October is Computer Learning Month

Along with cooler weather comes the month of October. October is also designated as Computer Learning month. Basic computer skills are necessary to perform many online tasks like paying bills, shopping, checking the latest news, watching for weather alerts, finding information, ordering prescription refills, online banking transactions, and more.  Employers are requiring basic computer skills to obtain employment within their companies, as well as, knowledge of some advanced computer skills. Classes, either online or in-person, are an excellent method of learning computer skills. The advantage of online courses are the self-paced instructions found in these courses.  You can listen to videos, pause to take notes, and review the course until you have mastered the skills. There are many online courses available for free through the St. Tammany Parish Library. To access the library's courses, visit our website, opens a new window, go to Online Library, and then click Online Courses, opens a new window.

After getting to Online Courses, you'll find many resources that have computer classes. One resource is the Computer Skills Center by EBSCO Learning Express, opens a new window. The Computer Skills Center has computer classes that cover basic computer skills to more advanced Microsoft software tools, including Access, PowerPoint, Office, One Drive, OverLook, Visio, and SharePoint Designer. Word, Excel, One Note, and Outlook are also included in the Computer Skills Center's offerings. In order to take a class, the Computer Skills Center requires you to register for a free account which allows you to access not only the course, but also allows you to access instructional eBooks and other tutorials as well. My Learning Center is a feature of The Computer Skills Center that allows you to save your progress in your computer courses, tutorials, and computer instructional eBooks for later use. The courses are self-paced, and you can review courses and practice until you have mastered the skills in the courses.

DigitalLearn.org, opens a new window is another resource found under Online Courses. DigitalLearn.org has basic computer classes to assist in learning how to use the computer, navigating a website, email instructions, and use of Windows (versions 7 and 10) and Mac computers.

GCFLearnFree.org, opens a new window is another resource for computer instruction. GCFLearnFree.org has many computer classes that cover basic skills to software training in Microsoft Office. Also, there are instructions on improving typing skills, computer mouse practice, and Internet safety tips. Other courses on GCFLearnFree.org's website cover smartphone and tablet basics.These resources, the Comptuer Skills Center by EBSCO Learning Express, DigitalLearn.org, and GCFLearnFree.org, can be accessed from home or by visiting one of the library's branches.