Phil Agre wrote this informative and interesting article, called "How to help someone use a computer." He writes first a list of things a tech-savvy instructor must tell themselves before attempting to help someone use a computer, and next goes into a list of rules which will be easier to follow once those basic facets are believed.
One important thing from the first list that I particularly connected with was his statement that the user "might be afraid that you're going to blame them for the problem." In any teaching situation where I am the instructor, I like to instill a feeling of peace in the person I'm teaching. That's not to say I talk down to them or make them feel I'm condescending -- I just try to let them know that I'm on their side, and that I do in fact remember what it's like being a beginner at something, because I am often a beginner at things.
An important entry from the second list is the one that tells me to keep in mind how abstract my language is. I often forget how concrete computer programs feel to people. I am so used to an abstract view of programs that that is what comes naturally to me, and I will need to pay careful attention to making my language as concrete as the user's experience of the program they're learning.
When teaching the class about Google Earth, I feel I won't have to worry about many of these problems, because Google does very well at creating intuitive user interfaces. However, we will be careful to try and go as quickly or slowly as people need us to. We will also encourage questions from people, because I think a lot of intimidation about computers is just people being afraid to ask questions.
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