AUGD: THREE COMMENTS
AUGD: THREE COMMENTS
- Subject: AUGD: THREE COMMENTS
- From: Jack Hennessy <email@hidden>
- Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 18:02:00 -0800
Comment 1: Roll Call
I'm a little late with this, but I got seriously behind in my e-mail reading due to overwhelming spam and outside commitments. I am Jack Hennessy, Apple User Group Ambassador for the Cambria Computer Club <www.cambriacomputerclub.org>, located in the town of Cambria on the Central Coast of California. We are a dual-platform club of 85 or so members, 40% of whom are Mac users. The Mac User Group normally meets on the 1st Thursday of the month, a general interest meeting is held on the 3rd Thursday and PC users have 2 meetings, novice and basic, on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays. All meetings are held at the Joslyn Recreation Center and begin at 2pm (doors open at 1:30). Visitors are welcome at all meetings. Try to drop in if you're in town.
Comment 2: Sharing Presentations
I like the idea of having presentation materials available online so other clubs can access them for their own use, partially or fully. I'm always looking for new ideas for presentations, but dread stumbling across a new one because of excessive preparation time when starting from scratch. So, I recycle several presentations each year.
I don't know if it's necessary to accumulate all materials at a central location. If we all uploaded our notes, outlines, slideshows, etc. to our own clubs' websites (which I intend to do, so our members can download them), a simple catalog at a central location would provide access to all.
Comment 3: User Group Direction
A lot of the recent postings seem to lean toward User Groups catering to "enthusiasts" as opposed to beginners. But our small town experience indicates that the new, first time computer owner gravitates to his/her local computer club for life support. This is our source for many new members. Conversely, we must offer our seasoned, veteran members some stimulation to remain with us.
I try to bridge this gap by offering a variety of presentations throughout the year. Several of my presentations are of the "Fundamentals of…" kind. I explain to the newbies that I'm not a teacher so much as a demonstrator - I'll show them some things they can do with their computers, but they'll have to master the details themselves or seek professional instruction. Other presentations are more advanced and specialized to encourage attendance of more experienced members.
It's not easy to balance the interests of both the new and experienced members, but, as I tell the meeting attendees, I learn something new or reinforce previous knowledge every time I prepare or recycle a presentation. I'm convinced that this approach is working because we seem to attract a variety of proficiency levels among the 20 or so individuals who regularly attend our monthly Mac User Group meetings.
– – Jack Hennessy
Apple User Group Ambassador
Cambria Computer Club
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