Computers 101

CAVI is excited to offer a new online course, Computers 101, in 2013. Please note that this course is still under development and parts of this page may change.]

Student's area

Here is the link to go to the Student's Area ? where you will find course notes and assignments.

About the Course

This course is designed especially for people who would like to learn beginner level computer operation with a screen reader. Topics covered range from screen reader basics, working with files on a computer, and how to use the Internet safely and efficiently. We offer both a Windows and MAC course.

Accessing the Course

This is an online course. Participants will use an accessible chat client to participate in classes. We will help students set up their software so they can participate.

Course Fees

CAVI courses are $500 if they are being covered by an organization, and $150 if an individual is paying out of pocket. Payment plans are available, and scholarships are available for those with verifiable financial hardship such as living in a developing country.

What You Need For This Course

To take this course, you'll need:

A computer running either Windows or Mac OS
A headset so you can participate in class
An internet connection such as cable, DSL, or the equivalent to attend classes

Course Times

CAVI courses run one day a week. Generally, the courses begin at 9 AM Perth Time, which is in the evening in North America. The Mac course will be offered on Wednesday night US time, (Thursday morning Perth time.) The Windows course will be held on Thursday night US time, (Friday morning in Perth.) There can be a North American daytime course run if necessary.

Applying For The Course

For this course alone, we will take applications via phone or email without the need to fill out the application form. The application deadline is July 24, 2013. When you apply, please include:

Name
Address
Phone Number
Email
Any IM info you may have
Whether you're interested in the MAC or Windows course.
The name of the screenreader you use.
What level of computer experience you have
What you want to get out of the course
Whether you're paying out of pocket
What time of day you'd like to be contacted.

TheInterview Process

Once we have received your application, we will contact you to conduct a short initial interview. This is to make sure that you have the equipment necessary to take the course, and that your goals can be met by what we are offering. We'll answer any questions you have and explain how the course will work.

After the initial interview, we will help you get the chat software set up so that you can participate in the online course. If you do not know how to do this we can help you over the phone or via Tandem, etc.

Contact Us

For more information on this course, please email comp101@ciscovision.org, or phone 914-620-2284.

Proposed Computer Fundamentals Curriculum

Part I: Working with the Screen Reader

Week 1: General intro.

Course intro
Defining Terms – screen reader, synthesizer, windows, OS. etc.

Week 2: Screen Reader Basics

Getting Help with your Screen Reader
Turning the reader off and on.
Basic settings - Setting rate, pitch, volume, etc

Week 3: Customizing your screen reader.

Changing settings. Playing with synthesizers, using different settings for different apps,

Week 4: Cursors

Application and review cursors, When and how to use them. [Including PC and jaws cursors, and/or Object nav]

Week 5: Utilities

Using more advanced features of the screen readers. OCR, remote connections such as tandem, etc.

Part II: Working with the OS

Week 6: Navigating the OS

Customizing the OS to work with screen readers
Start Menu, desktop, [The dock], System Tray, Taskbar, Menu bars, dialog boxes

Week 7: The OS, part 2

Creating folders
Managing files
Zipping and unzipping files
File extentions
Creating hotkeys
Adding icons to the desktop, etc.

Part III: Working with Text and Documents

Week 8: Working with Text

All about fonts, bold, italics, etc
Introducing the clipboard.
Selecting text
Cut/copy/Paste
Saving Files
The difference between .txt. and .doc files

Week 9: Working with Documents

Spell checking, printing, proofreading, thesaurus, etc.

Week 10: Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet navigation,
Simple formulas

Part IV: Going Online

Week 11: Introduction to the Internet

What is the Web?
What is a web browser?
Getting to a page, reading a page, using navigation *Quick keys

Week 12: Navigating Pages, part II

Using forms, tables, ETC

Week 13: Effective use of Google, etc

How to search effectively.

Week 14: Being safe online.

What to do and not to do to avoid viruses, Trojans and hacking.

Week 15: Email

How does Email work?
Reading, forwarding, replying to Email
Using a couple of different mail clients, including Thunderbird and the Gmail web interface.

Part V: Fun Stuff

Week 16: Getting Chatty

Creating and using IM accounts
Skype

Week 17: Getting Social

Facebook and Twitter

Part VI: Misc

This would be a few weeks of material determined by class needs and wants. Some ideas could be working with Itunes and iOS, using Braille displays, scanning documents, working with PDFs, etc.

Computers101