START, or the Student Technical, Application and Resource Training program, has a solution for students who stumble blindly through computer programs to complete class projects.START is a combined effort between the Center for Academic Success and Information Technology Services to give students the opportunity to learn computer skills through software and hardware training workshops.”Everyone is affected by technology now,” said Melissa Brocato, associate director for the Center of Academic Success. “These workshops would cost thousands of dollars when [students] graduate, and we offer them for free.”More than 150 workshops are offered in the basement of Coates Hall during the semester. Students are taught technical skills in programs including Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, Access, Word, Web Development, Flash, Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver.The program has served more than 11,800 students since its inception in spring 2001. General attendance varies from semester to semester, but Brocato said the location of the workshops is the program’s biggest downfall.”We aren’t in a high traffic area,” she said. “We advertise like crazy and have trouble reaching students.”START is in the process of moving to the IT Commons to become more visible to students.Brocato said workshops are advertised through broadcast e-mails, PAWS, fliers and even Facebook, but the student response still isn’t up to par.”One of the issues is student turnovers,” Brocato said. “We get a new set of [students] every fall, and we have to get these people to know who we are, which is kind of hard.”Students can search the academic calendar or the START Web site for available workshops and times based on the programs they need, Brocato said. Workshops usually last about an hour and a half.”We try to vary the schedule to give students the opportunity to come,” she said. “We schedule different days at different times, and if those times are not convenient for students, they are welcome to set up a [private] tutoring session.”The program receives $86,000 annually from the Student Technology fee to fund the student-taught workshops.”The money basically pays for students,” Brocato said. “It pays LSU students to teach other students, so the money is going back to students.”There are 16 available seats in each workshop, but Brocato said seats fill up fast for Photoshop and Dreamweaver workshops.Since the START workshops began, new workshops have been added, while some have been eliminated because of declining popularity.”Each semester we take a count of which classes are popular and which are not,” Brocato said. “The next semester we change our schedule.”Each year START offers more workshops for the five most popular programs, including Photoshop and Dreamweaver. But students may still get private tutoring sessions to learn software no longer taught in workshops.Each program covers different topics at different difficulty levels.”Photoshop may have a series that offers different topics at several times,” Brocato said. “There are beginning, intermediate and higher level classes in a series.”—-Contact Leslie Presnall at [email protected]