How to Learn Basic Computer Skills: Training Lesson #3

In this basic computer training video I continue my ongoing series of lessons where I share my insights into how to to make it easy to learn basic computer skills. In part three, I pick up from where I left off in the previous lesson with the pros and cons of the different typical options people use to learn the computer.

Computer Basics: How To Get better At Computers Without Learning a Thing

I've been giving people basic computer help for a long time now – over fourteen years as a professional, and for years before that, I was the "computer genius" (their words, not mine) everybody came to when they got stuck.

I've been paying attention to all those people over the years, and I've noticed something; for most people, the biggest problem they have with computers is actually very simple, and it's something they have total control over – their mental attitude.

I consider myself really lucky because I was born at a unique time. I'm just old enough to not only remember the first home computers, but also remember clearly what it was like before anyone had one in their home.

I think I was around ten years old when I first sat down in front of a computer. The first thing I thought was how cool it was, and how much fun I was going to have using it.

I dove right in and started played around with it, just seeing what I could do, and I wasn't intimidated by the fact that I didn't yet understand computer basics.

Back then, I only had a couple of friends with computers (it was still rare in the 80s) – they must have gotten really tired of the way I hogged their computer for hours at a time, every time I came over!

Finally, a few years later, my parents bought me my own computer, and I sat down and taught myself the basics of how to use it.

Now it's really common with people even just a few years older than me to think that they'll never be any good at computers because they didn't grow up with them. They think because they didn't get to learn computer basics as a kid, that it's hopeless.

Even people my age feel that way a lot!

I happened to be lucky enough to go to a junior high school that had two computers (which was a lot at the time!), and was lucky enough to have a couple of friends who owned them too. So I got exposed to them earlier than a lot of people my age.

But think about it: I was I born with some natural talent at computers?

No, of course not.

I didn't know a thing about them back then. And you know what? I made a lot of mistakes when I first learned to use them!

But I learned from those mistakes.

I've thought about this a lot over the years, and really, I think the biggest single advantage I ever had, was that I was able to really imagine all the ways I could have fun using the computer – and because I was just playing around with it, because I was enjoying the process of learning, it made it easy.

I bet there's something in your life you really enjoy a lot. Could be football, basketball, or some other sport; it could be restoring vintage cars, cooking, or collecting stamps.

It could be any of a hundred other things – the number of things people are passionate about is just as many as there are people.

But chances are, there's at least one thing in your life that you get really excited about, and really enjoy. And whatever it is, I bet you know a lot about it, and probably could talk about it for hours.

And I bet you never thought learning about this was something hard or intimidating. And in fact, you probably think it's pretty easy, and fun!

Just imagine for a minute what it'd be like to feel the same way about using a computer.

I know some of you reading this are thinking "yeah, right." But understand, I'm not asking you if you could suddenly find the computer easy. I'm just asking you to just *imagine* what it'd be like if computers were fun and easy for you.

Just pretend.

Because one of the most important things you can learn, that will really help learn computer basics, and even master your computer, is not memorizing technical computer terms like what the difference is between memory and a hard drive or anything else like that.

One of the biggest things you can do to help yourself get better at computers is to simply change the way you feel about them.

And that can be just as easy as using your imagination, and pretending you already find them easy, and that they're fun to use.

Because when you can learn to experience even just a little of what you feel when you're enjoying your favorite hobby, you'll be surprised how much easier it is to skyrocket your computer skills.

Computer terms explained: Understanding what a "OS" or "Operating System" is

OK, in this article I'm going to help you finally make sense of what for most people is one of the most confusing and least understood computer terms around: "operating system", or "OS".

This is actually a pretty easy idea to get when it's explained right.

Now an operating system, or OS, is a type of software.

To recap my explanation from my last newsletter article:

"Software" is all of the parts of the computer that you can't really see or touch. Software would include things like Microsoft Word, your email program, Windows or the Mac OS, plus all of your personal files like letters, photos, music, and more.

One way to think about it is like this: hardware is like your brain, the physical part of your body, while software is like your mind or your thoughts -- the non-physical part of yourself.

Software runs on hardware, just like your thoughts "run on" your brain.

Make sense? So let's get to the OS specifically.

First off, let me give a couple of examples: the two best known operating systems right now are Windows, and Mac OS X (pronounced "Oh Ess Ten" -- as in the Roman numeral ten).

Windows XP and Windows Vista are a couple different versions of the Windows operating system. While Mac OS 10.4 (also called "Tiger") and the brand new Mac OS 10.5 (or "Leopard") are two different versions of Mac OS X.

So what *is* an OS?

Think of it this way: when a baby is born, they have the instinct to eat, breathe, and so on, and also the instinct to watch, listen, and absorb what's going on around them.

