Computer Literacy Skills for Adult Students

Returning to school? School supplies are not what they used to be. In the olden days, we picked up pencils, pens, a spiral notebook and a slide rule. Today, you will need a computer and an internet hookup. Not only that, but you will need to know how to navigate cyberspace!

Kids learn computer skills in kindergarten these days. Preschoolers practice the ABCs on a keyboard. These tykes can point and click and zap circles around the rest of us. Elementary kids are engineering their own websites!

What computer skills do grownups need nowadays to keep up in school?

Word Processing Wizardry

Adult education usually involves a fair amount of writing (and typing). Coursework may include essays, journals, book reports and even term papers. To complete these requirements, you will need to master basic word processing skills. Creating and saving a document file, using a mouse to manipulate type, and keyboard skills are essential. Learning to save a file to a disk or portable drive will be helpful. Locating that file, after you have stored it, is important. Undoubtedly, you will have to print your documents to turn in homework assignments.

Online Communications

Quite likely, teachers and professors will employ electronic mail to communicate efficiently with their students. You will need to know how to create and send e-mail messages, as well as how to open and read those sent to you.

Opening file attachments and storing them to your own computer is important too. You may need to send file attachments, as coursework may be submitted this way.

Instant-messaging know-how and chat-room etiquette are essential school skills. Today's professors and teaching assistants often conduct discussion groups online.

Using your cell-phone, you will want to understand text-messaging. You never know when an instructor might schedule an impromptu study session or cancel a class!

Surfing the Net

A basic working knowledge of the internet and how to use it is fundamental for research in any school setting. Can you employ a browser or search engine to gather information on any given topic? Can you cut-and-paste information from the World Wide Web, collect bibliographical details, and compose reference documents to support a written paper?

The internet can also be useful when you purchase school texts and supplies. Chances are, if you plan ahead and do some browsing, you can find your books much more economically online than in the school bookstore.

Entering your school's website is also necessary. Syllabi, assignments, and announcements may be posted there. Many schools use educational liaison sites, such as Schoolnotes or Edline. Students access these addresses for information about upcoming projects, requirements and even grades.

Basic Graphics and Design

Basic graphic design capabilities may be required for some courses. Downloading, manipulating, and inserting graphics into document files is an extremely helpful skill for students. Research papers are often accompanied by photos, maps, graphs and other artwork. Do you know how to find, select, save and copy photographs and graphics for school projects?

Spreadsheets and Databases

Some classes may require spreadsheet knowledge. Can you create a database for addresses or laboratory results or technical information?

Also, continuing and advanced education are quite costly. You may need spreadsheet capabilities just to track your expenses and funding!

Computer Classes

If you do not yet possess these basic computer skills, do not be alarmed. Just start flipping through your course catalog for technology-related classes. While you are at school, you can certainly take computer classes too!