School days

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 02:53:25 GMT

It could've been worse, I mean there was no bloodshed and no animals were harmed, but the beginning computer class was pretty rough. I had been led to believe, that although it was a beginning computer course most of the people had taken the class before and should have at least a basic familiarity with the computer. They just had some confusion on some of the computer concepts that I would be helping with. Unfortunately there was a very wide spread of computer knowledge/ability. I had one woman who had literally never done anything with the computer and a few people who had managed to do some things, but still are confused by things like how to do attachments in e-mail or download a file. This class was for seniors and people with disabilities, so I expected to need to deal with some accommodations. Anyway two students were pretty severely hearing impaired, but both had lost their hearing late in life so they didn't know any type of sign language. Anyway working with them added a dimension complication and I think I either underestimated my need to multitask in this class or overestimated my ability to do so. I'm trying very hard to be realistic. Most of the students seemed happy with what we could accomplish. I'm positive that the woman who had no computer knowledge was very frustrated with me, but I just couldn't ignore the rest of the class to walk her through everything. I have offered her a one-on-one class to work on basic mouse and keyboard skills. So I can get her up to speed, but she may not be interested after the class she attended. I have some ideas on how to rearrange the class so I can get closer to the students when they need help. Another problem was that I was having trouble seeing the screen from where I was. So it was difficult o give direction. Anyway, I'll work on getting better organized. I have five more classes and then the funding may be ending. I guess this is just another opportunity for growth. :-)

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My baby laptop

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 07:13:39 GMT

I bought a laptop several months ago on Woot, thinking I could install linux and play with it. I've wanted to use linux for years but was always worried I wouldn't find versions of all the adaptive software I use. I think I found most of what I need. So I tried installing Ubuntu unsuccessfuly. someotherguy kindly offered to help get it installed. He tried everything he could with no success either. Now we think its my CD drive or my hard drive that's screwed up. I don't know where there's a good computer repair person/service. Anybody have any suggestions around the San Leandro/Berkeley area to get a computer fixed?

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Vague Wisdom

School days

My baby laptop