Ron Schenone

Teach Yourself Visually Series Of Books For Newbies

Posted by on Oct 2, 2009 | 3 Comments

I received a comment from reader Kim who asked me what books I would recommend for someone who was new to computers? It is hard to believe that in a day and age where computers are so common that there is anyone who doesn’t know how to use a computer. But there are some folks who are just now taking the plunge into the wonderful world of computers and are just starting to surf the Internet.

In my past life [LOL], I taught computer classes at a local junior college where I lived. The classes were geared for adults only and I taught everything from Windows, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet – including surfing and emailing – plus an assortment of other computer subjects. I really enjoyed teaching these classes and did so for six years prior to my moving away from the area.

So when Kim asked me the question about which books I would recommend, I thought about the Teach Yourself Visually series of books. These books are extremely easy for newbies to use since they use simple pictures with an arrow, captioned with a ‘click here’ to get something done. These books are worth a look if your know of someone who is new to computing.

Are there any books you can recommend? Please let us know.

Comments welcome.

Amazon Web site for the Teach Yourself Visually series of books.

  • mhz

    Thanks for the info. I’m getting my wife one of those. She was just complaining last night. She is great with Photoshop, but struggles with some basic Windows Explorer functionality.

    She doesn’t want me to teach her about computers…a little embarrassed I guess. She has a college degree, but never had to learn how to create and organize folders on a hard drive. Appreciate the recommendation on this one.

    Sometimes we geeks find it hard to fathom, but people can be really smart while neither using, nor caring at all about computers.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Heh mhz,
    I hear you. We husbands make great lovers but lousy teachers! LOL
    I hope she finds the books helpful. Learning files and folders is a necessity not an option. :-)

  • Tracy

    I did in-home, basic PC lessons for years. I agree the visual series of books are fantastic- I never recommended anything else simply because no others are as easy to follow for the truly new user.

    The books walk you through each step with a bit of text (& pointers) and lots of pictures to show exactly what you will see. User confidence increases quickly. Another point to make is that whatever subject is being covered is basically shown on one set of pages- clear & concise. No flipping page to page to page.

    If someone you know is getting a first-time PC, be a hero and give them one of this series- they’ll love you for it.

    T