Session V - Getting Equipment to Work Better

We finally got administrative rights so that the instructor could troubleshoot some of the many problems in the network.  Because all the computers are ready access to all residents and guest they have problems relating to multiple users who think they know how to do any manner of things to computers.  This in itself causes problems for those who are learning the correct way to use the computers and who want to practice. The other users do things that cause the machines to be inoperable.

The instructor had a day off from her regular job and spend it cleaning up the bios and other parts of the network.  It took hours of work and she discovered that they did not have an active Virus protection so that they would be safe while surfing the internet.  This is very important to protect the network from viruses that are often found while surfing through other sites.

In this class session the focus was on reading and understanding the Word document site and maneuvering through the toolbars. The instructor went through each area of the standard toolbar and all of its features. The buttons we discussed were text-formatting commands; built-in menus category; and each category to the tools menu.

Again, there was excitement in learning what each section meant and what each button was capable of doing.  We heard comments like: “I always wondered about that? I was afraid to try that? Wow, that’s what that’s for?” More giggles as they discovered more things. When questions was asked to check for understanding they surprised themselves by their own answers and was pleased to realized that more stuff was sticking than they thought. They were beginning to answer questions with confidence and to realize that they had progressed further than they first believed possible.

Questions came up about keeping up with passwords for current accounts that they had that required that for access.  So our next problem to solve was to make sure they had a password book. We have no budget for things like that but it is something they need to have among the other tools needed to operate their computers. Our next venture was to figure out a way for each participant to have and maintain a password book.