ABOUT THIS EPISODE
If your course students keep coming back to you every time they hit a wall, the problem probably isn't them. In this episode, Dr. Catrina Mitchum works through a live course design consultation with Tim Maile, an IT solutions specialist building a course to help people stop fearing technology and start actually using it. What unfolds is a masterclass in the difference between teaching a tool and teaching someone how to learn.
What We Work Through
- The reframe that changes everything: why "different knowledge levels" is probably not the real problem your course needs to solve
- Why confidence is a learning variable, not a bonus outcome, and how to design for it on purpose
- How letting learners choose their own technology and mini task is not chaos but actually good course design
- Why the "why" behind a learner's goal matters more than the skill itself, and the case for a journaling component in a tech course
- How to build troubleshooting directly into your course structure so learners can work through friction without defaulting to you
- The two types of troubleshooting that need two different responses: task-level roadblocks versus system-level disruption
- Why naming technology realities out loud (software changes, buttons move, two-factor authentication is not going away) protects learner confidence instead of undermining it
If you've been trying to figure out how to design a course that works for learners at wildly different starting points, this episode gives you a real working example of how to think through that problem without just building more content.
About Tim Maile
Tim Maile is the owner and operator of TKM PM and IT Solutions, where he makes IT work for people, not the other way around. With over 20 years of on-the-ground experience as the unofficial IT person in the room, Tim specializes in solving tech problems and building genuine confidence in the people who use technology every day.
Website: www.tkmitpm.uk Facebook: TKM PM and IT Solutions LinkedIn: TKM PM and IT Solutions Book an appointment: calendly.com/tkmitpm YouTube: The Human Side of Tech: A No Jargon Zone
Apply to be a guest: https://forms.gle/RDHPskg81r3GhSd59
Connect with Catrina:
www.cmlearningdesign.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/catrina-mitchum-learning-design
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Music credit: Alex Mitchum
Alex, Catrina's youngest brother, was a jazz guitarist and his family established a scholarship in his name at his alma mater. Please consider donating: https://www.alexmitchum.com/scholarship
