How To Be A Better Computer Teacher

Computer tuition is something I end up doing a few times every week. Most of the time the client calls me out to resolve a specific computer problem and I often end up fixing it in a very short amount of time.

I need to charge my full hourly rate to cover the traveling time but the client may feel they didn’t get value for money if I just pressed a few buttons and charged them for the hour. So, I ask them if there is anything they want me to show them and if there is, I fill out the hour by teaching them something.

One of the problems with computer tuition is that it is easy to tell someone how to do a certain task, but for them to understand it and to be able to reproduce it later is much harder. Most Computer Technicians tend to either give too little information or too much which confuses the client. We need to remember that some of the things we are referencing require prior knowledge on the subject.
“Your operating system needs to..”
“Whats an operating system?”

To increase the chances of the client absorbing the information and be a better computer teacher all round, here are some great methods that work really well for me.

Analogies

I always use analogies when I am trying to teach something to my clients. For example, If I was trying to explain defragging to my client, I would say something like:

“Your computer is like your office space and as you use it, computer files (which are like pieces of paper) end up all over the place and make a mess. When it is messy it takes longer for you to find what you are after and the same thing applies with computers and their files.

Defragging is like cleaning up all the papers around your office and sorting them alphabetically. Once its properly filed you can find it much quicker and the same applies to your computer”

I could “geek out” and tell them about how the Windows filesystem is messy, sectors can go bad and other relevant information – but they really don’t need to know. After explaining the analogy above I would either schedule it to start defragmentation automatically or tell them “Press this icon once a week/month. Your computer will run a little slower while it is doing this”.

Another thing I often have to explain to my clients is why their computer needs constant Windows and antivirus updates. This is what I would typically say:

“Windows is pretty much everything you see here (points to the Windows desktop). Imagine Windows as being your physical bricks-and-mortar house and hackers/viruses are like insects. These “insects” will try and find new ways to get inside your house looking for little cracks in the walls and open windows. New cracks in the wall are constantly forming and these Windows patches are like sealant glue to seal the cracks. I can make it so your computer automatically seals these cracks on an ongoing basis which will help keep the ‘insects’ out”.

95% of the time, my clients will remember and understand it if I explain it like this.

Let Them Drive

The best way to make what you are teaching sink in is to do it yourself the first time and then let them drive.

While you are doing it yourself for the first time, get them to write notes of each step in their own words and do this slow enough so they can keep up.

Then, give them the drivers seat and ask them to do the task themselves based off their own notes. Dont say a word unless they get stuck. I usually give them about 20-30 seconds once they get stuck to figure it out themselves before I speak up and help them out.

To help out the client further, I often record what I am doing the first time using Camstudio Portable. This freeware and portable software will record the screen and convert the video to a compressed format. I then name it something like “How-To-Download-Photos-From-Camera.avi” or something to that effect.

Each To Their Own

One of the key things to remember when doing any computer tuition is don’t think someone is stupid because they aren’t good with computers. Everyone chooses where they want to focus their skills and many of them just aren’t interested in computers. For example, I’m not very good at diagnosing car problems but you wouldn’t exactly call me stupid.

Lastly, if someone doesn’t understand what you are saying, don’t repeat what you just said louder. Instead, find a different way to say it and take your time.

The client will be happy that they actually learned something because you did it slowly, weren’t condescending and made sure it sunk in – unlike their children who did it quickly and got angry with them when they didn’t understand it the first time.

Computer tuition is an easy job if you have the patience for it and pays well.