Let's face it I expound upon great tools that can be used for managing the network and desktop. I talk about how we can do things better, cheaper, and faster. None of these things matter in the least bit if we do not have an educated user at the end of the keyboard.
Come on how many "ID- 10-T" errors did you deal with this week. How many times did your boss tell you he had a problem with his computer and you thought, "The problem is between the chair and the keyboard"? Network World's companion magazine Computer World runs a feature called Sharktank which abounds with tales of user (and IT pro) nightmares.
So how do we resolve this issue, what tools are available to make end-users, better users?
We can buy and implement tools that are easy to use or are web-based in a vain attempt to create a better user. However, the fact is the best tool is educating your users. Now that is the easy part.  The hard part is convincing your boss to spend money on teaching users about things they assume users already know. Probably an even harder task is convincing them they know the least of anyone and should be taking the first class.
Now to be fair a traditional classroom training not only costs money but also it takes users out of the office. Even if the training is held at an in-house facility, users are training and not working. The second big issue I have seen is not everyone needs the complete A to Z training course. Each person learns at a different pace as well, which means to some degree we need to understand the resistance.
That being said, I have begun working along with a company that I believe takes a fresh approach to User training. The idea is to give users just the training they need at the time they need it most. I once had a user who did nothing but type financial statements in Word. He was a complete Word "guru", yet all the financial charts that were created and formatted in Excel, had to be done by a staff accountant. Taking a one-person job and making it into a two-person job. After he went through the one-week training course, at a well-known Technical training facility, he still could not use Excel very well.
Solution, bring the training to the user. A product that does just that is offered from a company called ClipTraining. As I said earlier, I have begun working with ClipTraining to develop clips for the Network Administrator. However, the main offerings from ClipTraining are designed with the end-user in mind.
 A big reason why I decided to get on board was their unique method of offering affordable training to organizations. ClipTraining offers three methods of bringing training to the user. A private company portal hosted on their website, A training appliance with a web-based interface, or customized training clips to suite your companies needs.
The beauty of the tool is that the lessons for each application are broken down into 3-10 minute streaming clips. Each designed to teach the user a specific skill set; Users can watch these clips at their computer to learn how to do something new. On the other hand, it can be used to refresh them on a particular task.
I know for myself even as an IT pro, I would from time to time need to go back and remember how to create formulas in Excel. I knew how to create a basic formula, but sometimes the task called for something more complex. ClipTraining is the perfect solution for educating and re-educating the end-user.
What is particularly beneficial is that the company portal and appliance come with all the available applications ClipTraining offers. In addition, as applications are added or updated the subscriber has access to these without an extra expense.
Custom training is available for any application you can think of, due to the extensive technical education relationships ClipTraining's founders have.
ClipTraining is a good tool for getting users to where they need to be without breaking the bank. Their subscription service and Training appliance cost a fraction of other CBT and live classroom training options.
Remember a better user creates a better workplace, making it a Better Windows World!
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Ron Barrett is president of RARE-TECH, an IT Training and consulting company. He has been a technology professional for over a decade, working for several major financial firms and dotcoms. Barrett is a specialist in network infrastructure, security and IT management.
He is a co-author of The Administrator's Guide to Microsoft Office 2007 Servers, How to Cheat at Administering Office Communications Server 2007, and the Real MCTS/MCITP Exam 620 Preparation Kit and has been a contributor to Windows 2000 Enterprise Storage Solutions and Exam Cram –70-244-Supporting & Maintaining NT Server 4.
He has also contributed to several industry magazines and was featured in the book Tricks of the Windows Vista Masters. He has worked for Microsoft writing research and analysis documents for Windows Server 2008, Windows HPC, and PerformancePoint Server 2007. He has also created screencasts on Windows Server 2008 Administration for Linux Admins.
Watch for Barrett and his company RARE-TECH at AICPA TECH+ conference in Las Vegas in June.
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