Basic Computing Skills for the Computer Illiterate

When one refers to new internet users and new computer users, they normally are counting the youths that are currently enrolled in public and private school programs is K-12 grades. An underrepresented group of users who are new to computers or who are new to the information super highway are those new users between the age of 35 and 75. For these fledgling computer users, far beyond their school years, the digital frontier is one which they, by dent of the fact that the first "computer generation" was born between 1970 and 1990, were peripherally aware of but felt inadequate to the task of learning all of the "computer-eze" that the younger generation seemed to be picking up with native ease.

So if you were not a student between the years of 1985 and the present, chances are that computer classes were not widely available in most schools. Those schools that began equipping classrooms with computers and hiring teachers to teach the basics of computer science were seen as very progressive and terms like "state of the art" and "computer lab on campus" caused many parents to recognize that computers were to be the "wave of the future". People encouraged children to catch that wave and allow it to carry them into a high paying secure future. Many of the same adults who were encouraging their children to pursue a future in computer related fields, they also shrugged off the idea that they too should learn to operate computers. Ever since the exponential growth of the internet from the end of the 1980's and throughout the 1990's computers in the workplace and at home have become more and more common. According to www.internetworldstats.com on August 15, 2008 of the 6,676,120,288 people on the planet there are 360,985,492 Internet users in 2000 and today that number has swelled by 305.5% to 1,463,632,361 people who now use the internet on a regular basis.

Many of the users who are just beginning to find the time and or the necessity of using computers and the internet to find information are not formally taught in a classroom environment, but rather they learn the basics of navigation and searching items from another internet user. Often a family member or a friend who they know, and whom they consider fairly skilled in navigating the mind boggling information super highway, is the person that they turn to for instruction on how to use the World Wide Web. I have seen more often than not many users who at varying levels of skill, only know how to use their computer to surf the net. Many of the finer theories and functions that pertain to the personal computer are lost on them or if explored they are also not taught in a structured environment or in a process which builds upon each set of new skills and information. In fact a lot of the users who are far beyond their school years will have to teach themselves, if they are to learn more than the simple basics of computing and using the web to locate information.

Learn to type

If someone is trying to learn how to properly use a computer for more than surfing on the web, one of the best things that they may do for themselves initially is learn to type properly. There are several free tutorials and websites online that can offer help with this. In order to qualify for any job which will require daily use of a computer, users must meet a minimum speed requirement. If you cannot meet the required minimum typing speed for a position it is unlikely that you will be considered for a job requiring the use of a computer. As many old timers can attest if they were with a company that went digital in the last 20 years. If you didn't have and couldn't quickly acquire computer skills and typing skills you quickly found yourself out of a job and looking for work. A very good free online resource for this is www.learn2type.com

Office Software

Learning to use office software such as Microsoft office, Corel, and other standard office productivity software applications can really have an influence upon a person's career prospects and goals. As the Microsoft Office Suite of software products is the "world standard" for most office environments, this should probably be the suite of software applications to focus upon learning and mastering. Microsoft has a complete suite of interactive tutorial programs on their website which offer a user the basic and even intermediate tools for each software application that they offer. The basic programs are Word (word processing) Excel (spreadsheet) PowerPoint(presentation & visual reporting tools) and VisualBasic(web design). They also offer more advanced programs for more advanced users but familiarity with these basic productivity and word processing software applications should be enough to allow someone to begin to look for a job in the entry level positions and customer service call centers of many companies both large and small.

Specialized and proprietary software

Many people have learned to operate a great many software applications that were developed specifically for a huge company or for a specific industry. Software applications like Peachtree and Quickbooks accounting software and CAD (Computer aided drafting) software for decorators, designers, architects, and even animators, have revolutionized the many different corporate processes and procedures. These vital software applications have also often become the dividing line between candidates who are or are not offered certain job openings.

The more you know.

As with anything else, like they say, "the more you know", the more employable you become. Formal training or education is a must for many people. Fortunately that can be found both on and offline, at community centers, libraries, colleges, manufacturers websites. In fact the tools and the education with which to arm yourself and make oneself more attractive to employers are out there. If you seek the resources you shall certainly find them Once armed not with credentials, nor references, but with that much more powerful duo knowledge and ability, anyone can get their foot in the door in an entry level position and can work their way from there to jobs with more responsibility and which require ever greater computer skills. These jobs also come with something that many menial laborers dream of: More money. As one educational institutions says, "You cannot get the jobs of tomorrow until you get the skills of today."