One of the best decisions you can ever make is to attend a computer training school. As I’ve written in several other articles, you have to ask the right questions before writing a check or taking out a student loan, but when you find the right school you are indeed on your way to a successful career.

There’s a big difference between attending a tech school and excelling at the classes, though. Whether you just “float through” the school or really work hard is totally up to you. From my personal experience at such a school, I’d like to offer you one simple tip that will quadruple your chances of success at the school and in the job market.

Get there early and stay late.

When I attended a tech school years ago, I admit I was surprised that most of my classmates had what I call the “junior high school” mentality - they would get there late and leave as soon as class is over. Guess what? You’re no longer in junior high. You’re attending this school to create a career for yourself. Get to class early, get some extra study and work in while you’re waiting for class to start, and then stay after class!

The most important part of your computer school studies is getting hands-on experience with the technologies that you’re learning. If you’re taking a Cisco class, you need to work with a router or switch as often as you can. If you’re learning a software program, you need to work with that program in the school’s labs as much as possible. Reading books alone will not teach you everything you need to know. The best time to get extra work in is after class. You may not be able to work in the computer labs at night if the school offers night classes, but odds are there are very few people in there during the afternoon. You need to be one of those people.

Doing only what is required of you is not the path to excellence. You need to go beyond the requirements of the school and invest the extra time and effort into your career. I speak from experience - there is no field in the world that rewards individual effort more than the IT field. Develop the habit of going “above and beyond” today, and this will pay huge dividends for you in the future.

Chris Bryant

Technorati Tags: computer courses, computer training, microsoft training

Everyone really want a fast hot computer when we want to do some business computing and when we want to play those high speed games.But we don’t want a fast and Hot computer in the literal sense.

Heat will destroy any computer component if not removed in time.And the CPU Chip is one of the main components of your system that produces heat.

The heat sink has the all important task of keeping the CPU Chip cool so it does not overheat.And there may be times when the heat sink will fail to perform its job and must be changed.

Changing the heat sink on your central processing unit or CPU chip is a simple job.And the best part is that you only need a small screwdriver,cotton swabs,and some rubbing alcohol.

To change the heat sink remember to think safety first.This means that you want to be sure you have clean hands,a clean work place,and removing all static charge from your body by touching a door knob or any other metal object.

Once you have a suitable work area and clean hands you should now have a clean suitable mind as well. Allow this task to be both educational and fun.To change the heat sink perform the following.

Step 1.Unplug the computer and remove the cover from the System Unit case.

Step 2. Find the CPU Chip and the heat sink will be on top.Find the wires that go to the motherboard and very carefully unplug them.

Step 3. Remove the old heat sink and cooling fan assembly.Most Pentium based computers will have two levers that lock the heat sink in place.

On older Pentium computers,the AMD Athlon and the Duron processor,look for a ZIF or Zero Insertion Force socket where the processor is mounted.

Gently release the clips by sliding a very small screwdriver blade underneath it and lift the heat sink off the CPU.Take great care here do you don’t damage the cpu chip in any way.

Step 4. Once the old heat sink has been removed, clean away the old thermal paste using cotton swabs and rubbing alcohol.Allow time for the CPU to dry.

Step 5. Grab some thermal paste and squeeze a little onto the top of the CPU.Only place enough to have a thin layer between the CPU and Heat Sink.

Step 6. Before installing the new heat sink, clean the bottom off with some warm, soapy water. Check to be sure the Heat Sink is dry before installing it.

Step 7. Carefully line it up over the ZIF socket and processor if so equipped.If the computer have the newer Pentium or Athlon based chip,lock the two clips holding the assembly.

Step 8. With the CPU and heat sink firmly in place, now its time to re-connect the fan wires for the cooling fan.Plug the assembly into the motherboard.

Step 9. Check,double check,and after that,check some more to be sure all connections are in place.See if the heat sink assembly is well secured in its socket.

Step 10. Now replace the system unit cover,plug any peripherals you disconnected.Start the PC and the computer should now realize it has a new device in its system.

