Summary: ACEJ – COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAM

Association de la Culture et de l’Education de la Jeunesse (ACEJ) is dedicated to better education of its students and the surrounding community.  In today’s age, computers have become a necessary teaching tool rather than an option. ACEJ is fortunate to have a fully-equipped lab with 26 computer systems. The primary purpose of this lab is to teach students computer skills that are essential to their future careers. However, a financial support to keep this lab going is essential. The funds will be used to pay the salary of an instructor who will be in charge of teaching computer applications, technical support assistance, and repair. Therefore, immediate action is necessary. ACEJ intends to start the Community Education Program (CEP), which will provide computer classes to the general public interested in learning how to use computers. In return, the community will become computer literate and CEP will generate revenues that will be used toward the operational expenses of the school computer lab. 

Conducted research by Claver Hategekimana, a graduate student in Management Information Systems at Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota, concluded that in Rwanda there is a strong potential demand of people who have computer skills. Consequently, there are a great number of candidates who are willing to learn how to use computers in order to take advantage of available job opportunities and personal uses like the internet. Although the price to learn basic computer applications in the computer centers found in major cities of Rwanda, including Gitarama, is still too high compared to what most candidates can afford, it is in that context which Claver encouraged ACEJ to start CEP, which will provide quality education at an affordable price. There is no doubt that if ACEJ provides basic computer courses to the general public a significant number of people will come to ACEJ rather than paying high prices in other computing centers.

ACEJ-CED will offer five courses: Introduction to Computer Literacy, MS Windows, MS Word, MS Excel, and PowerPoint. Table A, titled ”Predicted Average Revenues per Term, from  ACEJ-Community Education Program” shows the number of students we expect to register for each course mentioned above. ACEJ will continue to seek for ways to offer more courses, such as internet application and web design.  The table also shows the charge for each course, as well as the average total revenue per term, considering that a term equals to three months.  Table B, titled “Economic Feasibility of ACEJ Community Education Program” shows revenues, expenses, and net yearly benefit in Rwandan francs. We expect that the salary of computer application teacher will be at least 51000 Rwfs per month. Two-thirds of this salary will be applied to regular teaching expenses of ACEJ students, and one-third will be applied toward teaching computer courses in the Community Education Program. Maintenance costs can involve expenses like paying an outside technician if technical assistance from outside is needed. Supplies and miscellaneous expenses can involve buying papers, printer cartridges, replacing a mouse, etc.

Table A:

Predicted average revenues per term, from
 ACEJ-Community Education Program

Table B:

Economic feasibility of
ACEJ-Community Education Program

[1]           Details and Description of each course is found in the course syllabus. 

[2]           Internet Application is a future service ACEJ will plan to offer after the lab has been connected to the World Wide Web. 

[3]           Web Design course will be offered once the following three conditions are satisfied: connection to the internet, availability of teacher with required expertise in web development, and demand.
 

Introduction to Computer Literacy

This course is intended to provide an introduction to what a computer can do and how it can be used to improve production and make work more enjoyable. More importantly, this course will address basic questions and provide answers every computer user should know. The teacher will explain and give examples of general computer principles as well as terms. Below are some examples.

What is a computer?

A computer is a combination of hardware and software.

1.      Input devices: keyboard, mouse, scanner, microphones,

2.      System Unit or central processing unit (CPU),

3.      Output device: monitor, printer, speakers

4.      Storage device: hard disk, floppy disk, CD-ROM, zip disk, memory stick, magnetic tapes

5.      Communication devices: modem, Ethernet cards, hubs, routers (network)

What does a computer do?

A computer performs four general operations called Information Processing Cycle (IPC):

1.      Receive input (data, information such as text, images, and numbers),

2.      Process input (do tasks such as multiplication and addition)

3.      Output the result (display result on the screen, print out…)

4.      Store information for immediate or future use (save information on disks). 

Why is a computer so powerful?

Computer power is derived from the capability of performing the information processing cycle with:

1.      Speed: when data (information) flows along computer circuits, it travels at close to the speed of light. Processing is accomplished in billionths of a second.

2.      Reliability: produce accurate result, very reliable due to a low failure rate.

3.      Accuracy: process complex data precisely, accurately, and output error-free information. In fact, most instances of computer error usually are caused by bad input (data) or human mistakes.

4.      Storage capacity: can store enormous amounts of data. Stored data can be retrieved quickly and processed, and then restored for future use.

5.      Communications: a computer can communicate with other machines through a network LAN (Local Area Network) or WAN (Wide Area Network) or internet.