In time, a young child learns to talk and walk by learning from others, and as they get older, they also learn more fundamental skills like reading and writing, hand-eye coordination, and so on.

So in other words, they go from being able to do not a lot except eat, sleep, and fill diapers, to physical and mental maturity where they have all the general skills they need to learn more specific skills like driving a car, playing a sport like football, writing a paper for school, working a job, etc.

In many ways, when you turn a computer on, it's just like a newborn baby. It has the ability to turn on, and show an image on the screen, but that's about it.

The only other thing it can do is look at the hard drive, and if there is an operating system installed on it, the computer knows to start running the OS.

That process is called "booting", which is what happens between when you turn the computer on, and when you can actually start using it.

And the best way to think about it is that it's just like a child being born and growing up: the operating system contains the "life experiences" and lessons that give a child all the basic skills like walking, talking, reading, writing, and so on, that make everything else possible.

So in a sense, it's like your computer is born and "grows up" in the space of 30 seconds to a minute or so (or longer for some computers) that it takes to "boot" the operating system.

So in other words, the operating system is like those basic skills we all have and learned as children. More specifically, it's the software on the computer that creates the desktop, the icons on it, moves the little mouse pointer around on the screen when you move your mouse around, lets you view files and open, lets you type, and so on.

Without it, you couldn't do anything with the computer but turn it on and see an error message like "non system disk or disk error" on a Windows PC, or a flashing question mark on a Mac.

So even though a lot of people don't really understand what an OS is, or what it does, you couldn't use your computer without it.

Hope that makes sense.

Until next time, enjoy,

Worth Godwin

8 Reasons Why It's Not Your Fault If You Feel Like A Computer Dummy, 6 Secrets That Skyrocket Your Skills

If you're like a lot of people, you feel confused by computers and wish you had more confidence and skill.

You know you're not as good as you want to be, and you end up frustrated by them a lot.

Maybe you feel like you're missing out on something that other people enjoy, and wish you could learn the basics of computers so you can join in but you aren't sure about what you're doing.

If any of this seems familiar to you, then it's important to realize that you're not alone -- a lot of people feel this way about computers.

You also need to understand it's not your fault.

I've been helping people with their computer challenges for a long time, and I've spent years researching exactly what causes people to get stuck, and what makes them feel frustrated and confused.

I've discovered there are 8 main reasons why most people fail when they try to learn computer basics and get better at computers -- and none of those reasons are your fault at all!

If you have always felt like a dummy, it's because the game has been rigged against you -- the traditional ways people try to learn computers are almost designed to make you fail!

Here are 4 of the common experiences people have when they try to
learn the basics of computers:

1. You try to learn from someone you know like a neighbor, family member, or someone else who may seem like they understand computers, but who in reality doesn't really know that much and ends up passing on misinformation, misunderstanding, and bad habits.
   
   It's like a 16-year-old trying to get someone a few months older to teach them how to drive: not a good idea.
   
   
2. You sign up for classes, but end up feeling frustrated and like you've wasted your hard-earned money because the teacher goes at the pace of the fastest student, and you end up like most of the other students: left out and left behind.
   
   
3. You hire a computer consultant who probably knows what they're talking about, but while they understand computers, they don't understand the first thing about teaching.
   
   They talk in confusing technical terms that they can't or won't explain clearly, and often get impatient or annoyed with you when you don't get it.
   
   
4. Because of the expense, you only hire a consultant once in a while, and when you do, you want to cover a bunch of stuff in one long lesson to save money on repeat trips.
   
   But you end up wasting your money because you tried cramming in too much at once, so most of it goes in one ear and out the other.
   

Here are a few important things to understand about how people's mind work and how we learn that is critical to remember when learning any skill, including computers:

1. When we learn a skill -- reading, writing, using computer, or anything else -- we have to start off focusing on the little details, or little steps, and work up from there: letters before words, words before sentences, paragraphs before pages.
   
   Most professional computer trainers are way up at a level where they see the big picture and have trouble thinking back to when they focused on the little steps.
   
   Because of this, they have trouble explaining to you and don't really understand why you don't get it.
   
   
2. Scientific studies have shown people need to learn in short lessons of half an hour or less, with a break between lessons.
   
   When most classes or lessons from consultants run an hour or two long, is it any surprise you forget it all?
   
   Obviously, when you're working around somebody else's schedule, and you're paying by the minute (plus travel time in a lot of cases) it seems to make more economic sense to have a single long lesson that lasts an hour or two, instead of several short lessons.
   
   But in reality, you end up wasting money on those lessons that go on for more than half an hour, since you end up forgetting a lot of what you're taught!
   
   An unfortunate catch 22.
   
   
3. Repetition builds skill: nobody learns a skill in just one lesson. But because of the cost and today's busy schedule, almost nobody ever gets computer lessons more than once in a blue moon, so they end up stuck in a frustrated rut.
   
