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Hi, all -- I'll be teaching this course for Infopeople, California's big continuing education cooperative for the library community. If the course description sounds like it's up your alley, I'd love to have you in the class!

Title: The Savvy IT Consumer (online learning course)

Date: September 25, 2007 - October 22, 2007

To register for this workshop: Use the online registration form at
http://infopeople.org/workshop/346

Fee: $75 for those in the California library
community and $150 for those out-of-state.


Description: It's 11 AM, and a frustrated five-year-old asks you to reboot game computer number three for the eighth time today. Every Internet-equipped terminal, including those for staff, is moving at a snail's pace and you don't know why. You've just received a heartrending email plea for assistance from a very nice-sounding gentleman in Nigeria and are unsure how to respond. You don't know the difference between RAM and hard drive space, but your manager expects you to keep an eye on available memory on all of the publi computers. You wish you could get help, but you don't know where to look, and the thought of calling your software and hardware vendors induces a panic attack.

Welcome to being an IT person by default! This is a beginner-level course for library staff working as Jacks & Jills of all trades.

Workshop Description: This four-week online learning course will provide you with the basic technological know-how to understand and use computer jargon, free your library's computers from malicious software, fend off phishing attacks, and develop and maintain good
relationships with vendors. The instructor will provide a comprehensive webliography,
foundational readings, and exercises designed to assess and hone your ability to handle a variety of computer issues.

During the course, you will be doing exercises, taking quizzes, and building your own IT caretaker's toolkit. You will also participate in convivial online discussion forums as part of the online learning process.