I will be teaching 2 sets of computer courses Summer 2011 at the Georgia College Macon Campus. These are 2 “sets” of classes designed to help you make your computer work better, and to help you see the possibilities of using the tools better.
Small Biz Tech
You are a small business owner and know you really need to get your technology more integrated into your workflow- or you need a basic introduction to websites in plain English, including why you would want to have one, how to go about getting one inexpensively and the pluses and minuses of all those decisions you have to make . Or, you’d like to know more about Microsoft Office, or even if you HAVE to have it! These classes in “plain English” will help you get up to speed. Bring your questions, ideas and vague notions-we’ll try to get them all covered!
Day 1 – Websites: Why and How? Most business owners know they “need” a website but many don’t have a megabuck budget to get one created. And then there’s the question of what to do with it after it’s completed? This class takes a look at some easy online solutions and offers suggestions for how to create a website, what to do with it, what it should have and how and why to keep it up to date.
Day 2 – Practical Online Marketing There’s a ton of hype on information “out there” telling you all the things you should be doing online. The problem is that the only way you can get all of it done is to ignore both your business AND your life! We’ll explore several options and discuss how to best spend your time marketing your business, including websites, blogs, all of that social media stuff like Facebook and Twitter, and perhaps even touch on online advertising.
Day 3 – Small Biz Tech I: Working Your Machine Not really sure how to work your machine? Let’s take a look (and practice!) at all the “basics” of using a computer – things like Windows, your mouse, printing, saving documents, applications (finding, installing and uninstalling), the internet, email, downloading files, installing new software, finding quality free or inexpensive software, dealing with file formats (what’s a PNG anyway?”), etc. Bring your questions – we’ll try get them all answered!
Day 4 – Small Biz Tech 2: So You Have a Computer What do you do with it? Let’s take a look at what you are doing and come up with additional possibilities for using this tool better and perhaps using it in more ways! We’ll take a NON-TECHNICAL look at things like networking, printing, sharing files, Internet searches (how do you quit wasting time looking for information online?) and even look at free software that might be useful! Do you really NEED Microsoft Office? Do you NEED to use Windows? Maybe, or maybe not!
Day 5 – Excel and Spreadsheets Part I: the Basics in Plain English Learn the basics of using a spreadsheet, why it’s a useful tool, what it can be used for, and the concepts for creating a well-designed and easy to use spreadsheet. We’ll practice designing a basic budget during the class, and even see how many days old you are (but we won’t tell!) Questions? We’ll get them answered!
Day 6 – Excel and Spreadsheets Part 2: Sheet, Functions and Being Useful Learn more Excel including dealing with multiple sheets and when that’s needed, built in functions like SUM, MIN, MAX, COUNT and PMT, and tricks to make your spreadsheet useful.
Day 7 – Excel and Spreadsheets Part 3: Charts, Pictures and Stats, Oh My! Learn to create charts, what type to create, how to make them look good and even use those charts in other programs or online.
Day 8 – PowerPoint: Get Beyond the Prefab and Get Your Point Across Almost everyone knows the basics of PowerPoint, but far too many people stop there. We will spend some time playing with the features that you can use to easily customize your presentations. We’ll also look at a process to follow when creating a presentation that can save time, and we’ll discuss some of the design and presentation issues so your project will be far better than average. Bring your questions!
July 12 – August 4, 2011 – Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, 8 Sessions
This Digital Life: A Beginner’s Guide to Home Computers
This is a series of classes focused on people who are curious about computers, don’t know much about them and want to ask the really simple questions but are too embarrassed to ask, or who are tired of asking their kids for help. These classes have a lot of hands-on plus a lot of “plain English” explanations of how to work computers to get some things done. So bring your “how to” and “why” questions – we’ll get them answered! Optional, but useful – bring a thumb drive to each class (also known as a flash drive.)
Day 1 – How to Work the Blinkin’ Computer Learn to turn your computer on, understand basic technology, print documents and pages, save what you’ve been working on without losing your mind, use a flash/thumb drive, connect new gizmos to your computer, and understand basic networking.
Day 2 – Online, Social and Safe We’ll cover the different ways you can keep up without getting overwhelmed with email, the web and all of that Facebook and Twitter stuff-what they are, how to stay safe online, how to use them and why they can be fun!
Day 3 – Practical Internet: Quit Wasting Time Unless You Want To Have you ever felt like you wasted time searching for something on the Internet or ever wanted an easy way to create a website? Then this is the class for you! Well take a look at these activities and actually practice online.
Day 4 – Digital Pictures So you’ve taken all those pictures with your digital camera. Now what do you do with them? We’ll explore a variety of things from editing software to posting those pictures online. Bring some digital photos with you that you’d like to experiment with, or we’ll have some for you to use.
July 11 – August 1, 2011 – Mondays from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, 4 Sessions
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