   Know how to ride a bike?
   
   I bet if you do, then you had to practice a while before you got good at it.
   
   At first it was a struggle to keep upright, but you kept doing it. Eventually, you could ride around like a pro without even thinking about it. Maybe even with no hands!
   
   And the nice thing about learning computers is -- no skinned knees!
   
   
4. Focus on one subject, and only go off on side topics if it directly relates and helps understanding of the main thing you're trying to learn about.
   
   Jumping around to a bunch of different things in one lesson is no way to learn.
   
   True, some people are what I like to call "non-linear learners" (think ADD) and they want to jump around a lot or they get bored.
   
   But even hyperactive people (I'm one of them) really learn best with short, focused lessons, and the *choice* to be able to jump from one topic to another -- as long as each short lesson is complete and not a jumbled mess.
   

These are a few of the things I discovered were holding people back from the confidence and skill that they deserved.

These understandings I gained from my years of studying this problem did lead me to a solution.

Over the more than twelve years that I've been a computer coach, I -- through a lot of hard work on my part, and a lot of thought and care -- figured out how to explain things in plain English.

I use metaphors and analogies, relating the complex and normally confusing terms to everyday, understandable objects like a table, a rug, a car. Things that you can relate to and that make sense to anybody, even a so-called "computer dummy".

I also learned how to bring things down to your level of understanding -- helping you grasp what I'm talking about, even if you're a beginner and still focused on the tiny details -- all without talking down to you.

But because of the limitations of teaching as a consultant -- the expense, the busy schedule, the need to have long lessons, and everything else I've just talked about -- I still couldn't help people get really comfortable with computers and advance the way I wanted them to.

So what I came up with is a new system: short, easy computer lessons (for both Macs and Windows computers) where you get to pop a CD into your computer and sit back and watch and learn more easily than you ever thought possible.

The lessons are short, focused on one topic, in plain English, and so easy to fit into even the busiest of schedules, since you get to learn at your own pace on your own terms, for a fraction of the cost of classes or a consultant.

And I even back it all up with a complete, no hassle, no arguments full one year iron-clad money-back guarantee.

If you try them out and they're not for you, no hard feelings. Just return them within the YEAR (no pointless "ten day trial" like some places) and I'll happily give you your money back, including shipping!

And remember, they're all broken down into simple, short, easy lessons that you can just sit back and watch, that makes computers as easy as the click of a mouse.

All you need to do is click here to get easy computer lessons for Apple Mac or easy computer lessons for Windows.

It's really easy, it's fun, and you get a whole year to try it out risk free. So all you have to lose is your frustration and confusion around computers.

And give up calling yourself a "computer dummy"!

You'll be glad you did.

Worth Godwin

Understanding the Computer Terms Web, Internet & Email

In this article I want to help you understand the computer terms Web, Internet, and Email.

Now you may think you know what these computer terms mean, but I've found that in fact, most people misuse and misunderstand 2 or 3 of those words every day!

Now please understand me -- it's not your fault if you sometimes get computer terminology wrong. It's just never been explained to you the right way for you to really get it, and chances are, you've been hearing other people misuse the terms too, since it's pretty common to mix them up.

Let me see if I can make it easier for you.

Let's start with email -- this is the one that most people get basically right, although they still misunderstand one important thing about it (more on that in a minute).

Email is, of course, "electronic mail" -- a pretty simple concept to get. Its the computer equivalent of a traditional letter. Traditional mail through the post office is often called "snail mail" these days because it takes days to get to the person you're sending it to, unlike email which can take seconds (although sometimes can take hours).

Even snail mail is pretty amazingly fast compared to how it used to be back in the day, when it could take weeks or months to get to someone.

Just like regular mail, email has a sort of post office that it goes through - something called a "mail server".

There are two types of mail server - POP and SMTP. But I prefer to use the terms incoming and outgoing because it makes more sense than the technical terms.

Don't worry about what the letters POP and SMTP stand for. Just remember:

POP = incoming, for mail that's coming in to you

and

SMTP = outgoing, for the email you're sending out.

Let's talk about the word "Web" now.

The Web is what most people think of as "the Internet" -- it's the web pages, or pages of words, pictures, and sometimes sounds and videos even, which you go and visit using your "web browser".

A web browser is just a program that lets you look at web pages -- most Windows people click on the blue E, which is Internet Explorer (made by Microsoft and given away with every copy of Windows, which is why most people use it. NOT because it's the best option).

Most Mac people with fairly new Macs use Apple's web browser Safari, which looks like a little compass.

Other people, both Mac users and Windows users, use a different program called Mozilla Firefox.

For a lot of good reasons, I strongly strongly recommend that Windows users do NOT use "the blue E" -- Internet Explorer -- the main reason is because it is very unsafe and is almost a guarantee that your PC will get infected with something nasty.

