How to Help Someone Use a Computer

"First you have to tell yourself some things."

"You've forgotten what it's like to be a beginner."

This struck me as important because it so true in any situation when you are trying to teach someone a skill. The mere fact that you are at a knowledge level where you could teach someone something shows that you have mastered that skill and clearly haven't been a beginner for a long time. This is important to tell yourself before teaching because you need to remember that not everyone is going to have what you might consider "common sense" or "background education" that you do.



"Having convinced yourself of these things, you are more likely to follow some important rules:"

"Be aware of how abstract your language is. "Get into the editor" is abstract and "press this key" is concrete. Don't say anything unless you intend for them to understand it. Keep adjusting your language downward towards concrete units until they start to get it, then slowly adjust back up towards greater abstraction so long as they're following you. When formulating a take-home lesson ("when it does this and that, you should try such-and-such"), check once again that you're using language of the right degree of abstraction for this user right now."

This will be useful during my presentation because as a "technology native" I will always need to remind myself to take my language, technology terminology, etc, "down a level" so that a complete novice in the area could understand.


This will be useful during my presentation because it will force me to be at a beginner's level with my topic, even thought I will feel like, in some sense, an "expert."



Agre, Phil (1996). How to help someone use a computer. Retrieved October 14, 2007, Web site: http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/how-to-help.html

NOTE: Sorry, for the delay Dr. Theresa-- I posted this to the wrong blog!