I have two fledgling computer users under my wings, Debby McClatchy and my stepson Josh, and I'm trying to get them past the "frantic panic" stage of learning to use a computer. I got an early-morning call from Debby today. She had called somebody in England early this morning for help, and he suggested she'd better call Joe Offer. She was trying to make columns in Word Pad, and first I had to convince her that this might not be a good idea, and that it wouldn't kill her to try Word Perfect. She wants to go out and buy another book, so she can learn Word Perfect. Now I have to convince her that that might not be a good idea.

I try to teach computer processes by teaching the logic behind the process, so users can think out solutions on their own. This can be difficult with my two fledglings, because they do not wish to learn anything beyond what will solve their current problem, and they want step-by-step instructions and don't want to be bothered with logic. This seems to happen a lot with fledglings, not just my two.

I tried to teach her how the "insert" key works on her keyboard, but she insisted that she wasn't advanced enough to need to know how to do that.

So, what I'm looking for is a program that will force my fledglings to learn the logic of computer processes, so they can do simple Windows functions and word processing. Many moons ago, I went through a tutorial that came with Microsoft Works, and it was a delight. It was interactive entertaining, and it taught just wat a beginning users would need to know for basic computer functions, word processing, and for spreadsheet and database if you want them. Alas, this tutorial is not longer provided with Works, and I haven't been able to find a worthy replacement. I'm looking for something that's entertaining and intellectually satisfying, and something that sneaks in the logical processes so my fledglings won't realize they're learning logic.

Can anybody lead me to a freeware or cheap shareware tutorial that will do this job for me? I love talking to Debby and don't even mind my 15-yr-old stepson - but not when they're all frantic about computer problems.

-Joe Offer-