How to search in rails from two models?

Best ICT literacy workshops and tech support models.

• Where can I find the best, proven basic ICT/Internet literacy workshops?Where can I find the best, proven models for providing limited technical support over the phone and via email? This is for teaching a small, disadvantaged group of people who have computer access in their homes how use their computers as a practical benefit in their difficult lives. We want to confer the basic knowledge to operate word processors, email and the Internet; to keep their computers running and secure; to get a hold of tech support when needed; and to learn how to use the Internet to search for and to navigate the medical, legal, financial, and commercial information specific to their situation that is available online. The heart of this educational process will be a two-day, five- to eight- hour workshop given thrice a year - once in each of three different areas. Imagine one instructor and five to ten students in a lab. The instructor is a person who is skilled at the internet and computer use, an able searcher, and has provided effective office tech support for years, but who has never taught a formal workshop. The proposed format for the workshops is this: Day two of the workshop will follow about two weeks after day one, with one or two practical exercises given in between via email. This can change. We will be giving a modicum of remote support (referrals for hardware stuff and anything we can't resolve within a few emails and phone calls) for these folks between the workshop days, and afterwards, for the forseeable future. The support relationship is as important as the workshops. Again, slightly techy, patient laypeople supporting laypeople who have been through the basic workshop and are motivated to learn. It will probably be one person in a charity who will be providing this support with a goodly part of their work-day. Are there any good methods or models of providing support in this fashion? Money is available to purchase this content. Thanks very much.

• Answer:

  Perhaps one way to develop it is to have a person of the target group watch our "able searcher" accomplish some tasks, making note of what it is they don't know how to do themselves. Then you and the able searcher can take this list, add some things to it, estimate the time to give it, and go. I don't think there are many "How to use the Internet Effectively" courses on the Internet. Maybe you can post yours on a free web host of reasonable quality (maybe http://pages.google.com) under a http://creativecommons.org license?