The Computer Mamas: Getting it Right

My Brother Was Wrong: My big brother was one of the first people to watch our Microsoft Office videos. He then offered several hours of “helpful,” unsolicited comments about the narration.

<Really? I don’t recall asking for advice.>

Getting it Right: We struggled with the voice and narration. We wanted to record the narration the way it is taught in a live classroom. Something about the presentation and pacing is very effective.

We Succeeded. From one of our students: “This course was excellent. It was extremely efficacious in that it was designed to be hands-on, task based, with an incremental and coherent progression that clarified each skill that was to be developed in a manner that created a deep tacit understanding of the material. This was crucial because learning by rote, a teaching methodology I have encountered with other material, evaporates in the mind very quickly over a short period of time.

“In addition, Ms. Nofs' personal teaching style, evidenced in the course and in her online persona "The Computer Mamma," proved singularly useful in helping to highlight essential points and sustain interest in the material at hand.

“Her variations of intonation and stress combined with her use of pace, repetition, discourse markers, asides, rhetorical questions, etc., kept the material fresh and facilitated retention of the intended key points. It also made one feel as if a dialogue were being created between teacher/specialist and student. Her teaching style was very effective pedagogically.

“I highly recommend her courses – in person and online.”

P.M, Ph.B., M.A., A.D.V.S.