Can mastering basic computer skills increase not only employment opportunities for Project Opportunity students, but also raise their overall self confidence?

Doreen Perry, Project RIRAL

The initial question: Can mastering basic computer skills increase not only employment opportunities for Project Opportunity students, but also raise their overall self confidence? was answered, but not in the way I anticipated.

I based my inquiry on past experiences with learners, specifically a small, tightly-knit group of four. The group that I looked at for this inquiry was larger, twelve learners with a completely different agenda. They were not nearly as interested in learning the computer as I wanted them to be!

This group was diverse in skills and abilities, as are all Adult Ed classes. With Project Opportunity, however, there is one over-riding constant, an extremely low level of self confidence. These women are all Welfare recipients, some of whom had never worked, never touched a computer, and had little or no concept of social and/or communication skills. Since Project Opportunity is a work readiness program, we have to focus on preparing the participants for employment. This group exhibited a need for the these social and communication skills so critical in today's workplace. We concentrated on that area heavily, using a SCANS enriched curriculum with the computer piece taking a back seat, at least at the beginning of the twelve weeks we formally met. We also do not have the luxury of a computer for each student, so we had to rotate schedules. The group did not like or accept that situation; they all wanted to be together. And, since one of our issues is the empowerment of the learners, I did not "pull rank" and force the issue to my specifications. Instead, I bowed to the will of the group and focused our collective energies on what they (the students) wanted. At that point, my question changed somewhat and became: "What does increase employment opportunities and also raise overall self confidence among this particular group of Project Opportunity learners?."

One large issue with this group was the acquisition of the GED. Of the twelve participants, nine women did not have a secondary credential. Of that nine, I am proud to report that four women (44%) successfully achieved their goal and passed the GED examination. All four had unsuccessfully attempted the tests in the past and all four had failed. The combination of the group and instructor support, instruction, and the successful completion of a team project enabled them to feel the confidence they needed to try one more time. And this time, they made it! This success made them eager for more success and also provided the others in the group who also needed/wanted the GED with some peer motivation. Throughout the process of GED preparation, group projects, and SCANS curriculum, I did manage to introduce the group to basic computer skills. We began on the computer with the MAVIS typing program, Windows 95, and WORD for the word processing component. Once the initial fear of the unknown passed and the learners realized they could indeed, turn the "thing" on, they proceeded to enjoy and even look forward to their computer time. We still had the problem of not enough computers to go around, and that remained a problem to the bitter end! Not surprisingly, the acquisition of skills was directly proportionate to the amount of time the individuals spent at the machine. Those who spent the most time, acquired the most skills.

Each learner met the stated goal for the acquisition of basic WORD literacy skills. They can all create, edit, save, print, spell check, and retrieve documents. Following screen cues and prompts and using HELP topics was less successful, but the learners did become acquainted with those options. They were all more comfortable asking the instructor or another student for help and only used the computer for help when all else failed. The students learned to follow the screen prompts and cues only after losing documents and/or parts of documents.

The stated goal of a typing speed of 25-30WPM was met only by five learners, four of whom had previous typing experience. The increase in typing speed is clearly related to the amount of time spent at the keyboard and all learners expressed a desire to increase their speed, but not at the expense of losing time spent in class either working on their GED or the class projects.

The group as a whole felt better about themselves and their abilities at the end of May than they did when they entered the program at the beginning of March. I do not see that it was one area in particular which accounted for the increase in self-esteem. Rather the combination of group support and interaction, success in acquiring the GED, success at working through a difficult team project, success in mastering basic computer skills, and benign guidance from the Project Opportunity staff all contributed to the increase in self-confidence. It is not something which can be separated, at least not with this group of learners. Success in one area certainly transfers to success in another; however, the support of the group and instructor played an equally important and integral role that enabled the individual learners to function as a team. They also acquired some of the confidence they need to progress to the next step along the road to freedom from Welfare.

One of the program participants prepared and presented the question: What does Project Opportunity mean to you? The responses were overwhelmingly positive and the following are a few examples:

Lynn: "I have learned skills I never thought I had. The computer does not scare me. I have learned so much and I can hold my head up and look ahead. I can see good things in store for me."

