Here's one teacher who knows how to “ply” her trade! Sometimes, I will use humor to “wake up” people while making an educational point. 

For example, if I'm talking to people about saving files on floppy disks and want to show them how not to handle floppies — I'll bring out my pair of pliers.  As I calmly discuss how to handle floppy disks properly, I take the pliers and rip one apart to expose it. 

This procedure never fails to get the students’ attention and laughter. I end my little demo with “Do as I tell you, not as I do!” 

Cathy Lawson 
Genesee Community College

HELP FOLKS "SHIFT GEARS" WITH THESE ANALOGIES.  If you have a Microsoft Windows environment are your students ever confused about when to use the Shift key and when to use the Ctrl key to select files in? Here are some wonderful ideas, from five of your colleagues, for getting these concepts across:

Shift Sandwich: you choose the “bottom slice” and the “top slice” and get everything in between. It can be a skinny diet sandwich (3 items) or a Dagwood (bunches of items).

 Ctrl Cafeteria: just like in a restaurant cafeteria, you get to pick and choose the exact items which interest you. 

Tracey Morris
EDS HPS Computer Instructor

For the Shift command, I use alliteration: Shift to Select in Sequence, and usually write it on the board for emphasis. 

Then I ask students if they are usually lucky enough to have all of the files in sequence. After receiving a rousing “NOOOOO!” I ask them if they would like to have more control over the files they select, and show them how to use CTRL to select/de-select files.

Beverly Hayse
Inmar Enterprises, Inc.

I use an acronym:
S(hift) Hi(ghlights) F(iles) T(ogether)

Jane Lewis
VF Corporation

This has worked for me: SHIFT equals Smooth Selection. “Smooth” and “Shift” both begin with the letter “S.” 

CONTROL equals Collection of Selections. Both “Control” and “Collection” start with “C.”

Nancy Mauk
Sargento Foods Inc.

A Shift can be considered a group, as in a first or second Shift (at a manufacturing plant). You keep the Shift together.

Wayne Baker
Mr. Undo Does Computer Consulting

Each year for the past four years I've published  a special April Fools Day edition of my regular newsletter, Quick Training Tips.

This very special issue is called "Terrible Training Tips!" and each year trainers, teachers and librarians from around the world gleefully contribute diabolical, awful instructional "advice."

I'm currently soliciting contributions for the April Fool's Day 2002 edition and really need all the help I can get! I'm trying to make this year's issue the ***worst*** one yet.

Please inspire yourself by reading last year's truly terrible edition at http://quicktrainingtips.com/AprilFool-2001.htm and then please send me your most horrible ideas for this year's issue.

And please spread the word to your colleagues. The more the merrier!

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,

Loretta Weiss-Morris
http://QuickTrainingTips.com