Once the computer has been booted up,check to be sure the Operating System is working.If possible, look at rear of the computer to see if the fan is operating as it should.

The Central Processing Unit is not the only heat producing component in your computer.But since its the brains of any computer,you want to be sure the heat sink performs at its best.

Take the time to learn this procedure in detail by removing the case and looking at the heat sink in your own computer.Knowing how to perform this task can save you money should you need to change your heat sink in the future.

Otis F. Cooper

Technorati Tags: computer cooling, computer training, usb fan cooling

As a computer service company manager, it’s your job to motivate your employees. You need to be familiar with the many motivational strategies in order to assure your computer service company runs smoothly. Your business will enjoy more success if your employees enjoy their jobs and feel pushed to do their best.

How to Motivate Employees

A successful motivational strategy will recognize an employee’s work, make him feel in control of his job and be satisfying for him. The following techniques can be used to help managers get the most out of their computer service company staff: make the job worker-friendly; evaluate jobs that aren’t challenging or are monotonous; involve workers in every aspect of the job, including the planning process.

Worker-Friendly Jobs

A computer service company will undoubtedly come across unenthusiastic employees at some point. The lack of enthusiasm can be attributed to a variety of factors; he might be in the office all day, or just in charge of one part of the business. Any of these factors can make for an incredibly dull workday, and as a responsible manager you will need to reevaluate this employee’s job and try to make it more worker-friendly. Maybe you can diversify the parts the employee is in charge of servicing. Regardless of what you do, the goal is to help the employee feel a sense of accomplishment and be more interested in his job.

Enrichment

When you enrich a job, you rework it to make it more challenging or diversify the tasks involved. Train employees stuck answering phones all day in the office to complete other aspects of business, such as sales outside that give him direct contact with customers. Training employees in this way will also allow you to be more flexible with job assignments.

Total Involvement

As a manager you can motivate his team further by allowing staff to help him set weekly goals, quotas or business standards. The team members will know what they can achieve and will set goals for themselves rather than backing out because they don’t know what to expect. Give your employees the chance to work independently to set goals and step in only when necessary. Your employees will be pushed to work harder and your computer service company will be more likely to grow and thrive.

Copyright MMI-MMVII, Small Business Computer Consulting .com. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

by:Joshua Feinberg

Technorati Tags: computer training, motivating staff, windows services

SCORM/AICC Standards Used in Web-based Learning Management Systems
 by: David Boggs

Learning management systems can be very complex. Viable learning management systems are SCORM/AICC compliant. In this article, I will provide a basic explanation of the SCORM/AICC standard used in the marketplace today by many learning management systems.

What is a learning management (more…)

Technorati Tags: computer training

The explosion of multimedia in our world today is mind-boggling. Multimedia graphics, animation and interactive flash are everywhere, from television, the internet, computer and video games, to billboards, and even your mobile phones.

This in turn is boosting the demand for professionals in the multimedia and graphics industry. Positions available in the industry are wide ranging, including multimedia/graphics designer, flash designer, photo editor and illustrator. Each of these roles requires a certain set of skill sets to marry creativity and technology.

To learn more, I went on to the internet to find out what kind of training courses are available and how I can pick up the skillset. I learned that training for multimedia/ graphics design applications are widely available from vendors, authorized training centers, local computer training schools, on DVDs or even on the internet. Classroom training offers tremendous advantages, as a trainer is available for the duration of the course to answer questions or provide additional real-life case studies or insights.

However, I find that more and more people are now turning to online training programs that offer the convenience of learning from their desktop anytime, anywhere. The key advantage of online training is that the programs are divided into multiple, short lessons such that only one software feature is taught for a 5-minute training segment.

For instance, a 2-hour training program on Photoshop will be divided into various categories such as Brush Tools, Color Adjustments, Effects, Vector Tools, and Filters. Each category is then further divided into various individual lessons on the key features or functions.

As the learner, you get greater flexibility. You can focus only on the specific features that you need to use for a particular design job on a particular day, giving you the ultimate “on-the-job” training.

