how to teach a novice?

[GaryR]

ok, so my wife knows almost nothing at all about Excel, but she wants to learn so that she can get into a job doing admin or something. she's used it like twice in her whole life. But everytime i try to sit down with her and start with even the basics, she gets frustrated at how much there is to it and how powerful it can get so fast, and i get frustrated because i never really know where to start and how in depth to get with anything with her cause i'm fairly advanced.

who knows a really good book or a really good *free* online class for people that have never used excel before? I tried the microsoft.com tutorials but she got frustrated at how slow they went over the parts that she did know... grrr...


thanks!

 

[robind21283]

I personally can't stand classroom style computer courses, for the reason that they only go as fast as the slowest learner, and I was definitely at the other end of that spectrum. What I have found useful for me, is my local community college offers on-line courses that last 12 weeks. They cost about $100 (I know you were looking for free), but you do examples as you go that are related to the real world and how they might be useful, which is helpful for me to remember them. Two lessons are released a week, and if you have problems completing them or have any questions, there is a discussion board where the teacher will respond and help you, as well as other classmates.

It all depends on her learning style, but I think either type of classroom is the best (online or in person).

 

[Tahas]

ok, so my wife knows almost nothing at all about Excel, but she wants to learn so that she can get into a job doing admin or something. she's used it like twice in her whole life. But everytime i try to sit down with her and start with even the basics, she gets frustrated at how much there is to it and how powerful it can get so fast, and i get frustrated because i never really know where to start and how in depth to get with anything with her cause i'm fairly advanced.

who knows a really good book or a really good *free* online class for people that have never used excel before? I tried the microsoft.com tutorials but she got frustrated at how slow they went over the parts that she did know... grrr...


thanks!

Hello there,
I had similar situation helping my friend to learn excel. I used the tactics to increase his curiosity by making Excel doing funny things. I typed his first and last name respectively in column A&B and then put formulas in various columns (starting from beginner to intermediate level) such as len, left, mid, right, find, if and then move to simple spreadsheet with formulas like sum, subtotal, count, counta, ave. v/hlookup……..

Conclusion: He loves excel now and currently working as a senior analyst.
Bottom-line: Do not try to teach with a message that you (your wife) need Excel to Excel in your workplace or to get a job. Just to start with, try her to focus on developing interest and curiosity that how excel can be useful for her simple to complex questions in your mind.

Good luck.

PS: Don’t let my wife know that I told you as I am still not able to teach her…lol

 

[GaryR]

maybe, it's so frustrating! lol.

but i'm not trying to convince her that she needs it, she knows (and is right) that she needs it to get a better job in the market she's looking at. but it's overwhelming.

i've gotten her a book to see if that's easier to follow and then she can come ask me when it doesn't explain stuff clearly enough. maybe that'll be easier. we shall see. i'm hoping she can get to that point where she knows enough to say "i know excel can do this, the question is how." and then maybe knows at least 1 or 2 places to look on her own first and then can ask me or at that point make her a logon here.

 

[GaryR]

like my mom uses excel every day at her job, but she's still a fairly basic user, she calls me constantly at my own job and says "do you have time for me to e-mail you a spreadsheet? how do i do this faster? i've been doing this by hand for 4 hours, can you help me?" lol. so she knows enough to rough it out and knows enough to know excel can do more, if i can get the wife to that point, i think she'll be more interested in learning the finer details.

 

[Angelicus]

having a professional trainer would be the best. IMO any Microsoft Office suit requires teaching by a very good teacher. That's how I learnt, too.

 

[Angelicus]

I personally can't stand classroom style computer courses, for the reason that they only go as fast as the slowest learner, and I was definitely at the other end of that spectrum.

Next time think how bored the trainer is - teaching basic excel when he/she can be happily running macros and doing interesting spreadsheet analysis.

someone need to share the knowledge so more people share the joy!

 

[SydneyGeek]

Next time think how bored the trainer is - teaching basic excel when he/she can be happily running macros and doing interesting spreadsheet analysis.

someone need to share the knowledge so more people share the joy!

Definitely two sides to this! It is really hard to teach a room of people with a wide spread of ability. But it is possible to teach the slow ones and give the faster ones something to extend themselves. Depends how many resources you have up your sleeve. Personally, I don't use the manual much -- that's for reading. Better to get the users hands-on, then point them to the manual for reference.

Denis

 

[Angelicus]

Hi Denis,

Cannot agree more - I encourage the fastest users to do as much as possible in the given exercise. If they can't figure it out, they will automatically stop and wait with the rest of the class for answer. There will never be something as "Too slow" in a group class.

Your comment was exactly what my boss told me at the 1st day of my training career. (Although i am still a novice in the training industry XD)

 

[SydneyGeek]

How long have you been training?

I started about 10 years ago, but now I mostly consult. It's a good mix.

Denis

 

[Angelicus]

6 months (I'm a novice and I mean it )

My boss had been in the industry for 15 years now. He is the one who goes around Asia doing consultation. I am the one training the entire office suite.

As a trainer I should find all programs fascinating: I love excel to bits but Words alone cannot express as to how much I detest Microsoft Word