I have been tasked with creating a course called IT for non-IT Managers. This will cover the basic setup of our department, how we work and will explain some basic IT terminology.
Has anyone ever done anything like this before? Do you have any ideas of team activities I could use to get the content across, (don't won't it to be dull and boring!).
Thanks
Heather Stockwell
2 Responses
IT For Non IT Managers
Sometimes difficult to set up a course that can be delivered to a group. If they are totally non IT, you can use software such as Hot Potatoes (downloadable of Net) to help develop an inter active quiz. this will help you get terminology across if nothing else.
What are your objectives?
Hi Heather,
What are you hoping to achieve by the end of your training? Is it ‘Meet the team – we’re not IT nerds really?’ or are you giving the Managers a bit of knowledge so they can fix minor problems themselves? Is this a course that’s likely to be run regularly?
If it’s meet the team, then the night before or after your training I would arrange a night out – I have set up beer & skittles nights before with great success if you can get your company to pay for it! The competitive edge of the game ensures that people get to know each other pretty quickly (helped along by moderate amounts of beer!). Putting Managers against IT ensures that everyone will know someone already which will obviously put people at ease more quickly.
If it’s learn about IT then a pre-course fact finding is a must. Have a brief questionnaire asking for levels of IT knowledge and ask a few basic questions re: IT issues and see who gets them right. You will then have a clear understanding of who knows what so that you don’t patronise them with easy stuff or blow their minds with high end stuff. I once terrified a group of managers (who didn’t use PCs in their jobs) by showing them how to send an email with an attachment! Now I always find out what my audience’s knowledge is before I start!
Practical demos are good too – show them the right way to access the toner cartridge in the printer!
For a team game, I would print off cards with pictures of IT items and separate cards with their descriptions. You can either do something like ‘Snap’ or give each delegate a card and ask them to find their partner and explain to the group why they go together.
Hope this helps, Good Luck!