Stirsmommy Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Looking over what my daughter's college of choice requires to gain admission I found she needs to have a course in computer skills. She will need to know the ins and outs of word, excel and powerpoint. She has a bit but obviously not enough. Is there an online program or something that she could take? I don't think i know enough to present it in an organized fashion. Thanks Melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stirsmommy Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Ok I have been researching and I am still not sure what I should do. There are some online programs but they seem geared more to adults who are trying to get employment. Do you think that would work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freerange Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Something like http://alison.com/courses/MSDL-FULL any good? The alison website has several other courses for specific software too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 (edited) I think if it is just about skills with consumer software like Excel and Powerpoint and Word, the best way would be to assign the student a project and let them figure it out. That's how most people learn to use the software they use: not through classes, but through having to work with it. It has been my experience that teenagers are very good at figuring things out on the computer. Let her make pp presentations, work with spreadsheets (for instance for her science labs), create graphs and documents. She will acquire the skills through trial and error. That's how I learned, and that's how we teach our kids: give a project and have then find out what they need to do. These software products are pretty self-explaining. Now if it was advanced programming that was needed, I would recommend a class. Edited February 14, 2012 by regentrude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnTeaching Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 There are several books out there on the Microsoft Office programs. I have taught myself several programs by reading the manuals and doing projects just as Regentrude recommended. I would just make sure to have as current a version as you can get, both the book and the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 My son is taking a course titled "MicroComputer Applications" which teaches Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. They are using this text. This is a course at our local university and he is taking it as a concurrent student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I think if it is just about skills with consumer software like Excel and Powerpoint and Word, the best way would be to assign the student a project and let them figure it out. That's how most people learn to use the software they use: not through classes, but through having to work with it. It has been my experience that teenagers are very good at figuring things out on the computer. Let her make pp presentations, work with spreadsheets (for instance for her science labs), create graphs and documents. She will acquire the skills through trial and error. That's how I learned, and that's how we teach our kids: give a project and have then find out what they need to do. These software products are pretty self-explaining.. This is what we did. I let my children pick the topics, so that it would be more interesting for them. We had the software, and they had to figure out how to use them in order to present their projects. Software programs usually have good tutorials included. My kids especially had fun putting together a powerpoint presentation. The topics were probably a little silly, but they definitely learned what they needed to learn. I gave them each a semester credit for computer skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeScholar Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 My DS is working though a self paced online Plato Computer course. The course covers computer basics including some coverage of MS Office products. Some of the content is a bit out of date, but I explain those areas to him and it gives a bit of history. Additionally, he has some MS Office How to books with simple step by step instructions and plenty of pictures. So he'll learn a new technique then practice it while doing his school work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 My daughter is taking a one-day (7 hour) course next week on PP. It is offered through the continuing education department of a local university. No doubt her class will be full of adults looking to brush up on their skills for the job market, but I am fine with that, as I would rather have it taught all at once. It is $200. Assuming that she has a good experience there, she will take a similar Excel course in March. I also am going to have her learn a little web design on the job. I am going to register a domain name for her gymnastics recruiting website but have her design and maintain it herself. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I also am going to have her learn a little web design on the job. I am going to register a domain name for her gymnastics recruiting website but have her design and maintain it herself. That's similar to what my daughter did. She taught herself some basic web design by making and maintaining pages for her barn and for the local equestrian association. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 That's similar to what my daughter did. She taught herself some basic web design by making and maintaining pages for her barn and for the local equestrian association. Mind if I ask what web hosting service you used, and if you (she) recommend it? (Do I sound like I know what I'm doing--throwing around terms like "web hosting"? ;)) Someone on the general board recommended Blue Host to a poster over there--it looked cheap, and the first domain name I tried was available. My role in this is going to be to pay for the domain name and let her go from there, 'cause I am both (1) firmly committed to working myself out of a job as early as possible, and (2) hopelessly ignorant on such matters. I do, however, want to set her up for success. Thanks for any info. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachnut Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Have you checked into your local library to see if they offer such classes? My county library does not, but the next county over (which is much bigger & therefore has a bigger budget & better library) offers lots of free computer classes on Powerpoint, Excel, and even basic web design. Also, depending on what state you live in, many states now offer virtual school courses for free. For example, we live in Florida so we can take Florida Virtual School courses for free, and they offer computer courses. Worth checking into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Mind if I ask what web hosting service you used, and if you (she) recommend it? i She is using 1and1; that's the service we have been using for many years for our family web page. It works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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