Two years ago, when the Blackrock Education Centre, Co Dublin, produced Training for ECDL (the European Computer Driving Licence, that is) no one had any idea that this 402page computer skills training manual would become something of a publishing phenomenon.
The book is now on a second print-run and on sale in South Africa, about to be sold in Australia, has an Irish-language version and is going into Braille. UNESCO is considering using the manual for training centres in Egypt.
All from modest beginnings. Siobhan Cluskey, a member of the management committee in the centre, says the manual came about as a way of standardising the competency of computer skills among teachers. "There wasn't a manual available so we published one ourselves," she explains. "We printed a first run of 10,000 and it sold out, an immediate and huge success. We've reprinted a second run of 12,000 and it's being used by teachers and non-teachers, worldwide."
The jargon-free computer-skills manual emphasises practical competency. It costs £27.50 from the Blackrock Education Centre (tel: (01) 230 2709) and selected bookshops; discounts are offered for purchases of more than 20 copies.
