2. Move Shapes Or Photos Around and Resize Them in a Word Document

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1. Play Solitaire - great for practising mouse control and doesn’t require an internet connection. Be aware though that some people don’t play cards for religious reasons.

2. Move shapes or photos around and resize them in a Word document

3. Learning to start and shut down, identifying icons and opening programs and minimising/maximising windows are all essential skills that can be practised without the internet.

4. Give the learners some text to copy to practise their keyboard skills or, if they’re ready to do more than this, you could show them how to set out a letter or a simple poster.

5. Computer housekeeping e.g. saving files, creating and renaming folders, saving onto a memory stick etc can also be learnt without the internet – but only if learners are ready for these more advanced skills.

6. If you have any CDs or DVDs handy, they could learn how to play some music or a video.

7. If there are any photos in the Picture Library (even just the sample pictures that come with Windows), show them how to run a slideshow.

8. Insert clipart into a Word document – many, but not all, clipart images need an internet connection.

9. Explore the templates in Word processing software. See video in Section 5 to see how to produce a greetings card in MS Word.

10. MS Paint is another good idea for an offline activity. Give a group a task to draw their favourite piece of fruit. Everyone will laugh at the attempts to draw a banana.

11. Show learners how to use the free utilities in Windows e.g. Calculator, Stickies or the Snipping Tool (find these in All Programs and Accessories)

12. If there is a microphone available, make some voice recordings using the Sound Recorder in Windows (also in Accessories)