The same patrons came back on 4/23 for more basic computer/internet instruction. I’m learning about information literacy right now in one of my classes, so I tried to think about how I could apply what I was learning in class to working with the patrons. One useful thing I read about for class is Humanist learning theory, which focuses on the learners’ affective needs and is based on the learners setting their own goals.
More to come on this!
On Wednesday, April 16th, I helped Bob with a small group of patrons who wanted to learn computer and internet basics. There were four people. We had to set them up in the children’s area because the other computers hadn’t been reserved, but they didn’t seem to mind.
Bob took them through logging in, opening a browser window, operating the mouse, and locating the important keys on the keyboard. I assisted the learners when they had trouble following. The truth is, it’s hard to talk about what to do with the mouse because there’s no commonly understood vocabulary to work with. “Move the mouse so the pointer is in the white box that has the address in it and left-click once,” is a mouthful, you know? And not that clear. So the best way to help is to be right there to point things out.
Once they had all successfully Googled themselves, I helped one patron set up an email account. It was really fun because she was so excited about having email for the first time. It’s these kinds of experiences that make me really want to work in a public library.
