TEXT TRANSCRIPT
Narrator:
In business today, your success can be directly related to how you present yourself and the skills you have when applying for a job. And more and more those skills include the use of technology-related tools. So in an effort to improve job-seekers' skills with technology, Crystal Hack and David Baker with the Central Illinois Adult Education Center in Quincy, Illinois, are working with their students to use technology effectively to present themselves and their skills.
Hack:
The students in the classroom are all T.A.N.F. clients, which is Temporary Aid to Needy Families. They are... they have to be some type of welfare recipient. It was a... put out there are a chance to get some skills, brush up on some skills, get a chance to work on the computers that maybe they wouldn't get anywhere else, and it was free. The second day we got right into PowerPoint. Because, why? Why would you dive into PowerPoint first? Because it's something that you can produce, and look at, and it looks really neat, and interesting, and actually it looks quite, you know, "techie," and it's something that doesn't take that much to teach someone how to do all these really wonderful things.
Baker:
The very first PowerPoint project we did was an "All About Me," where you kind of told everyone else about you, and was ...left somewhat open-ended for them to go in many different directions, and the reason we did it that way was because we wanted them to take off in whatever direction they had, and when the question came up, "How do I do this? How do I do this?", we answered it, and pretty soon we had some people who really, really knew what they were doing, that were... it was great, because they were helping the other students out at that point.
Hack:
And another thing I think with the "All About Me":
We gave them a topic that they didn't have to research. I mean, who knows more about them than they do? And so, it wasn't something that they really needed to, "Oh, well, not only do I not know about this software, but this topic they've given me is just..." I mean, they know about themselves, so all they had to do was take what they know and put it on, you know, their PowerPoint presentation. After that very first day of dealing with PowerPoint, they wanted to be on those computers. And they wanted to go above and beyond just putting the words down:
they wanted to use clip art; they wanted to use Word Art; they wanted to put sound in there... I mean, it was just amazing!
So, it was a hooking tool, and a self-esteem tool, and maybe even a communication tool, because we want them to put that in their portfolio as an example of what they can now do on the computer, and use that to sell themselves to an employer. The resume writing, of course, that's going to go in and be a part of the portfolio, as the spreadsheet examples that they've done to show that they have spreadsheet experience.
Baker:
One, their fear is gone of computers, and two, if they go into a new situation where they're using some new software, something they've never seen, something we haven't shown them, well, we've shown them a variety... we've used both Windows and Macintosh computers, out of necessity, not because we did on purpose, but they've seen both of those environments, and they've seen all these different kinds of applications. So I think it's given those overall kind of computer skills that they'll need, so they can transfer those to other applications when they... when they're faced with them in the workplace.
Student 1:
I got into this project really to... update some skills that I didn't have before, and I had been out of work since May 1 of last year, so I'm really kind of rusty. Some, you know, haven't worked in a long time. I came from a history of working for years and years of steady work in the same job, for nine years, and then out, you know, because of lack of work. So I had to, like, reinvent myself and learn new skills, and this class has been a great opportunity to do that. You want to know, "Are you presenting a good package to that company?" "Are you able to take on this responsibility in today's workforce?" I've never worked with PowerPoint before, and I have family that, you know, I'm just into computers, and I got to show them a thing or two.
Student 2:
My skills, when I come into the classroom, were nothing. I knew nothing about computers. I didn't know how to turn them on. I didn't know how to turn them off, nothing at all. And now, I can probably say I can go in and I can present a presentation on the PowerPoint, and I can do a spreadsheet, and that is enough to boost your self-esteem right there, to, you know, to be proud to do that stuff.
Student 3:
Our PowerPoint presentation on "All About Me," we can also put that into... we printed it out also, to put into our portfolio, so we're also learning how to do a portfolio, which will help us, too, when we do go to get a job... We've got the portfolio with us, and, you know, that shows your employer right there that, you know, that you did, you do know that stuff, instead of just telling him, you know, "I know PowerPoint," you know, you can show it to him and present it to him.
Student 4:
Well, I'm a single mother, so, trying to get back on your feet being a single mother, back into the work field's hard. So this is more or less... learning new job skills on computers, and learning a little more about myself, of course. And my goals is, really, to have a better job so I can get me and my kids... provide for me and my kids, the things we need.
I haven't been on a computer since I was in high school. That's been a little over twenty years, so... for me it's like a new learning experience. And what with my kids being on computers at school already. So it's like we can learn together.
Student 5:
One of the jobs I'm looking at, you have to have computer knowledge. The Macintosh, the [Windows] Ô98 spreadsheets... I've just put an application in, and most definite thing they want is know if you can do spreadsheets. If you can't do spreadsheets, then you can't, you know... apply for this job, so, a lot of things that they have shown us... I mean, then you can't say that you're perfect at it right now, but what they've shown us is things that you need out in the work force if you want to go into secretarial... or even to... customer service, you have to have this experience now. "All About Me" portfolio is about yourself, things that you feel that you have accomplished. My portfolio's going to have... my slide show, which would be a copy of my of...my... like I said, my achievements, all... just about me... my education, and my work history... my resume, my cover letter, and then I will probably put, like, my certificates in, and then references. I want to go into secretarial, but I've worked with a lot of money, so I know there are some openings in teller... in bank tellers, or secretarial filing. That's where I'm going to go. I'm not going to go back into hard labor now that I know that, you know, I can do something different.
Student 6:
That when I went about putting together the "All About Me" project, it seemed to be almost like a closing of history for me, like this was then, and it opened up into a second part which said, "This is what I want to be." I think the most rewarding thing would be the building up of self-esteem. The communication skills are great, but without the self-esteem, you wouldn't be able to get up there and use your communication skills in the first place. So I thought a portfolio was just for someone high up on the social ladder, on the business ladder, I never thought it would something that I could use personally. But when you have all your computer work in it, your copies of what you've done, your resumes... all the things that you've done yourself personally on the computer, and you have basically your work history all at your fingertips, it... it's a miracle. It just... it saves so much time, and so much energy. You take this one folder in and you could... you design it the way you want it. That way you're basically putting on a presentation for a prospective employer as you're going through this portfolio with them.
Student 7:
I'm a fast learner. I work well with others, willing to do what needs to be done to be
successful. I'm willing to work to meet employer's expectations.
Student 8:
My future educational plans:
I plan on going to college and majoring in business. I have basic computer experience and would like to know more about it. I'm a fast learner, and I would like to learn new things all the time, and you can never learn too much. I also like to set goals and work out a plan to try to achieve them so I can be successful in life.
Baker:
It's becoming more and more of a common thing is to take a portfolio with you as you apply for a job, because it... the employer then doesn't have to just take your word for it that you can do this, and I think you wow him a little bit by opening this up, and "Yes, I can do this, and here's where... how I've used this in the past." One way that we did deal with the people coming in a different levels that I think was effective, is after that initial overview, that we did of... this is how... this is what PowerPoint does, and here's a few of the key things, we gave them that time individually to work on it, and although it made us run around like maniacs sometimes from computer to computer to help people, I think that helped us because the people were able to work at their level, and we did a lot of things where people partnered up, and... as we said, people started helping the other students a little bit more.
Hack:
We sit in this room and we talk this talk, and... but I want them to get out there and be able to walk the walk when they leave here. And one of the biggest challenges was to salt-and-pepper the technology in there to keep Ôem hooked and interested in learning, but to drive home the points that, yeah, this is good, but you have to have all these other things in your complete package that you present to an employer so that you can be retained on a job.
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