U-Blog 1

After working for a local nonprofit/community technology center for the past year as a part time employee, I have seen a variety of people walk in and out of the doors. The article for module 3 entitled "Quick Tips for a Senior Friendly Computer Classroom" provided some rather useful ideas that I wasn't previously aware of. After reading it, a few other ideas and comments came to mind.

Someone new to computers is not going to be well versed in lingo that regular computer users are familiar with. Take the action of scrolling. Many of us are aware of clicking and dragging the bar up or down the page, using the touch pad, or the rolling wheel on your mouse. Telling a computer novice to "scroll to the bottom of the page" may result in a blank stare. Instead, telling them "Go to the bottom of the page" is easier to understand and may result in the desired action.

The above becomes especially true when writing out directions or instructions. In some classes, there will be people who can hear and see fine, but there will also be people who are hearing impaired and some who are blind. Writing out directions for these 3 different persepectives requires addtional thought. For instance, incorporating a video clip into your instructions is a great way to demonstrate a task. However, a deaf person would not be able to hear what you have to say, thus you would have to incorporate closed captioning or a text writeup of what you said.

The article makes a great point that instead of using the mouse to scroll on a page, taking advantage of the Page Up and Down keys on the keyboard makes navigating the page easier. It is odd however, that horizontal scrolling has no keyboard duplicate action; a mouse must be used.

Trying to hold a mouse stable, while fast double clicking and focusing on the screen can be difficult for some people. A great trick is to get the user to single click on the desired action, and then push the enter key on the keyboard.

Taking advantage of the Accessibility features in Windows XP and Vista can benefit both the end user and the instuctor. Using screen magnifiers, screen readers, changing the screen resolution/contrast, slowing down the mouse movement speed/double click speed, and increasing font sizes can make using the computer easier for a senior citizen.

Workplace Learning

Multiple trends in workplace training and education have become apparent in recent years, and the need for it is stronger than ever. Companies are wanting to understand how an employee functions (including what knowledge they possess to do their job), and how the company can make their employee have a "competitive advantage" through education. Companies are looking for the correct method of introducing a new employee to their job. Companies are also looking to their employees for assistance in figuring new ways to do their job, in a more efficient, cost effective manner.

New ideas and methods of training and educating people have become prevalent in today's workplace, as technology has opened the doors to new ideas and concepts. According to one research paper entitled "Corporate Blended Learning Techniques", Western countries are earlier adopters of newer methods/technology when it comes to workplace learning. However, it was discovered that Eastern countries were more likely to stick with the newer program and "embrace" it before their Western counterparts.

Competition from rising countries in Asia such as China and India, are proving the US based companies are falling behind in their education, according to a recent publication in CXO. They also made an interesting note how the well known MBA is over 100 years old at this point, but the necessary curriculum to be completed for the degree has adapted to the changes in the business world. Since 1995, according to an issue of Business Week in 1996, spending for corporate education has increased 16% in one year. Companies are realising the need for training and continuing education in the workplace, and have placed funding for in-house education, consulting firms, tuition reimbursement for employees, etc. The focus today is seen more in competency and communication according to SmartBusiness Online.