If you went to a free seminar on technology, what would you want to learn?

Question

My fiance is going with a group of people to an all girls private school for like a big technology seminar. The group of "techs" are suppose to come up with like a lesson plan and things to show to the group of students.

If you were a young woman in high school, and went to this kind of seminar at your school, what kind of things would you like to learn?

For example, would you like to learn how to network 2 computers together?
How to rid you computer of common viruses & spyware?
How to fix the most common errors on a computer?
How to choose the right computer for what you need?

He is trying to come up with some plans for the students. I thought I would go on here for him and ask students first hand.

The point of this seminar is to try and get more women in the technology/computer field.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Answer 1

It has been my recent work with colleges that most students (Male and Female) are most interested in learning about Security, How to deal with malicious software, and 3rd, oddly enough, I get a lot of requests to go over the Office suite.

If your fiancee is teaching or otherwise conducting a seminar targeting teens, MySpace will surely be on the question list of the students. I would have to say that teaching the 7 fundamentals of PC usage is without a doubt, the most important lesson anyone can learn. With the 7 fundamentals or Principles, the end user can figure out just about anything related to PC's (software).

For a list of the 7 Fundamentals, try visiting my Tech Support Site (www.comstar-computers.com).

Answer 2

I would love to see how easy it is to make Microsoft Programs work more compatibly with Adobe/Macromedia programs or for Microsoft products to work better together. For instance I have Microsoft Office 2000 and like to use Publisher for my website but I cannot get other objects, even some by Microsoft like Powerpoint, to work easily in a website created by Publisher. And forget cutting and pasting stuff from an Adobe PDF file and maintianing the structure or look of the type. And the learning curve of turning a PowerPoint presentation into Macromedia Flash is horrible. I used to tutor people and troubleshoot people's computers but it has driven to me to leave that business behind. I don't even care to build websites anymore because I am so stressed from the incompatibility. So, if the free teleconference had to do with supporting techies who are out in the field trying to help others who are still using "non supported" Microsoft products that would be great too. It's tough finding support online for every little thing that comes up and I have never felt right telling people they should just keep forking over the money to upgrade everytime Microsoft creates a new Windows environment. Oh and regarding viruses, how to keep anitvirus software from taking up so much of my ram that it slows down the performance of just about everthing I try to do on my computer. I got rid of all Antivirus stuff and have been using Trend Micro's free virus scan to keep my computer running faster. Have I helped at all?

Answer 3

You know, I'm not a woman. So please take my answer as empathetic and projected but not stereotyping. I'm just thinking about women I know in my field (tech) and what they do.

I think people think going into technology is scary and alienating. Or maybe it's too dry of a topic. I guess I'd try to focus on high-level things that are exciting. Like how fun photo manipulation is. Or how to record TV shows. I'm not saying that it should be a stupid class. Just, maybe more practical and socially acceptable.

For example, networking two computers is fun, but what does that buy you at home? What if you could take that networking example and extend it a little bit to show how to set up a home wireless network and listen to shared music libraries in iTunes (or whatever audio app)? Or wireless networking combined with folder sharing so you could watch videos on your couch that are stored in your home office?

I see lots of myspace html/css questions on yahoo answers, maybe a class on that. Hmm. Maybe I'd try to understand what the big turn-offs of tech is to young women. If it's too dry/boring/hard/mathy then I'd get a bunch of Macs and focus on really fun stuff like digital film, lightroom, creating online groups, working with Google Docs for collaborative writing, creating a photo-blog or home music recording.

Answer 4

I'd want to learn the protocols by which cell phone systems identify phones, map between ESN's and directory numbers, and determine which base station will handle a particular call.

Answer 5

I'd want to learn how to use all that vast knowledge effectively during an interview to get a job...