PROFESSIONAL SKILLS FOR COMPUTER ADVISERS

                      ITTI PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT

     The materials for this course are now available from the
     Universities Staff Development Group in Sheffield.

     The Professional Skills for Computer Advisers course is
     designed for computer advisers or computer Help Desk staff
     in institutions of Higher Education.  The aim is to train
     advisers in the skills they need, in addition to their
     techical knowledge, to provide a good service.  The emphasis
     of the workshops is on interpersonal skills rather than
     computer-related training; it will therefore be applicable
     to any computing environment.

     The course consists of two practical workshops of three and
     two days' duration.  The first workshop concentrates on
     aspects of communication between the adviser and the user
     and includes several role play exercises.  The second
     workshop focuses on the organisational and personal skills
     needed by the advisory team.

     Topics in the workshops include Caring for the Customer,
     Communicating with Users, Analysing Problems, Coaching
     Users, Organising the Advisory Session, Time and Stress
     Management and Problem Control and Teamwork.

     The course is suitable for both new and experienced advisers
     in academic computer centres.  It is recommended that
     participants attend both workshops, if at all possible.

     Course materials consist of a student manual with exercises
     and a full presenter's pack including notes for the
     lecturer, overhead projector slides, and notes for the
     demonstrator. The complete pack costs 185 pounds to UK
     higher education institutions whilst the student manual on
     its own costs 40 pounds. Both are available from Jean
     Burgan, Resources Administrator, CVCP, USDU, Level Six,
     University House, Sheffield S10 2TN, Tel: 0742 725248, email
     J.Burgan@sheffield.ac.uk.

     The course was developed by Joan Pateman and Gillian Colkin
     at the London School of Economics and Political Science, in
     collaboration with BIS Applied Systems Ltd. The project was
     funded by the UK UFC(ISC) Information Technology Training
     Initiative.

     As part of the project, a panel of experienced presenters
     was established, all of whom have either taught on the
     course or attended it. These presenters are available to
     give the course at sites in the UK. Further details of fees
     and local arrangements can be obtained from Joan Pateman,
     University of London Institute of Education, tel.
     071-612-6695, electronic mail J.Pateman@IOE.
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