Melissa: "This program has been great for getting me up and out of the house and into a routine. I was also able to find out about the different types of daycare for my kids. I did not know about some of the after school programs and the summer programs that I could get my kids involved with."

Fran: "I no longer say I can't do anything. I just go ahead and give it my best and if it is not right I do it again until it is right. This program has made me see myself differently. I am no a loser, I am someone who can achieve anything I put my mind and heart into."

more statements from learners:

In my own words, Project Opportunity has a very special meaning in my life. Makes me feel better about myself. It's so good to have people around you that care for you. I think this is one of the good things that have happened in my life, besides giving birth to my four beautiful children. I'm new in the neighborhood didn't know too many people and just coming here to Project Opportunity feels like have all my family with me. I've learned things that I've never experienced in my life, especially the teacher, she is so outgoing and "Sweet Person" I know definitely I'll miss being around her. I'm very lucky I've met her and shared nice things with her.

Lucy

Project Opportunity has become like a support group for me. I feel when I really need to say something, it's easier to come and say it here. I love that I am learning to use the computer. I know it will help me with my job skills, my goal here was to learn these things and to make new friends, and that's something I have accomplised here. Soon it will be time for me to go out in this world to accomplish high goals. I put off taking care of myself to take care of my family. Now it's my turn! And this is what Project Opportunity has given me. I love being here. And I hope every person have the chance I had.

Dina

Project Opportunity has changed my way of thinking. I feel more confident about myself. This is a stepping stone for me. I am feeling more confident and ready to go to work now. Project Opportunity has showed me how to be more relaxed and responsible. I needed a little push in the working direction and I got that here. Doreen has been a big inspiration to me I never had a teacher like her she is great. Doreen makes me feel very comfortable and I am sure she makes all of the other girls feel the same. When I first came to Project Opportunity I wasn't sure of myself but as time went by I started feeling better about everything not only school but especially about going to work. I lvoe to be here. I would tell anyone who is thinking about coming to this class that they should do just that because if they are not sure about themselves Doreen would make them feel right at home. Doreen is one special teacher. I am glad I had you I don't know what I would have done without her. Doreen is a good person to know. I am glad I had you in my life for a little while.

Sincerely yours

Evelyn

.... When I started I had absolutely not a clue what MAVIS was. I am no longer computer illiterate; I'm learning more about the computer all the time....

.... I'm looking forward to my future. I feel good about the decisions I made. I am planning to move back to Alabama and buy a home. I don't feel it will be difficult, becasue I have a freind that owns her own real estate company. She is helping me to find my dream home. I also have friends that own their own businesses, that are willing to assist me. I just want to have some skills to help me get a good job. Which is why I'm here at Project Opportunity.

Vivian

The five survey areas we investigated to increase basic computer literacy are:

1. Keyboarding - Basic keyboarding/data entry skills are necessary to access a wider range of job opportunities. The program we will be utilizing for keyboarding skills is MAVIS, a self-paced, learner driven program designed to increase speed and accuracy. The learner becomes familiar and comfortable with finger placement and manipulation. We have set a goal of 25-30 words per minute.

2. Differentiating between hardware and software - The student willbecome familiar/comfortable with computer terminology, ie: CPU (Central Processing Unit); input devices (keyboard, mouse); output devices (screen/monitor, printer, memory, floppy disks, hard drive).

3. Basic WORD literacy - Microsoft WORD is a word processing program commonly used in window applications. Becoming proficient in WORD allows the learner to create documents, correspondence, graphs, graphics and various assorted business applications. WORD also enables the student to learn how to create, edit, save, print, spell check and retrieve documents.

4. Using help topics - HELP topcs enables students to problem solve independently while creating various documents. HELP covers all WORD applications and familiarity with HELP can be labor and time efficient.

5. Following computer cues and prompts - Students will learn to follow screen prompts regarding program steps and applications. New computer users tend to ignore screen prompts, which can result in not completing necessary program procedures. New users also tend to follow known program access paths; screen prompts and cues can encourage 'treasure hunts' to new access avenues. It also affords the student to demonstrate initiative and creativity with regard to problem solving.

For each of the five survey areas, learners completed progress sheets which were used to identify comptency level achieved, and also provided space for writing in additional observations, suggestions and goals.

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