Here's the deal: mom has just retired from 30+ years of working for an international airline. She can coordinate flights, hotels, rental cars, and back up plans for all of them in any country all across the world, and is/was fine with all of their proprietary software, but I'll be damned if I can teach her how to check her email. She needs something from the beginning, and I mean THE beginning. She can barely grasp "copy" and "paste," and gets totally lost when I try to explain what a "window" or "application" is. She read something about "the library" offering classes but I don't know which library or how effective it might be. She's totally lost, and I'm totally lost as to how to help her. Anyone with any experience on such things? TIA....
http://www.amazon.com/Windows-XP-Dummies-Andy-Rathbone/dp/0764508938 If you can get her to look past the title of the book, that's probably your best bet. For dummies series is pretty good about breaking it down to the simplest of simple.
Thanks, Miguel, but I've tried the For Dummies series to no avail. She's bent on taking a class, and knowing her, that would be the best option. Should have mentioned that I've tried books before....
http://www.videoprofessor.com/ I've seen these commercials around for about 4 years.... I think it may help, they do offer a great return policy.
how much are you trying to teach? like i'm assuming she wants to learn to check e-mail, browse the web, type documents? that about it? if thats the case, just make desktop icons for all the programs she needs then she can see it in front of her and get to it quickly
She's in Houston and I'm not, for starters. And I've tried to make it as simple as I possibly can: I've made simple icons "Go here for email, here for word processing, here for internet," etc. She can't grasp browser-based email vs. Outlook email, and gets confused because I can check my yahoo email from someone else's computer. It's a classic case of being computer ignorant. You know all those idiotic stories you read about tech support *trying* to help the helpless? That's her. Again, she did fine on the proprietary software for the airlines on which she was TRAINED. I've done everything I can think of. She needs a class. Not me.
y don't you teach your mom? if you have an ounce of patience, show it to your mom she'll appreciate it, and you'll appreciate it
Dude....read. The post right before yours....please: Not only have I tried to no avail, but I'm not in Houston while she is. I'm looking for advice on a beginner computer class for my mom is all....
Lol....uhh, no. Edit: Sheesh.... Okay....so maybe I didn't make it clear enough or maybe it came across as callous. Either way, I was only trying to be concise: So....I've tried over the years to teach my mom how to use a computer. I failed for any number of reasons: I didn't live at home, we had conflicting work schedules, and the lack of consistency there didn't help. She's not stupid. Far from it. She is simply ignorant about personal-use computers and needs more help than I can provide. So now I live out of state, she is retired, and she wants to take a beginner computer class, so I came here to see if anyone knew anything about the subject. And yes, I love my mom, which is why I came here: to seek out an answer in an effort to find her the help she needs.
Every community college in the country offers some sort of basic computer course. Seniors can often take it for free. I'd start there. If that is too advanced, pay some kid from the neighborhood to tutor her.
Get a GoToMyPc account and connect to her pc and walk her through it many times until she gets it. This is what I did for my mom. I created shortcuts on her desktop for her to click. Whenever she needs help I just connect via GoToMyPc. There is alsi LogMeIn.com
Man, I don't even envy you. I had a b**** of a time getting through my dad's thick head. To this day he's testing my patience. (upper left hand corner of the spreadsheet, DAD, cell A1...A1 DAD! Funny: it took him about 3 years to stop calling dos a spanish 2. All I'm saying is, patience...even after any schooling on her part.
