching.
• BIT/Searching for information: Google search, image search, map search. Wikipedia, and specialised resources (such as health related)
• Email Training covers all of the above email related topics (for web-based email)
• Web content creation (text, images, video)
• Self-guided learning activities, other than ICT ("Now that you are connected, what do you do?") Here are some ideas:
  • Learning English
  • Links to other OER Resources
• Office applications (OpenOffice)
• Using the internet
  • Social networking (facebook, linked in)
  • Collaboration (using googlegroups for mailing lists, using google documents, using wikis)

Apart from 'desktop' centric activities (like the above), in my view one would also want to include some basic 'mobile ICT': Especially if participants do not have access to desktops/laptops all the time, but do have access to internet capable mobile phones. In this case one would teach email with the google mail app, browsing with Opera Mini, and perhaps also google maps for mobile, as well as skype for mobile (for text chat), see http://www.sciencemedianetwork.org/wiki/Mobile.

[edit] 2 How do you teach it?

Not didactic, but enquiry-based learning.

[edit] 3 The teaching environment

Value of running 'services' locally, so that learning takes place without bandwidth constraints.