The total number of computers that have gone out so far is closer to 30. Because I am not at work today, I do not have the total numbers in front of me. An additional 10 computers, I believe, are going out this Saturday.
I am also looking forward to our next meeting to share my experience working with participants in this project. In the meantime, I can say that the prior experiences of participants with computers is quite varied. The majority of participants have had little or no previous training. Therefore, less than half of all participants have only had some exposure to the Internet.
I am concerned that distributing computers with even the brief training that we are able to provide in this program is not enough. We have already been thinking about ways to provide additional computer training to those who have completed the 3 training sessions provided.
One idea, for Mac participants, is to provide an Intro to Mac OSX class to allow participants to spend more time learning the basics now that they can practice at home on their computers. A similar class for PC recipients would be very helpful, as well.
Whatever the agreed upon strategy is moving forward, we will need to continue to encourage participants to make use of additional educational resources. This will involve frequent contact with participants to make sure that no one is left behind even after they have received their computers and access to the Internet.
The total number of computers that have gone out so far is closer to 30. Because I am not at work today, I do not have the total numbers in front of me. An additional 10 computers, I believe, are going out this Saturday.
I am also looking forward to our next meeting to share my experience working with participants in this project. In the meantime, I can say that the prior experiences of participants with computers is quite varied. The majority of participants have had little or no previous training. Therefore, less than half of all participants have only had some exposure to the Internet.
I am concerned that distributing computers with even the brief training that we are able to provide in this program is not enough. We have already been thinking about ways to provide additional computer training to those who have completed the 3 training sessions provided.
One idea, for Mac participants, is to provide an Intro to Mac OSX class to allow participants to spend more time learning the basics now that they can practice at home on their computers. A similar class for PC recipients would be very helpful, as well.
Whatever the agreed upon strategy is moving forward, we will need to continue to encourage participants to make use of additional educational resources. This will involve frequent contact with participants to make sure that no one is left behind even after they have received their computers and access to the Internet.