Mac users should not use "the blue E" (Internet Explorer) either, but more because it's very out of date and just doesn't work with many modern websites anymore.

One way to think of a web browser is like a car that lets you drive around on the "information super-highway" as they used to call the Web back in the 90s.

Some brands of cars are safer than others -- you could almost think of Internet Explorer as one of those old Poison Pintos, and Mozilla Firefox as a Volvo -- not a guarantee to save you from harm, but a lot safer than a Pinto!

One point of confusion some people have is that sometimes you can use web browsers to read your email. Like if you use Yahoo mail or Hotmail.

In that case, you are looking at your email through what's called "webmail" because you are using Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple's Safari to view your mail.

It's kind of like going to the post office and reading your mail there. Throwing some of it away, and then putting the stuff you want to keep back in the post office box for storage.

Using an email program like Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, Eudora, or Apple's OS X Mail, is more like reading your mail at home, and storing the stuff you want to keep at home instead of at the post office.

Now let's talk about the last term: the Internet.

This may be, out of the three terms I've been talking about, the one that is most mis-used.

Here's the thing: the Internet contains BOTH the Web AND email.

But many many people, probably most people in fact, talk as if the Internet was a separate thing from email or the web, when in fact the web and email are both just *parts* of the Internet.

Or another way to put it is that the web and email are just certain ways of looking at all of the information that's available on the Internet as a whole.

The Internet is really just a big "network" of interconnected computers that talk to each other and share information. Some of it is presented as web pages, some of it as email, and so on.

Hope that all makes sense.

Thanks for reading,

Worth Godwin

A Simple Secret To Improving Your Basic Computer Skills (or If You Dig Yourself a Hole, Bring a Ladder)

Once upon a time, many years ago, I didn't know a thing about computers. People who know me, and especially my clients, often have trouble believing this.

But it's true; I wasn't born with some built-in ability to use computers. I started off as a complete novice, and had to learn as I went along.

In this article I'm going to explain something that I was very lucky to figure out on my own, way back when, that helped blast my computer skills into the stratosphere compared to where I started.

But first I want to tell you about a client of mine named Peter.

One day I was at Peter's office, helping him with a problem he'd had with his laptop. Peter has a problem which is very common – his computer skills never improve because he's afraid that if he tries something new, he's going to break his computer or mess things up somehow.

Maybe you've felt this way too.

So I was talking to him, and was telling him about when I first started driving.

When I first got my beginners permit, I wasn't very confident about what I was doing, and would get nervous when a car passed on my left, then a mailbox would be coming up on my right, so I ended up swerving, just a little, back and forth in the lane.

It probably looked pretty funny.

Of course, I didn't have to do this -- there was lots of space on both sides, and I wasn't going to be hit by anything.

All I had to do was just relax and drive instead of worrying about what might go wrong.

I've met a lot of people over the years who use their computers the way I used to drive back when I first started. And unfortunately, while I quickly got over this with driving, a lot of people never get past this problem with their computer.

The thing is, once I stopped worrying about something going wrong, and just relaxed and drove (while still, of course, paying attention to what was going on) I got a lot better at driving.

Turns out that Peter was kind of the opposite from me when he first drove. He actually "borrowed" his dad's car when he was just fourteen years old, and drove to a friend's house!

He dove right in and just did it, and probably really enjoyed himself...

...right up until the moment the cop pulled him over!

His attitude was great, and made it a heck of a lot easier for him to drive (even without lessons) than it was for me at first when I started to drive. If he'd just balanced that out by being a little more careful (or maybe waiting until he had his license!) he might not have gotten into trouble.

The attitude Peter had when he was a teenager about driving a car is the attitude I had about using a computer when I first sat down in front of one. I dove right in and just played around with it to see where I could go with it. And just by having that mental attitude, it made it a lot easier to learn computer basics, and improve from there.

But there was something else I did.

When I was exploring somewhere new with my computer, trying something I hadn't done before, I paid attention to what I was doing. I made a point of remembering how to get back to where I was, and what I did, so I could go back and fix it if it caused a problem.

So for example if I wanted to change a setting in a program, or try doing something new in a program, I first made sure I had some idea what would happen when I did it.

If I had no idea, I either looked it up, or left it alone.

If I did have some idea what I was doing, then I'd try it and see what happened, but would make sure I knew exactly what I'd clicked, and where it was so I could reverse it if I didn't like what happened.

And I'd only change one thing at a time, so if something went wrong, I knew what caused it.

The way I like to put it is "if you dig yourself a hole, bring a ladder."

Remembering this tip, and remembering to have the right attitude when it comes to computers will do a lot to help you feel more confident and empowered with the computer than you used to think you could.

So don't be afraid to try new things – just make sure you bring a ladder when you do!