What are categories of computers?

Computers generally are classified according to their size, speed, processing capabilities, and price.

1.      Personal computer (PC) also called desktop computers or microcomputer. A laptop is classified as a PC.  PCs are used in offices or public computer labs.

2.      Server: is used to support networks, it is used by 2 to 1000 people at the same time. One server can be as expensive as 150.000 USD.

3.      Other categories are minicomputers, mainframe computers, and supercomputers. 

What are computer programs?

1.      Operating system software: such as Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP, and NT, Linux, OS/6.

2.      Application software: such as MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop, PageMaker, Internet Explorer, Netscape, Notepad

What are computer security, privacy, and ethics?

1.      Virus: an illegal computer program, code that can alter programs or destroy data. Virus can copy itself into programs on hard drive, floppy disk or any other removable disks.

2.      System failure: damage, failure caused by fire, water, and electrical power problems (do backups often on removable disks for future use or in case of system failure).

3.      Information theft: access information without permission. Confidential information must be protected from intruders.

4.      Hardware theft and vandalism: stealing any physical material and damaging the equipment due to improper care. 

Note:

This is not the exhaustive list of what you can expect to learn from the introduction to computer literacy course. The teacher will supplement this list with additional material, useful and new information as needed.

Initiation to Microsoft Windows

Windows is an operating system software owned by Microsoft Inc. Windows dominates the personal computer world, estimates show that 90% of all personal computers run Windows operating system. Like the Macintosh operating environment, Windows provides a graphical user interface (GUI), virtual memory management, multitasking, and support for many peripheral devices such as printers and scanners. From initiation to Microsoft Windows you can expect to learn the following things: 

Some Keywords 

Using a mouse: single left click, double left click, right click, and drag 

Icon:  A small graphic symbol that represents a program, file, or folder on a computer. Clicking on an icon with a mouse generally causes the program to run, the folder to open, or the file to be displayed (if possible). 

Windows desktop: Taskbar, My Computer, Internet Explorer, Network Neighborhood, Recycle Bin, My Briefcase, Shortcut icon, Program, Folder, and Document icons.

Restart (turn on) and shutdown (turn off) a computer: From start menu, Ctrl+Alt+Delete, turn ON and OFF button.

Change date and time: From start menu (Settings) or double click on time in lower right corner of toolbars.

Shortcuts: Creating a shortcut, renaming a shortcut, deleting a shortcut.

Wallpaper: background displaying on your desktop, changing the wallpaper

Screen saver: Active, moving background when a computer has been inactive for a while. If the same image stays on the screen for too long, there is a danger that the image will leave a permanent imprint on the screen. Screen savers help prevent this possibility by providing a constantly changing image.

Drives: They are used to store data. Ex. Hard disk (C:\) , floppy disk (A:\), CD drive (E:\, D:\ etc)

Folders: Used to organize information stored on drives, files are stored in folders. Create a new folder and subfolders, renaming a folder, copy and paste a folder to a different location, deleting a folder

Files: Create a file in application program and save it in a folder, renaming a file, copy and paste a file, and deleting a file.

Make a selection: Copy, paste, and delete

Opening a program: Use Notepad or Word as an example

What is a window? A window is an area on your desktop within which all Windows-based programs run.

Parts of a window: Use Word or Notepad as an example, title bar, minimize button, restore button maximize button, closing button, toolbar, menu bar, work area.

Open many windows at the same time: Yes, how do switch between windows, moving windows a round on desktop. 

Scrollbars and how they work: Scrolling vertically or sideways (from left to right or right to left).

Saving a file: Make a backup of your information on a floppy disk (copy and paste a file to a floppy disk)

Formatting a floppy disk

Finding a file on your computer, search for a file or folder.

Word processing using “Microsoft Word”

 The most widely used computer application is word processing. Word processing is used to create documents such as letters, memo, reports etc.  A major advantage of word processing is the ability to easily change what has been done, add, delete, and rearrange words, sentences, or entire section of a document, and store. From word processing course you can expect to learn, but are not limited to, the things listed below.    

Presentation graphics “Microsoft PowerPoint” 

Presentation graphics software, like MS PowerPoint, allows you to create documents called slides that are used in making presentations before a group of people. Slides can be displayed on a large monitor or projected on screens. You can create slides, print, and distribute them as hard copies. Create slides and copy them to other applications, such as Word and Excel, produce certificates, posters, etc. From the MS PowerPoint course you can expect to learn, but are not limited to, the things listed below.  

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