Managing Your Computer Learning Expectations

My seven year old asked me a question the other day. Dad, what kind of computer did you have when you were a kid? It took him a few minutes to absorb the answer, that I did not have a computer growing up because PC's (Personal Computers) didn't exist. Today I teach computer skills to adults who also "didn't have a computer growing up". Many adults find themselves between the technological rock and a hard place because computers have become so prevalent in today’s economy. Few jobs don't involve a computer in someway and for many, life at home also includes a computer.

So how do you get yourself up to speed with computer skills for today. There are a number of learning alternatives for those looking to acquire basic to advanced computer skills. Adult education at the community college, computer training schools, books, video tapes, computer CD training, WEB based training, private lessons and more. Each of the alternatives has advantages and disadvantages depending upon your pocket book, style of learning, schedule, experience and other factors. All of these alternatives have one major thing in common.

You can’t learn the computer without practice, practice, practice. If you are starting from the very beginning, you will have to build basic “Mouse” manual dexterity skills. This includes the hand eye coordination of moving the mouse pointer to it’s desired destination. (Ever have trouble getting that little button to just the right spot long enough to click the mouse.) Clicking, Double Clicking, Right Clicking along with the Drag and Drop mouse movements are critical to successfully learning how to operate today’s computer. Yet many intelligent people get frustrated with themselves and the computer because these basic skills cause them so much trouble. (Not to mention the spouse, friend or child who is trying to show you how it is done.) My advice to you is that these are not skills of intelligence but physical dexterity skills requiring a certain amount of actual hands on doing – called practice -- and then more practice. It is easy for those who have acquired these skills to forget or not know(children for example) how difficult these skills can be for adults. The good news is that they are obtainable skills with simple repetition, be patient, continue to practice, it is the same for everyone.

The next level of learning computer skills also requires repetition and practice. I often tell m Piano

y students that most things you want to do on the computer are easy to learn. The problem is that there are so many things to learn that it is hard to remember them all and apply them when needed. Again this comes with practice. Just like learning to play a musical instrument where you must learn the location of all the notes. Just think about it. Eight notes in our scale, only eighty-eight keys on the piano, yet it takes years to learn how to really play the piano.

The office productivity applications of today (word processing, spreadsheets, graphics and database programs, to identify just a few) all require the mastery of the many commands available to these sophisticated products. And just like the piano student who can play that early version of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, more practice is ahead of you to get familiar enough with the programs to get the most out of them. It takes time, you can’t hurry the process and do it right. The good news is, that as your skills increase the pace of learning increases and in many aspects gets easier. Additionally, your productivity can increase dramatically allowing you to get a lot done. I consistently see people picking up substantial time savings after they have really learned how to play their computer.