One of the sites that offer this form of online training IT courses is http://www.MultimediaGraphicsDesign.com. It has a collection of over 300 online video guided courses for multimedia graphics design. And they also offer another 200 over video courses in business programming. The applications covered are very wide and I feel very comprehensive for those who are interested to pick up IT skills. Their videos are very modular and easy to follow. You can control the videos with the start, pause, rewind, forward buttons. I checked with interest and found below are some of the key courses offered:

○ Adobe Illustrator

○ Adobe InDesign

○ Adobe Photoshop

○ Adobe Captivate

○ Adobe After Effects

○ Adobe Flash

○ Search Engine Optimization

○ Sony Sound Forge

○ Sony Vegas

○ 3D Studio Max

○ Final Cut Pro

○ Discreet 3ds Max

○ Apple QuickTime Pro

○ CorelDRAW!

○ Macromedia Dreamweaver

○ Macromedia Flash

○ Macromedia Freehand

○ Microsoft FrontPage

○ Microsoft Publisher

○ QuarkXpress

○ Microsoft .Net

○ Microsoft Visual Basic

○ Microsoft Office

○ Cisco

○ C Programming

○ FileMaker

○ MYOB

○ Symantec

○ Oracle 10g

○ MySQL etc

○ …and many more

Go visit the website http://www.MultimediaGraphicsDesign.com if you are interested. They have demo videos for you to watch.

Bernard Ngoh is

Technorati Tags: computer training, freelance graphic design, graphic design career

We all know that we should back up our system as soon as possible.But if you’re like most of us,you will get to it tomorrow.The problem is that tomorrow rarely ever comes until you experience a serious computer failure and then its too lake.

Taking the time to backup your data or entire hard drive is not as painstaking as it may seem.And the rewards of doing so will be great should your system experience a crash.

WINDOWS AND OTHER BACKUP SOFTWARE

If you have Windows XP you willl need to install the new Windows backup ultility from the Windows XP cdrom.Just place the WinXP cdrom in your cdrom drive and locate the line D:VALEADDMSFTNTBACKUP.

Here you see the first letter as D but if your optical drive have a different drive letter,exchange the D with your drive’s letter.To install the utility,click on the file named NTBackup.msi.

The backup utility will be installed to the system tools group. Click Start,All Programs,Accessories,System Tools,and Backup.There is a neat wizard that will walk you through the backup process.

WinXP’s backup utility will backup your entire hard drive and will make a recovery disk to boot.

One neat third party backup software you can try is NewTech InfoSystems at http://www.ntius.com where you can download their trial version and put it to use for 30 days.And if its your cup of tea,the full version will run you about $79.95

INCREMENTAL OR DIFFERENTIAL BACKUPS

You should back up your entire hard drive when you perform your first backup.After that it is best to perform an Incremental backup.This type of backup only allow you to backup files that have changed since your last performed backup.

Differential Backups copy changed files and files that have been added since you last did your entire backup. This type of backup is more detailed than incremental backups and is easier to restore.

BACKUP STORAGE DEVICES

You can backup your files on cdroms and have the files compressed to save both space and backup time.WinXP will compress folders,subfolders,and files during backup.

You can purchase compression software that will do the same saving you cdrom storage space.The compressed files are automatically uncompressed once they are restored unto your hard drive.

You can also use a second hard drive as your backup storage device.We use two backup hard drives to be certain Ultimate PC Repair is up and running 24/7.

You can either purchase an internal hard drive in install it to your ide cable or you may want to purchase an external hard drive that connects to your Universal Serial Bus or USB Port.

The advantage of the external drives is that they have very large amount of storage space,transfer data fast,and can be moved from your computer to any other computer.

We use the Western Digital 170 Gigabyte External Hard Drive and we simply bounce it around to either one of our four computers with the greatest of ease.

USING ONLINE BACKUP SERVICES

You may also consider online services for backing up your data.If you lose all your backup data,say due it a natural dissaster such as a flood,your online data is right there waiting for you.

