What is The Right Way To Get Computer Help?
Computer Tips That Make It Easy To
Learn Computers
If you're like a lot of people, you feel confused by computers and wish you had more confidence and skill.
You know you're not as good as you want to be, and you end up frustrated by them a lot.
Maybe you feel like you're missing out on something that other people enjoy, and wish you could learn the basics of computers so you can join in but you aren't sure about what you're doing.
If any of this seems familiar to you, then it's important to realize that you're not alone -- a lot of people feel this way about computers.
You also need to understand it's not your fault.
I've been helping people with their computer challenges for a long time, and I've spent years researching exactly what causes people to get stuck, and what makes them feel frustrated and confused.
I've discovered there are 8 main reasons why most people fail when they try to learn computer basics and get better at computers -- and none of those reasons are your fault at all!
If you have always felt like a dummy, it's because the game has been rigged against you -- the traditional ways people try to learn computers are almost designed to make you fail!
Here are 4 of the common experiences people have when they try to
learn the basics of computers:
- You try to learn from someone you know like a neighbor, family member, or someone else who may seem like they understand computers, but who in reality doesn't really know that much and ends up passing on misinformation, misunderstanding, and bad habits.
It's like a 16-year-old trying to get someone a few months older to teach them how to drive: not a good idea.
- You sign up for classes, but end up feeling frustrated and like you've wasted your hard-earned money because the teacher goes at the pace of the fastest student, and you end up like most of the other students: left out and left behind.
- You hire a computer consultant who probably knows what they're talking about, but while they understand computers, they don't understand the first thing about teaching.
They talk in confusing technical terms that they can't or won't explain clearly, and often get impatient or annoyed with you when you don't get it.
- Because of the expense, you only hire a consultant once in a while, and when you do, you want to cover a bunch of stuff in one long lesson to save money on repeat trips.
But you end up wasting your money because you tried cramming in too much at once, so most of it goes in one ear and out the other.
Here are a few important things to understand about how people's mind work and how we learn that is critical to remember when learning any skill, including computers:
- When we learn a skill -- reading, writing, using computer, or anything else -- we have to start off focusing on the little details, or little steps, and work up from there: letters before words, words before sentences, paragraphs before pages.
Most professional computer trainers are way up at a level where they see the big picture and have trouble thinking back to when they focused on the little steps.
Because of this, they have trouble explaining to you and don't really understand why you don't get it.
- Scientific studies have shown people need to learn in short lessons of half an hour or less, with a break between lessons.
When most classes or lessons from consultants run an hour or two long, is it any surprise you forget it all?
Obviously, when you're working around somebody else's schedule, and you're paying by the minute (plus travel time in a lot of cases) it seems to make more economic sense to have a single long lesson that lasts an hour or two, instead of several short lessons.
But in reality, you end up wasting money on those lessons that go on for more than half an hour, since you end up forgetting a lot of what you're taught!
An unfortunate catch 22.
- Repetition builds skill: nobody learns a skill in just one lesson. But because of the cost and today's busy schedule, almost nobody ever gets computer lessons more than once in a blue moon, so they end up stuck in a frustrated rut.
Know how to ride a bike?
I bet if you do, then you had to practice a while before you got good at it.
At first it was a struggle to keep upright, but you kept doing it. Eventually, you could ride around like a pro without even thinking about it. Maybe even with no hands!
And the nice thing about learning computers is -- no skinned knees!
- Focus on one subject, and only go off on side topics if it directly relates and helps understanding of the main thing you're trying to learn about.
Jumping around to a bunch of different things in one lesson is no way to learn.
True, some people are what I like to call "non-linear learners" (think ADD) and they want to jump around a lot or they get bored.
But even hyperactive people (I'm one of them) really learn best with short, focused lessons, and the *choice* to be able to jump from one topic to another -- as long as each short lesson is complete and not a jumbled mess.
These are a few of the things I discovered were holding people back from the confidence and skill that they deserved.
These understandings I gained from my years of studying this problem did lead me to a solution.
Over the more than twelve years that I've been a computer coach, I -- through a lot of hard work on my part, and a lot of thought and care -- figured out how to explain things in plain English.
I use metaphors and analogies, relating the complex and normally confusing terms to everyday, understandable objects like a table, a rug, a car. Things that you can relate to and that make sense to anybody, even a so-called "computer dummy".
I also learned how to bring things down to your level of understanding -- helping you grasp what I'm talking about, even if you're a beginner and still focused on the tiny details -- all without talking down to you.
The thing you'll discover if you approach learning computer basics the right way, with the right computer help, and the right computer tips along the way, is that it can actually be easy to learn computers.
And it can be fun, too.
Worth Godwin is a computer coach with over 13 years experience helping computer users in Plain English. He's also worked "in the trenches" as a hardware and software tech, solving real-world computer problems.
Worth has an easy email newsletter that you can join now for free. When you join, he'll send you free computer tips, translate basic computer terminology into plain English, and share easy audio and video computer lessons with you for free.
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