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August 10, 2005
First Geek Out Don't Freak Out class
I developed the "Geek Out Don't Freak Out" idea into a class for Reading Public Library as a way to give patrons hands-on help and experience with everyday technologies they own. We all know someone who has a camera phone but doesn't know how to get the pictures off of it, or someone who has a PDA but doesn't know the first thing about syncing. Since our library offers a whole host of computer classes that focus on the internet and software technologies, why not go to the next step, especially with mobile technologies that will soon become as ubiquitous and normal as the mobile phone.
Last nights class was on digital cameras, and only had 3 attendees (it was rescheduled due to AC problems in the library, and I didn't advertise for more sign-ups after the reschedule). It's actually a good thing that I only had 3 attendees, since we had a lot to cover and still keep it hands-on, although I think a larger group would mean being able to have them work in groups more easily, even with just one instructor.
I brought in my camera, one of the library's two cameras, and each attendee was to bring in their own camera and the manual. As it turns out, one of the attendees said that he'd never really read the manual before being prompted to hunt it down for the class. :D
I went over the basic anatomy of a camera, and encouraged people to ask questions and fiddle with their cameras as we went along, which they did. One attendee came to the class because she's shopping for a camera (she didn't have one with her, so she got to play with the library camera), so the hands-on playtime was helpful not only in picking one out, but knowing what to look for when she goes to Best Buy to play with the display models.
We didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but this class was helpful to everyone mostly because they just wanted to know their way around their camera. After we played with settings, pushed all sorts of buttons, opened and shut little flap doors, and flipped through manuals, the attendees really had the sense that not matter what digital camera you have, you really can just turn it on, take a picture, and look a your picture or download it. The features were no longer intimidating, they became interesting toys to experiment with.
At the end, the woman shopping for a camera not only had a better sense of what to look for, but also a recommendation to check out the March 2005 issue of Consumer Reports down in Magazines & Newspapers (or, if it was out, the non-circulating copies in the Reference section) for reviews of cameras, image editing software, and printers, while the other two attendees (an older couple that comes to just about all of the classes we offer, I love them) went away with 2 on-shelf book recommendations and call numbers, which I was able to look up on my laptop in the meeting room using the library's wifi (I also need to look up something for her ILL).
I also came away with ways to make the class better (take more pictures so that the patrons can ask even more questions, have a recommended reading & web site list to hand out). And, best of all, people came to the library, and learned that we do have a clue about technology and their needs.
I'm looking forward to the next GODFO session, which I'll probably do on camera phones. That'll be interesting, since I don't own a camera phone, and don't intend to, so I'll need to do some research. Any recommendations on resources?
August 10, 2005 10:18 AM