Creating effective handouts for tech training.

1. Creating Effective Handouts

2. Why Not Just Wing It?
 CONSISTENCY
 Handouts help keep our brand and service recognizable
 Folks want something to take home to practice with
 Help us teach each other’s classes in the event of illness or other reason
 More material can be put online for the virtual branch patron
 The handout should be just as good as if the person came to the class—this enables us to
reach/teach more people—especially helpful for branch folks

3. No Need to Reinvent the Wheel
 Tons of resources out there from other libraries and orgs, including:
 Digital Learn http://www.Digitallearn.org
 Chapel Hill http://www2.lib.unc.edu/cws/handouts/
 GCF Learn Free http://www.gcflearnfree.org
 Google ‘______ handout public library’ (e.g. Word handout)
 Most libraries will gladly let you use or adapt their materials
 Could even use YouTube videos to illustrate an idea (but make sure it’s noted/linked in handout!)

4. Tips for Developing
the Handout
• Look at other handouts from MCL – all
located on shared drive in the
‘Computer Class Handouts and Stats’
folder
• Try to mimic the same heading, bold
and bullet style

6. What to Include:
 Learning Objectives
 Tasks
 Screenshots

7. Learning Objectives
• Learning Objectives
These define the skills &
knowledge that should be
learned, and the outcomes of the
training.
For example, Basic I class
objectives might be:
• Identify basic components of
computers: external and
internal
• Identify desktop, icons,
components of a window
• Demonstrate use of a mouse:
scrolling and clicking

8. Tasks
Include a mixture of Explanation
& Tasks
 Include hands-on practice
throughout the handout—
this is both so you can make
sure the class is learning AND
they have something to
practice at home.

9. Examples of Tasks from Word class

10. Screenshots
Screenshots
 Screenshots help orient the
learner
 Screenshots make it easier
for those who didn’t attend
to know what’s going on
 Screenshots help remind
attendees what was learned

11. Making Screenshots with Jing
 Free program
 Easily make screenshots and insert
them into handout
 Use arrows, boxes, text boxes
 Also helpful to easily share a
screenshot with a patron via email to
explain where something is

12. Other Screenshot Tools
Alt + Print Screen
 Useful for capturing menus that otherwise
go away when you click off, e.g. the Start
Menu
Windows Snipping Tool
 Found under ‘Accessories’ from Start
Menu

13. Additional Info
 If introducing a lot of terms, consider attaching a glossary--many can be found online, but
be sure to cite your source
 Include links for further help, e.g. additional tutorials from Microsoft, etc.
 Always include MCL logo, website and phone number

14. Questions?
All resources on wiki under CentersInfo
ServicesTeaching Tech/Digital Literacy Resources
Portions of this handout were adapted from the Colorado Virtual Library:
http://create.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/designing-instructional-materials