Report on the first stage
of the project - 05.05.2003
Ulla Thönnissen, Bernd Riebe
According to our understanding of the project the
main aim of the course is to improve the users’ communication
skills i.e. the ability to make use of important internet services
such as the World Wide Web and E-Mail. In order to achieve this
aim we thought it necessary to provide the participants with an
elementary knowledge of PC systems, its main components combined
with a brief introduction to word processing.
At present stage, having finished the course, this has proved to
be a right decision. Most of the users make frequent use of many
PC functions and have no problems with elementary word processing.
They now are ready to face the for them so unknown world of the
internet where there are so many challenges when it comes to making
use of net content.
Course Objective 1
The main objective of this first part of the course was to provide
the participants with some of the basic skills that are necessary
to operate a computer in the home, office, or the classroom. We
have covered everything from the basic components of a computer
to some of the more popular software applications to doing your
own maintenance and upgrading where practical.
Getting Started
- Shopping for a Computer
- Components of a PC
- Hard Drives
- Use of Mouse and Keyboard
- Changing Drives
- Changing Folders
- Virus Protection
Windows 9x/NT/2000/XP
- Desktop Properties
- Screen Savers
- Creating a Shortcut
- Files and Folders
- Creating Folders
- Drag and Drop
Word Processing
- Word Processing Basics
- Text Appearance
- Spell Check
- Other Tools
Course Objective 2
After completing the second stage of the course the users should
be able to
Describe the hardware and software needed for accessing the Internet
Explain the methods for communicating on the Internet
Describe ways to gather information from the Internet and the World
Wide Web.
Topics
How the Internet works
- A few of the basic services of the Internet
- A short history of the Internet's beginnings
- What Do I Need?
- The basic hardware requirements for the Internet
- The different types of Internet connections
- The computer skills that are utilized when online
E-Mail Basics
- Sending an e-mail message
- Searching for an e-mail address
- The fundamentals of e-mail etiquette
Communicating on the Internet
- The communication methods found on the Internet
- Using newsgroups and mailing lists
- Participating in an on-line chat session
Browsing the World Wide Web (WWW)
- The parts of a URL
- Creating a bookmark of a favorite site
- Searching for information using a search engine
- Getting Information on the Internet
- Accessing online libraries and newspapers
Using File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
The advantages of various Internet resources in different situations
Safety on the net
Virus and Hacker Protection
Final Evaluation
One result of this first internet course is that people with mental
disorders show great interest in working with computers and are
particulary keen on making use of the web.
Here the kind of „handicap“ has no relevance to the
subject as all the participants were equally motivated and curious
to know about this new technology.
The users were generally highly motivated and showed great interest
in the course. Almost everybody attended the sessions regularly.
They all made good progress according to their individual abilities
and previous knowledge.
People with serious disorders often focus on living according to
their very special interests. For example in one of the courses
there was a patient who had lived quite isolated undergoing psychiatric
treatment for more than 20 years. Through the net he had been able
to get an easy access to his most favorite topic, music, and is
now overjoyed to be that close to his dream world.
Sending and receiving emails enabled others to get into closer
contact to the world outside. They were always excited checking
their mailbox being aware of the chance to escape social isolation
by these means of electronic communication. The users were generally
highly motivated and showed great interest in the course. Almost
everybody attended the sessions regularly. They all made good progress
according to their individual abilities and previous knowledge.
Others enjoyed chatting anonymously in chatrooms of their individual
choice thus appearing “normal” to the other chatters.
There were also some who looked for special topics related to their
illness in order to improve their knowledge or to exchange ideas.
Among another group there were also some participants who thought
of using their knowledge gained through learning to apply for a
new job or to start another rehabilitation scheme, thus raising
hopes and providing them with a more optimistic view of life.
Of course it is quite a task for the instructors to meet the requirements
for these special learners,
teaching methods and course objectives have to be considered carefully.
The heterogeneous structure of the groups proved to be quite a problem
as there was such a wide range of levels that even dividing the
group into three was still not satisfying. There was such a wide
range of individual abilities and previous knowledge that only strictly
individual teaching would have been really effective. Some help
were the social workers in each group who took part both as learners
and supervisors.
As some of the participants have quite a bad memory and others can’t
concentrate over a longer period of time and need to have continuous
mental exercises to preserve their knowledge we strongly recommend
to offer future refresher courses and provide free access to the
internet, e.g. internet cafes etc.
Generally speaking the project provides people with mental disorders
a chance to a successful re-entry into normal life staying no longer
on the outside but taking an active part within one of the most
powerful communication services.
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