Another advantage of online backups is that you can access,upload,or download your data from any location. It is best to use high speed internet access if you’re considering online data storage.

One such online backup service is Istorage located at http://www.iomega.com/istorage and charges from $2.49 a month for 50MBs to $17.95 a month for a big 1,000MBs of storage.

Or you can check out FilesAnywhere located at the url http://www.filesanywhere.com

Still another online service to try is CapSure located at http://www.capsure.com

Backup your system now in one way or another if you have not done so.If you have critical data that you simply cannot due without,take the time to invest in a backup device or one of the many online backup services.

Stop and perform those backups as soon as possible. You will be thankful you did should something go wrong with your computer.Its always better to be safe than sorry.

by: Otis F Cooper

Technorati Tags: backup windows xp, computer training, hard drive backup

Although training schools vary according to the career training programs that they are offering to the public, the following career training can be found in most training schools across the United States.

- Automotive Technology career training will help you in the repair of automobiles. It includes the diagnosis and repair of different automobile parts such as brakes, suspension, electrical, air-conditioning, and overall engine performance system. The skills and knowledge that you will acquire here will help you in getting national and state certifications.

- Business Support Services career training will teach you to compose and edit business-type documents using the computer. Different aspects of business support, such as communication, accounting, and human relations, are also tackled during the training.

- Woodworking career training will expose you to different technical knowledge, like cabinetmaking and millwork. You will be trained in the operation of different processing equipment as well as power tools and techniques in working with wood.

- Culinary Arts career training will teach you about large-quantity food preparation and serving. Particular places of instruction are the school cafeteria and restaurants affiliated with the training school. It also offers courses in sanitation, nutrition, and supervision.

- Drafting career training is where you will learn all about technical vocabularies, technical drawing, and its application. In addition, you will be working with the latest equipment and software in the field of drafting.

- In Electronics career training, you will learn to install, troubleshoot, and repair different types of equipment. There are also courses specializing in radio, telephone, and data transmission circuits.

- You will be trained to be a Certified Nursing Assistant in Health career training. You will be working with a nursing home facility after you have completed the training. After that, you will be prepared for your State Certification examination.

- In Machine Technology career training, you will be trained in handling different kinds of machines such as lathes, milling machines, and grinders. You will also learn to use the hand tools required to finish or assemble different parts.

- Retail Marketing career training will teach you about customer service, cash handling, inventory, and promotion or advertising.

* What training resources are available online?

There are several training resources that are available to you online, whatever line of work you want to engage in. These include:

1. E-learning solutions,

2. Online training programs,

3. Interactive training classes in real time, and

4. Visual hands-on programs that include online tutorials and training methods

* What is eLearning?

eLearning is a type of instruction found on the Internet. There are numerous purposes it serves, including the following:

- It is used by companies to train their personnel as well as to inform their clients and business partners about their products, services, and company policies.

- It is sometimes used in distance learning, saving an individual the time, hassle, and expense of commuting to a classroom.

- It can also be used as a promotional tool to educate the public about their rights as citizens. Instead of sending out paper flyers and conduct large-scale sessions to educate the public, the internet can relay the necessary information.

Fred Tuxton

Technorati Tags: computer training

Whether you are at the tender age of 8 or are pushing 90, computer training will make your life easier and definitely can open up a range of learning that you never thought possible. Taking part in a computer-training course is made available in all elementary schools up to special college courses that entail exceptional programs and a dizzying array of delivery formats.

Children learn computers at an alarming rate, their minds soak up the broad reaches of computers and more importantly their minds are open to the computer technology hardware and software. Some children even show an astonishing propensity for coding and programming at a very early age.

Computer training courses are in general held online, though of course, some can be accomplished through actual classroom study. Regardless of the method used, all computer-training courses start with the basics.

Basics usually begin by introducing hardware. One should learn the physical parts to a computer such as output devices, input devices, the system unit, storage devices, communication devices and finally peripheral devices.

