Technology Training Resources

Here are some resources that can help trainers in their work.

General Training Resources

Although some of these resources discuss training in more general terms and others focus on specific topics, such as instructional design and adult learning theory, these are excellent background resources to help you shape your training plan.

Adult Learning Theory/Learning Styles

"The Adult Learner: The Definitive Classic in Adult Education and Human Resource Development," by Malcolm S. Knowles

This is the definitive textbook on adult learning theory. If you want to explore adult theory and pick up some practical ideas, this is the book you should add to your collection.

Adult Learning: Teaching Tips

This collection is full of useful instructional resources for trainers who work with adult learners.

About.com: What is Your Learning Style?

Tailoring training content to trainees' learning styles is important in making training effective. This article explores different learning styles and teaches how to analyze the learning styles of the people you are training.

Instructional Design, Techniques and Curriculum Development

"Designing Effective Instruction," by Gary R. Morrison, Steven M. Ross, and Jerrold E. Kemp

This book helps trainers develop training materials that are adaptable to different audiences and explains the pros and cons of different training formats.

"Instructional Design," by Patricia L. Smith, and Tillman J. Ragan

In this book, you'll find an excellent introduction to instructional design. Although it's structured like a textbook, it's loaded with valuable information about how to make your classes have the most impact possible.

Tips for Facilitators

This site has very useful information, including how to persuade people that training games produce effective learning and how to deal with silence from your audience. The information will help beginning trainers and more experienced ones.

Big Dog’s Learning Quotes

Use this list of quotes to enhance your training materials.

List of Downloadable Resources for Planning Training

This list includes ice-breakers, tips for team facilitators, a planning checklist for training, and ways to close a session.

Optimism and Creativity

Although seemingly unrelated to the "why" and "how-to" of training, this site includes useful methods for kick-starting your brain when you’re in a creative slump and need to generate some new training ideas.

Training Materials Design – a Bibliography

This resource includes more than 20 recommendations from the American Society of Training and Development specifically related to training design.

Computer Strategies

This professional development company provides customized coaching on-site and online for teachers. The Web site includes an extensive collection of Web resources on technology professional development. Although much of the material is geared for a K-12 audience, there are many useful links.

Technology and Multiple Intelligences

This article, by Thomas R. Hoerr, looks at the connection between technology instruction and Gartner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory.

Staffdevelop.org

This site was created by Jamie McKenzie, the editor of "From Now On," an educational technology journal. The site is filled with thought-provoking articles about teaching adults technology.

Overcoming the Comfort Zone

This article, by John Darling, offers advice about encouraging the adoption of new technologies.

The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology

This is a comprehensive resource with links to instructional techniques for technology training.

How To Help Someone Use A Computer

Written by Phil Agree, this resource is a good quick list of tips for one-on-one training.

Organizational Training Plans

Suggestions to Enrich Any Training and Development Plans

Relatively brief and succinct, this article takes you through a process that will help you develop an effective training plan. This page also includes links to many other training sites.

Complete Guidelines to Design Your Training Plan

The title says it all. Carter McNamara provides links within his text so that you can learn more about each step of the training design process.

Technology Training Subject Matter

Find curriculum ideas, workshop materials, and other resources that will help you create materials and lessons for your technology training classes.

TrainingPoint

TrainingPoint provides examples of technology curricula developed for and by nonprofit organizations. Created by CompassPoint, TrainingPoint is an experimental project that is driven by its community of users. TrainingPoint lets users upload and download freely distributable technology curricula. It is a one-stop shopping site for excellent training examples developed and tested by nonprofits.

ONE/Northwest

Although they target their services to environmental organization in the Pacific Northwest, this group's online resources are available to anyone. They have a good library of "jargon-free" how-to articles on subjects including effective online research, hardware and software use, and virus protection.

NPower Seattle

This site includes tools for designing and implementing an in-house training program and a list of online training resources.

NPower New York

NPower New York has tips and tutorials for Web design, computer basics, accessibility issues, Microsoft Office applications.

Dot Org Media

This organization publishes a free e-mail newsletter called "Dot Org" that covers topics such as ASPs, online advocacy, fundraising, and Web presence. The e-newsletter archive contains all past issues. You can use these to help you craft training sessions on various Internet-related issues.

Summit Collaborative's Summit Collaborative’s ‘Strategic Technology’ Toolkit

This toolkit contains a wide variety of resources for trainers. The materials are designed to help nonprofit organizations assess, plan, and implement effective technology training programs.

SlipStick

This is an excellent resource for how-to information and tip sheets for Microsoft Outlook and Exchange.

Computer Training Resources

This Bay Area corporate training center offers computer training for desktop, Internet, and technical applications. The Web site offers two very valuable resources, even if you don’t sign up for the training; the site includes a class outline and skill assessment for over 100 software packages, including every flavor of Microsoft Office.

Microsoft Training Resources

Microsoft's Web site has content that is useful when developing mini-lessons and how-to instructions for Office and Windows. Here’s a brief list to get you started:

• Microsoft Office How-To
• Finding Training Courses for Office
• Search for Lesson Plan

Cheltenham Computer Training

This site offers quality IT courseware and computer training resources. You can download free samples that can be used as a jumping-off point for planning mini-lessons and other training classes.

Lynda Weinman

Lynda Weinman's site includes an extensive list of articles, courses, and books for professional Web design.

WebMonkey

This is a comprehensive resources for Web site development, and it includes many how-to articles, online tutorials, and tip sheets.