(Approx. 945 words)

Are You "Compuliterate?"
by Berry F. Phillips, member of the Computer Club of Oklahoma City and a regular writer for the CCOKC website and the eMonitor
bfpdata(at)1access.net
http://www.ccokc.org

"Compuliteracy" Test (unknown author)

1.         Who invented the computer? Mr. Chips, E.T., Marquis de Sade.
2.         What are microchips? What a herd of micros leave on the prairie,
         What you eat with a microdip, The reason you had to take all those computer literacy courses.
3.         What is a floppy disk? A painful lower-back condition, An album that didn't sell, A great Frisbee.
4.         What is the first thing you associate with computers? Bill Cosby
         commercials, Eyestrain & headaches, Annoying beeps, Three tons of printout where once there was a 3-page report, All of the above.
5.         What is FORTRAN? Between 3 and 5 tran, How to get computers excited before interface, Ridiculous.
6.         What is Pascal? A leafy vegetable, A foot fungus, A city in southern France, None of the above.
7.         When you need consulting help in deciding what to do with your computer, which organization do you think of? IBM, FBI, PLO?
8.         What is the most important computer peripheral? Bill Gates, Someone to operate the computer for you, Aspirin.

Some years ago, I was staring at a demo game computer with that blank stare of a computer illiterate in a large computer store. I felt a tug on my sleeve and there was a small lad who asked me rather impatiently, "Why don't you do something?" I confessed with great difficulty being an adult that I did not know what to do. This mini computer user said, "I will show you because I have this game at home." He began killing monsters right and left as I slunk out of the store in humiliation. I vowed from that day forward I would become computer literate because no eight year old was going to be more computer literate than I was!

I suspect you have some hands on computer experience since you are reading my column. Computer literacy is today a necessity when entering the job market. I remember when Time Magazine awarded the computer, their coveted Man of the Year which dramatically illustrated the incredible impact the personal computer has had on our contemporary society. Computer literacy does not mean you need to know everything about a computer but you should master the basics and understand how a computer works. I remember thinking that just because a person used a computer in a business that they must be computer literate. I discovered that many computer users only knew how to do limited applications necessary for them to do their specific work. Further, I noticed that many computer users due to lack of computer literacy were very limited in their use of their computers. Limited computer literacy usually translates into limited use of the computer never experiencing the full potential of the computer and maximizing their return on their computer investment.

What alternatives are available to accelerate one's level of computer literacy? Basic computer courses are offered by most continuing education programs. They are usually reasonably priced and conveniently scheduled. They can be found in your local school district, or community college on evenings and weekends. There are career retraining programs that often offer computer courses through your local Labor Department Office. There are also online courses and tutorials available and the public libraries have computers available to their patrons with Internet access.

I have found that computer clubs are an excellent choice for developing computer literacy since they are economical, and less theoretical and are more focused on how to operate the computer using various applications. Computer users helping other computer users move to the next level of computer literacy is an incredible learning and motivating experience. All of those who obtain computer literacy were once computer illiterates. As they were helped to reach computer literacy, they enjoy helping others as they were helped. You are never alone in your journey to reach computer literacy in a computer club; there is always another member to ask a question or to get hands on help. Many computer clubs have computer labs as does the Computer Club of Oklahoma City, www.ccokc.org (405-843-4300) which is also affiliated with the national Senior Net Users Group and the Association of PC Users Groups. If you are not in the Oklahoma City area, please contact the Association of PC Users Groups, www.apcug.org (800-558-6867) to check on an affiliated computer club in your area .

The sole objective of computer clubs is to help each other to reach computer literacy. We often hear from our members who have achieved computer literacy how when they started they wondered how they would ever use a computer and now how they will ever get along without a computer! The transition from computer illiteracy to literacy is truly amazing. Our mission is to help each other reach computer literacy with a variety of proven classes that will get you up too speed as soon as possible. The Computer Club of Oklahoma City believes the only unintelligent question is the unasked question! Obtaining computer literacy is not a luxury but an absolute necessity in our rapidly evolving technological society.

I hope that I remain "compuliterate" because those eight year olds are getting more and more "compuliterate" especially the older I get!

There is no restriction against any non-profit group using this article as long as it is kept in context with proper credit given the author. The Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an international organization of which this group is a member, brings this article to you.