Software is next, and should cover the elementary basics such as the differences between system software and application software. It will be important for you to learn the essential diversity between shareware, freeware, public domain software and commercial software.

You will also learn how software is introduced into a computer and the various methods that can be used and which to use depending on various situations. Also, you’ll be able to identify which system software is built into a computer and why.

Operating systems will be covered for you and how they interact with various software. The training will cover the differences between text interfaces and graphic user interfaces and what each accomplishes for the user.

You’ll learn about all the different application software that is out there, and what each does for you. Also you will learn which are considered the best software to use depending on the specific results you desire.

Finally the training course should intensely cover utilities, and what they do for a computer as well as what benefits they give the operator. You will learn all about anti-virus utilities, and disk management software.

As an adjunct to your basic computer training, good courses go one step further and teach you how to properly maintain and protect your computer so that you will not have to deal with malware, and assorted computer viruses. You also should learn the basics of computer ethics, privacy and security.

Eventually you should progress through the use of computer applications in education, such as educational research, management, as well as learning and instruction.

Once you have learned those basics, computer-training courses also teach you how to properly “surf” the Internet, making use of the best search engines, and refining those engines in order for you to access the exact information you are seeking every time. The world of the Internet is wide open to everyone who has a computer and a connection, and it’s truly amazing what a computer can do for you!

James Copper

Technorati Tags: computer training, training and development, training classes

Learning or improving your ‘Basic Computer Skills’ faster all on your own can be very difficult, especially if you didn’t grow up using computers or you never studied Computer Science in school. Some people spend months or even years, just to learn ‘How to Use A Computer’ on their own.

The amount of time you spend in learning the basics of a computer, on your own will depend on your chosen method of learning and the amount of time you’re ready to devote for your studies. Regular students can achieve their goals faster, as regard to a non regular student. This is because a regular student is prepared to devote more time for his/her studies than someone who has a regular job or very tight daily schedules.

If you want to learn or improve your ‘Basic Computer Skills’ faster, it’s highly recommended that you start your learning through the use of ‘Video Lessons’ or Video tutorials. This will no doubt help you to master or improve your ‘Computer Skills’ faster. But if you choose to begin learning how to use a computer from just books, the chances of mastering your skills faster, is much lower than when learning from ‘Video Tutorials’ or video lessons.

Learning ‘Computer Science Skills’ faster or learning how to use a computer on your own can be very difficult for any new computer user, more especially if he/she never used a computer before. It’s also even harder for regular computer users’ to improve their ‘Basic Computer Science Skills’ faster, if they don’t use computer often, or don’t have a personal computer of their own at home.

So when you want to learn computer basics faster on your own, or to improve your present computer skills, it’s better to start your studies from video lessons. Learning computer science skills from just books only is proven to suit regular students. But not for anyone who don’t have enough time to devote to learning new skills together with his/her regular job or daily schedules.

There are so many basic computer skills learning products on sale, on the internet today and even on the high street shops. But one has to be very careful, when choosing a product to buy for his/her learning’s, or for improving one’s skills faster. If you settle for a wrong or a product that’s not easy to understand and follow, you may discover the instructor/teacher is even talking computer himself. This certainly will hinder your ability to master your skills faster.

Another important thing to consider before choosing the right product to buy for your studies is the out-put of the video training product. Most computer training video lectures on sale are recorded on just Audio CDs/CD-ROMs. This can limit your chances of learning computer basics faster on your own, if you don’t have a personal computer at home.

But if you can find one that’s available on a simple DVD, one that can let you learn, improve and master your ‘Computer Science Skills’ faster from your home DVD player, it’s definitely a better option to settle for. As you can learn or improve your skills faster. Even if you don’t have a personal computer at home. You can simply insert the disc in your home DVD player and watch it at any time (just like a movie), and at the same time, learning your desired new skills.

By: Fredrick Ituma
[AffomaticEbay]computer[/AffomaticEbay]

Technorati Tags: computer information system, computer programming degree, computer training