DRAFT

The goal of training end-users is to enable them to work better and more efficiently. Training others means spending time, while we are often very busy. But sometimes, if we're very busy, it's because people have usage questions that they wouldn't have had or problems that wouldn't have arisen if we had trained them better. So training is an investment of time, but an investment that pays off. First, users will be more efficient. Secondly, in the medium term, we will be less in demand, leaving us more time for other things. We need to train people to need us less and less, to be more and more autonomous. We should not be afraid of this.

End users are our customers. They are there to advance Bible translation and we are there for them. We need to make sure that they can work in the best possible conditions. IT is a tool, but we need to know how to use it so that it saves us time. The aim of training is to help people make the most of technology in their work, to skill and empower them. It will reduce errors and increase efficiency. This is an added value for the organization.

Here are just a few examples of areas in which to train people: 

• the hardware aspect of the equipment: identifying the different parts, how to handle it with care, how to do basic maintenance
• the operating system: file management, storage
• the software useful for the organization: business software, videoconferencing by Zoom, Skype or Meet
• Google Workspace: calendars, personal and shared drive,  emails
• Internet: what it is, how to search for information, how to add favorites

It is also important to train users in computer security. The best security can be undermined by poorly trained users. We will look at threats to familiarize them with the risks, the importance of good passwords, password managers, installation of patches, backups (including in LT software).

Generally speaking, any training effort must be discussed with the human resources department and the management. These departments need to see the importance of training and support these initiatives. It will be necessary to establish together when and how  training should be provided. Human resources should support the importance of training with official information. 

Once the modalities have been chosen, we can imagine regular awareness-raising emails. Please consult here a link to a Publisher file with security tips you can use. After you send these emails you could meet with users to discuss the content.

When and how should user training be organized? This can be when people start their work assignment via an initial IT orientation. This can be arranged during training workshops (look here for a helpful presentation on how to plan and teach a workshop). If the training takes place during a workshop, it is important to distribute the material well and to have quality training materials. You also need to understand your audience. User levels can be very different and you need to make sure that no one is disappointed by content that is too simple or too complicated. You need to organize your content in a logical, sequential, and easily digestible way. Last but not least, it is important to request feedback from the participants to constantly improve your content and practice. Please have a look at this resource file regarding Learning That Lasts principles and build your training based on these recommendations. 

The training can also take place in self learning via Google classroom. SIL offers information security awareness courses for end-users on course-connections.sil.org. It is also possible to plan more personalized sessions, on a one-to-one basis or in very small groups.

For example, get the senior executives together. Explain to them that they can be subject to personalized phishing. Ensure they understand their responsibilities with regards to the sensitive data they access. To make them aware of the best practices regarding the use of removable media, etc.   

Africa ICT services has gathered training material from entities. You can find here a document with computer basic skills and a list of websites for basic training courses. Here are teaching materials used for IT training at iDelta. This drive contains helpful resources for training users on Google Workspace (you may want to have a look at this training webinar).