TechScope offers one-to-one personal tuition in your own home, with your own computer, in the following general learning areas:

• Internet - security routines, browsing tips, file maintenance, Office integration, Do's & Don'ts, and much more.
  
  
• Windows - system upgrades, installations, file management, privacy techniques, usage optimisation...
  
  
• Web Development - FrontPage, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, Visual Studio; dynamic database interaction, HTML, JavaScript, Style Sheets, Hosting concepts, FTP upload, resource preparation, control documentation, planning and design, maintenance techniques.

Where computers are concerned, some people retain knowledge better than others. Those who have some difficulty have no problem with information retention in other areas of study, yet when it comes to computers and their use, there can often be a strange stumbling block for some, preventing any sense of real progress. There are thousands of courses available from many different training organisations; some are very good and others not so good; some are free (such as Govt. or Local Council initiatives), but generally almost too basic, and others are really quite expensive, and can be altogether too general or technical depending on many factors, such as class size and general class ability.

But is it really just a matter of doing things in a particular sequential fashion, and then trying to remember it all perfectly the next time you want to repeat the task? I don't think so, and this is why... very often there are so many different ways of doing the same thing, and sometimes there is only one way to do a specific thing. How are you to distinguish and retain the difference between these types of tasks? The fundamental approach to learning and retaining information, especially in this field, lies in the attitude of the learner. You think a VCR player or a washing machine is complicated enough? Try a computer - which is basically a load of hi-tech gadgets cobbled together. The more the manufacturers of PCs and associated software try to make things painless for the user, the more frustration and confusion they introduce; not always, but a lot of the time. Time and again, I have seen how this holding-your-hand approach foisted upon users, especially novices, actually prevents any real progress in getting to grips with something that cost a lot of money - something that should be useful, but just ends up being mighty frustrating.

TechScope tuition is geared towards engendering a bold, adventurous approach, coupled with common sense. But common sense and computers can often seem contradictory. However, as long as the common sense is based on a good understanding of common computer concepts, it allows you to remember who is in control, and the adventure becomes progressive and creative, not protracted and confusing. Some will try to argue that this can be done by minimising jargon; but jargon is only jargon if it makes no sense, and is not useful to you. Acronyms are part of IT! Computers have their own sets of 'languages', and learning about computers without engaging in the appropriate language is not really learning - it's a compromise, and it leads to half-baked results, if any.

Any system can be worked and manipulated far better from the inside, than from the outside. The tuition on offer here gets you into the heart of the understanding necessary to dismantle hesitation and anxiety, and leads quickly to a point of control, comprehension and creativity. Oh, and tons more confidence.