The US Armed Forces has not always been as accessible as it is today in terms of information. Prior to the internet era, computer training was more of a luxury than the accepted norm. Manuals and directives were kept in paper form and was dependent on timely submission of changes and modifications. Service records were kept in the same manner. This system of record keeping was often tedious and even counter-productive. The military recognized this as a problem, but were not technologically advanced enough to solve this problem. Eventually, force reductions and other factors created an even bigger problem: records management without trained personnel.
Another problem began to surface as it relates to educating personnel. As anyone who served in the US Armed Forces, pre-internet era, knows it can be very difficult to obtain a formal college education. Considerations had to be made for duty schedules, missions, deployments and other things. The typical method of obtaining non-traditional education was through correspondence courses. While this was relatively inexpensive to the student, it was also very dependent upon the US Mail. Lost certificates, or course materials was a major problem. All of this often cost members points toward promotions. Eventually, top military leaders determined that online computer training was the way to go.
Online computer training would be another step towards taking the military training program from the 20th Century right into the 21st Century. Taking the military online would not only alleviate this problem, but would help prepare the military for other advances in technology.
In order to accomplish this task, the military had to recognize shortfalls and make steps towards alleviating them. Realizing that the military had members who were computer savvy, and trainable aided in the transition, however there were not enough personnel available. Often, members who had obtained computer training while in the military were leaving for higher paying jobs in the civilian sector.
The first step the military took to move forward with technology was to establish a military occupational specialty (MOS) for computer programmers. The military actively recruited from technical colleges, often offering monetary incentives to prospects. Incentives included: traditional tuition assistance and bonuses. These members were provided with computer training; hardware, software, networking and more. In addition to programming, members with that MOS were charged with maintaining computer networks. Individual commands created their own Information Services Management Offices (ISMO) composed of computer trained members. Through ISMO's local commands were connected via local area networks (LAN) and wide area networks (WAN). This proved to be a very intelligent move on the part of the military.
Once established, members holding this MOS were offered incentives to remain in the military service; bonuses, guaranteed duty station assignments, among others.
Having computer trained personnel in the military has provided the military with the ability to keep pace with technology. With the advent of the internet, and the subsequent technology explosion came several more advances. These advances have allowed the military to create online environments. Through these online endeavors, the military has stream-lined record keeping practices and made online computer training available to it's members across the globe.
With all of these advances, the US Armed Forces has become a military force of the future.
Computer software training is essential in this day and age for anyone who is using a computer for more than just basic functionality such as word processing. In fact, it is recommended even for such tasks, as often times there are new methods that can be used to improve efficiency during your use of such software. Unfortunately, without some sort of computer software training, a lot of times these types of 'shortcuts' to improved efficiency are never learned. So, let's take a few minutes to look at the various types of computer software training available to the computer user today.
One method that is very popular today is the hands on method of computer software training. While this very popular, there are a couple of different avenues that this particular method can be approached. One method is to hire a tutor. While this is probably the most direct and successful method, it can also be the most expensive. Tutors for computer software training usually charge by the hour, although you will gain one-on-one training and attention from the tutor during your class time together. Another popular method is to take a community class that may be offered by some group in your area. Often computer clubs, civic groups, and local schools may offer introductory computer software training that will allow for hands-on learning. However, these are often followed up by attempting to sell you on another class, book, etc.
Computer software training can also become hands-on when you have a video or other on-screen directions to guide you through the learning process. One such program that has become very popular over the last few years is the Video Professor. His program is seen all the time on late night TV infomercials and is now online as well. Offering introductory computer software training for free, he follows up with a variety of paid sales programs to get the most bang out of his advertising buck. There is nothing wrong with this, just as long as you know what you are getting into. This is one of the most appealing methods of computer software training because you can do the training on your terms and on your time, on the exact software subject of your choice.
Probably the most simple, and the most cost effective method of computer software training is the most overlooked today. With almost each and every computer program that you purchase there are three types of documentation included in your purchase: the software manual, internal software help programs, and the online help program. Each of these is a mini computer software training course in and of itself. First you should read the entire program manual that comes with the software. This will contain many shortcuts and efficiency aiding devices that are built into the software. Next, you should take the time to read through all of the topics build into the software help program. This will be one of the best sources of computer software training for that particular version of software.
Last, but certainly not least, you will find the online support or help most effective in solving those few areas of troubled functioning you are having with the software. Perhaps there is a tough formatting issue that you are trying to solve. Oftentimes, availing yourself of the assistance of the online support forums can be the very best computer software training available. After all, it is from the people who actually wrote the software to begin with. You can't get any better computer software training advice than that!
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