Computer Trainers Career
Computer trainers teach topics related to all aspects of using computers in the workplace, including personal computer (PC) software, operating systems for both stand-alone and networked systems, management tools for networks, and software applications for mainframe computers and specific industry management. Trainers work for training companies and software developers, either on the permanent staff or as independent consultants. They may produce training materials, including disk-based multimedia technology-delivered learning, instructor-led courseware, skills assessment, videos, and classroom teaching manuals.
Computer Trainers Job Description
The field of computer training encompasses several different areas. Software vendor trainers work for developer companies. Consultants work for themselves as independent contractors, often specializing in certain computer languages, skills, or platforms. Some trainers work in the corporate training departments of companies that develop products other than computers and software. Others are teachers and professors.
“As a software trainer, my duties are to be prepared to teach various topics related to our software to a variety of clients on any given day,” says Marcy Anderson, a software trainer for Cyborg Systems, a human-resource software developer. “I teach from a training manual and demonstrate the procedures on my computer that displays the information on a large screen for the entire class. The class is given assignments throughout the day that they complete on their PCs. I assist them one on one with their questions as the class continues. Cyborg has a training center with four classrooms. I conduct classes in the training center, or I travel to the client and hold classes on-site.”
Consultant trainers are certified to teach several different products, applications, environments, and databases, usually with companies such as Microsoft, IBM, or Apple. Most have been in the computer industry for many years, previously working as software programmers, architects, project managers, or developers.
Whatever their affiliation, most computer trainers use several ways to disseminate learning technologies, including CD-ROM, CBT-Text, electronic performance support systems, the Internet, Intranets, multimedia presentations, and video conferencing.
Trainers are beginning to explore the field of online learning. In the article, “Our Turn-of-the-Century Trend Watch,” Paul Clothier, senior instructor, Softwire Corporation, says, “Improved online learning (OL) design and technologies will significantly impact the technical training profession over the next few years. At present, much of the technical training taking place is in the form of instructor-led training (ILT) in a classroom. There are many advantages to ILT, but there are also considerable disadvantages, such as time investment, travel, and expense. To get a group of your most valuable technical people off to a week of training is often a major expense and inconvenience. Organizations are crying out for a better alternative, and OL increasingly is seen as an option.”
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