Trying to find a resource for an adult who wants to beef up their computer skills

September 20, 2012 9:11 PM

Browser say what? Trying to find some learning material (online or books) for a 35 yo adult.

1. Learned the definition of "browser" within the past two years
2. Doesn't have familiarity with formulas, etc, in Excel
3. Does mass sends with Salesforce for work projects so has some experience with learning a program.
4. Wants to become more familiar with tools, and programs (a writer so uses Word a lot)
5. Feels on the outs with technology stuff and wants to be more in the loop, in a scalable, easy way, learning programs/shortcuts.
6. Doesn't know how to navigate basic computer architecture, ex. where to find the download folder if it's not already popping up.

What do you recommend? Any good software or classes you've heard of? Websites or books to read through?

posted by timpanogos to computers & internet (3 answers total)

The X for Dummies or X for Idiots series are often surprisingly good. I used them for non-tech people and they worked really well. The QuickStart books are fantastic if you're a visual learner, and what I've used personally at the start of learning InDesign and Photoshop. I would check out a bunch of different titles from the library on something basic like HTML and see which style suits best. Having a project to do - setting up and customizing a website is a good start - is a fun way to learn.
posted by viggorlijah at 11:27 PM on September 20, 2012

The Goodwill Foundation has surprisingly good online intros to various software programs.
posted by headnsouth at 12:23 AM on September 21, 2012

It sounds like the goals are using particular software packages better. In that case, they should get books about those particular software packages. If they would like to understand computers and the Internet better, in a general way, then I recommend D is for Digital: What a well-informed person should know about computers and communications.
posted by pmb at 7:13 AM on September 21, 2012