[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]
Neil Williams wrote: > On 16/10/06 23:28:08, Eion MacDonald wrote: >> Dear Folks, 20061016 > > (Welcome to the list, BTW) > >> One major problem if trained only in MS office/Windows, is total >> inability to work with major organisations who use other software as >> the backbone of all systems,e.g.SAP >> I work in office of a 46,000 odd desktop worldwide company and all >> info is done through SAP. >> >> Schools training in "IT" is abysmal. >> We mainly have to tell newcomers how to forget their school training, >> do it our way > > Reminds me of previous discussions on how IT should be taught using > the Universal Computer - not the computer that happens to be on the > desk today. The little 'experience' I had of computers at school was > looking > at the back of a Commodore Pet from a distance of about 20 feet (no > pupils were allowed in the same room as 'it'), a BBC micro (excellent > machine) that my mother obtained on loan as a teacher and the wonders > of a ZX81. Variety, that's part of the answer. > :-) > I try to show my kids what things were like when I was their age. Hence having a Commodore VIC20 and Acorn Electron sitting upstairs. My fiance's third eldest daughter was interested in the Electron and typing Basic programs in. When I started secondary school (Teignmouth Community College) in 1989 they had a few BBC Micro machines and a suite of 16 RM Nimbus PC's (with 186 CPU's and about 1MB ram). We were taught Word Processing (RSA training material) using Microsoft Word for DOS although it seemed to be some sort of specific RM version for the Nimbus machines. We also learned a bit on how to use WordWise on the BBC's too. Anything we learned (i.e. the principals of using a Word Processor - document editing, printing, saving, loading, cut/copy/paste etc) could and was used on a variety of applications. My personal favorite package was Microsoft Works for DOS back then. It was only about 1993/94 when I started using Word for Windows (Word 6 and later on Word 95). I think before then businesses used a variety of packages such as Wordstar, Wordperfect 5.1 (wasn't this the standard?) and Lotus 1-2-3. Now it seems that every business I come across use Windows & Office. > I despair when I hear of IT being taught as "how to use Excel" not > "how to use a spreadsheet". > I was going to say the ECDL is typical of this until I read ths page: http://www.ecdl.com/products/index.jsp?b=0-102&pID=109&nID=123 It would be interesting to see if one of these training establishments could train someone up for the ECDL using OpenOffice? Technically the ECDL is a cross-application training course. Rob -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html