Yellowknife's Academy of Learning has portable community labs which offer one- to three-week courses just about anywhere -- from the capital cities to small and remote communities.

Following a pilot project a year ago in Rae-Edzo, the portable teaching labs have so far been shipped to Fort Simpson, Rankin Inlet, Cambridge Bay, Hay River and Iqaluit.

In late January, one was held in Fort Providence.

Jan Fullerton, a facilitator and assistant administrator with Academy of Learning, delivered an introduction to personal computers course in Fort Providence.

Fullerton says the portable labs can visit a community with or without an instructor. Sometimes a computer lab is rented by a community group which provides its own training.

The portable computer lab was welcomed in Fort Providence, she notes. "There's certainly a demand for it, and we'd like to keep meeting that demand."

In all, there were 17 students in two one-week courses, she says. "They all found the course beneficial."

One of the students was Edith Squirrel, a family violence worker at Zhahti Koe Friendship Centre.

Squirrel says she found the basic computer training good, compared to other training she has taken in the past. "With this, I worked at my own pace. Before, I didn't know what they were talking about."

She says having an instructor on hand was also helpful, especially the advice that students need not let themselves be overwhelmed by detailed manuals.

Squirrel also welcomed the instructor's encouragement. "You don't have to be scared of touching the wrong key."

The lab contained 10 computers for students, along with another for the instructor. All the computers were networked and connected to a printer.

While noting that some smaller communities already have access to some computer training -- through Aurora College, for example -- Fullerton says it is not practical to have a full-time trainer in each community. "It doesn't make sense in terms of numbers to have one person there. They wouldn't be that busy."

Academy of Learning has 25 computers in total, divided into four portable labs. A typical configuration for a lab would be 12 computers, two spares, a printer, a projector and software.

The labs can offer a variety of courses ranging in difficulty from introductory to advanced.