First steps in computer use [1]
Saturday, June 30, 2001 - 10:00. Updated on Friday, January 29, 2016 - 18:39.
From Matangi Tonga Magazine, Vol. 16, no. 1, June 2001.
Tau‘olunga Computer, you mean a computer that can dance that popular Tongan solo female dance? Not quite, but Tau‘olunga Computer is the main retailer of Apple computers in Tonga and it also offers computer classes that are giving young school-leavers their first steps in computer use.
Kik Velt, the owner and instructor, said that most of his students are girls between 18 and 25 years old, but there are also a few older students.
Kik offers a range of computer courses. There is a beginner’s course and an advanced course. With beginner’s course students learn how to turn a computer on and off, the various components of a computer and how they function.
With the Advanced Courses there is a range of software options to choose from, including Data Base, Spread Sheet, Graphic Design, Desk Top and Web Site Design.
Kik said that he started offering classes in 1997, and each course consists of 20 lessons of one hour on the computer. The length of a course depends largely on how keen the student is to learn, “if a student does an hour every day, five days a week, she will complete the course in a month.”
Kik awards certificates at the end of the course and he said that the feed back has been good, “no complaints.”
Kik has only seven computers with about 20 to 30 students taking classes every day.