Perhaps more than any other type of training, software instruction involves a combination of potentially dry, technical content (and lots of it!), temperamental technology, fickle screen projectors, resistant or technophobic students and a classroom which has been physically configured to ensure minimal interaction.  This workshop was created to teach those instructional techniques which can make teaching computer systems and software more effective.
Note: We have deliberately limited the number of participants in this program so that each student will receive specific feed back from the instructor following a practice presentation.

Who Should Attend

Purpose

Course Objectives

Course Description

Value-Added Benefits

This program is designed for:

• New software instructors

• Seasoned instructors wishing to refine and practice those techniques which can make software training more effective

• Programmers, systems analysts and administrators and other IT personnel who have been asked to train.Anyone who trains application programs, operating systems, programming languages, internet and web-based applications or virtually any other type of system or software

Classic software teaching challenges include:

• Teaching a large number of software capabilities and commands in a short time.

• Teaching students with widely varying computer experience

• Finding the right blend of explanation, demonstration and practice

• Ensuring that students will retain enough knowledge and skill to actually use the software when they return to work

Teaching Computer Systems and Software is a workshop specifically designed to address these challenges and many more.

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Describe the 7 common pitfalls of software instruction and ways to avoid them
• Distinguish between 4 "models" of software instruction; list the advantages and disadvantages of each
• Effectively identify what subject matter to include in a software training program and what to discard
• Use various techniques to ensure that students will achieve maximum job transfer of newly acquired software skills
• Sequence software topics in a manner which will sustain student attention and interest
• Employ strategies to accommodate students with varied levels of computer knowledge and skill in the same classroom
• Use various techniques to focus and motivate students at the beginning of each new topic
• Describe the two common instructional outcomes for most software training and describe the optimal instructional approach for each
• Orchestrate an effective and efficient "hands-on" practice activity
• Use research-based instructional strategies to teach facts, concepts, rule-use and problem-solving
• Create the 2 different types of instructor guides which are uniquely suited to software instruction
• Describe the problems with using traditional "ice-breaking" activities at the beginning of a software class
• Use various strategies for overcoming student resistance, technophobia or negativity at the beginning of software instruction
• Orchestrate a group or collaborative activity successfully
• List the 3 components of a good analogy and use software-related analogies to take students from the known to the unknown
• Ask opened and closed-ended questions to achieve a variety of objectives
• List ways to handle common problem behaviors found in software-oriented classes, including the "e-mail checker" and the "software guru"
• Physically configure a computer classroom to ensure maximum interaction
• Recognize the different learning styles commonly found in a software class and develop strategies for accommodating them

Day One

• The seven predictable pitfalls of software instruction and how to avoid them

• Four models of software instruction; the advantages and disadvantages of each

• How to write objectives to ensure that you are teaching job transferable information; how to teach the "least" necessary

• How to teach software skills to an audience with widely varying computer knowledge, skills, and application needs

• How to transition between software topics; techniques to refocus attention and interest

• Questioning techniques: the types, targets, and purposes of questions in software instruction; how to match the question type to your objective

• How to write analogies:  the three components of a good analogy, their purposes and some cautions

• Instructional strategies to teach the facts, concepts, rule-use and problem-solving subject matter typically found in software training

• How to create an instructor guide for software instruction: the two primary formats and their uses

Day Two

• Practice presentations: students will deliver a short software-related presentation to fellow participants, followed by a group feedback session. Each student will receive feedback from the instructor

• Motivational techniques for software instruction;  how to overcome resistance, technophobia and other attitudes which may affect learning and retention

• How to orchestrate a practice: what to do, and not do

• Handling problem participants:  how to deal with those types of disruptive behavior most often found in computer labs

• Learning styles: recognizing the different learning preferences of students and some techniques for "bridging" to those styles

• Summary and adjourn

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Computer Systems and Software

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