It was an absolute pleasure to present AI Training at the Region 2 Staff Meeting Day in April. In case you missed it, the handouts are available below, scroll down to "Region 2 Meeting Day Resources". 

If you haven’t jumped on the AI bandwagon yet—or are still curious (or even a little concerned) about it—this month’s SHOUT OUT is for you. A SHOUT OUT highlights a useful, asynchronous online IT training. If you have a suggestion for a future SHOUT OUT, please share it with us—it might be featured in an upcoming newsletter!

SHOUT OUT

UW-Madison's Extension's
"AI Essentials: A Practical Course for Cooperative Extension Employees!" 

As always, if you have any IT training questions, concerns or suggestions, don't hesitate to shoot me an email! 

See you at training,
James Hamilton
IT Training Specialist
University of Illinois Extension

Online IT Trainings

Unless otherwise noted, all online IT Trainings are the first, second and third Tuesday at 3pm.

Digital Self‑Defense in the age of AI – May 19

Protect yourself, your family and your coworkers online with simple, practical habits. Avoid the latest tricks advertisers are using these days to fool you. Securely save and share passwords, leverage bookmark folders for organization and speed. Plus: learn when an AI Chatbot is a better choice than a Google Search. Register Now for Digital Self-Defense.

Basic Website Editor Training 
Third Wednesdays - May 20, June 17, and July 22 - 3 pm to 5 pm

Microsoft Forms + Power Automate - June 2

Go beyond basic surveys. Learn how to design effective Microsoft Forms and connect them to Power Automate to trigger real-world actions—emails, notifications, file creation, and more. This session shows how to reduce manual work, speed up processes, and turn form responses into workflows that just run in the background. Perfect for registrations, evaluations, requests, and tracking recurring tasks. Register Now for Forms + Power Automate.

Quicken for Extension - June 9

This session is designed specifically for Extension unit accounting and the office support professionals who keep things running smoothly. Learn Quicken best practices that prevent duplicate files, improve performance, and reduce end‑of‑year stress. We’ll cover what to do each year when creating new Quicken files (and why smaller files matter), the right way to store and open files in Box, how to avoid sync-related duplicates, and when backups and updates are actually necessary. We’ll also look at reporting features—what Quicken does well, what can be replicated in Excel, and when each tool makes sense. Expect practical guidance you can apply immediately to keep your unit’s financial records clean, consistent, and reliable. Register Now for Quicken.

How did my computer get a virus?! - June 16

“Wait… what do you mean my computer has a virus? I was just on the Google.” Sound familiar? The 2020’s ‘net isn’t a nice neighborhood anymore. Misleading advertisers, criminal scammers, state actors, and yes—even “coupon” browser extensions (they’re way more suspicious than they look) are constantly inventing new ways to trip us up. It’s not your fault. Don’t go alone! Follow your IT guide through real examples of the traps in everyday Google Search results. Learn to use the tools you already have: password managers, bookmark folders, and a little skepticism. Register Now for How did my computer get a virus?!

If you have questions or want help picking the right sessions for your needs, feel free to reach out. I’m always here to support your learning journey!

See you at training,
James Hamilton
IT Training Specialist
University of Illinois Extension

Recorded Trainings

• Microsoft Excel: Return of the Pivot Table  - This advanced session takes Excel to the next level. We'll dive deep into Pivot Tables—what they are, why they’re powerful, and how to build them step by step to summarize, filter, and explore data fast.
  • Excel Pivot Tables Exercise Handout
• Microsoft Word: Advanced Features and Accessibility Refresh - Go beyond the basics in Word. Learn how to make using the Accessible Word Template as easy as File->New Document. Streamline reviews, export clean PDFs, and check your documents with built‑in accessibility and color contrast tools. Create documents that are polished, compliant, and easier for everyone to use.
  • Word: Advanced Handout
• How to Organize Your Files with Cloud and Local Storage –  A practical guide to building a clean, intuitive file system—whether your files live on the Server (Shared Drive), Box, OneDrive, Teams, your computer (probably not a good idea), or all of the above. Learn structures that scale and habits that stick.
  • "How to Organize" Handout - Helpful links, notes, and knowledge checks.
• Chatbots 102 – Move past basic prompts in Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini or ChatGPT. Learn how to build an "AI Agent" using plain language, no computer programming experience needed! Improve your learning with NotebookLM – create a custom podcast, quiz, flashcards and more with data you provide (avoid hallucination traps). How to leverage Copilot inside Word, and Excel.
  • Chatbots 102 Handout - Notes and Exercises to help you practice.
• Little Things That Make Computers Way Easier - A fun, fast-paced session full of small tips that save big time—keyboard shortcuts, right-click secrets, maximize the utility of "undo," "copy," and "paste", reveal tool tips hidden in nearly every program, avoid traps in Google search results (yep, they are getting worse!), and how-to make everyday computing smoother.
• Microsoft Excel Basics - a 1 hour role-play mashup of data science and a Sci-fi TV series from the 90s!
  • Microsoft Excel Basics Exercise Files - Complete on your own or follow along with the video.
• Windows 11 - Making the Most of it - A light-hearted take on being "forced onto Windows 11".
• Outlook - Advanced features to put you ahead. - Includes a New Outlook vs. Outlook Classic showdown.
• Intro to AI - Copilot and Gemini - A back-to-basics AI training on the two "free" ones.

Region 2 Staff Meeting Day Resources

Hour 1 - AI Basics Handout - The entire program in helpful outline form, Links to Resources and Policy and Feedback.  

Hour 2 - "Chatbots 102" Handout - Same as above for but the second hour! :-) NOTE: The "Copilot in Word/Excel" portion is no longer relevant; BUT you can upload your Word or Excel files to a regular Copilot Chat to discuss your file.  

In-person IT Trainings

• Survey Results: There have been 27 responses in the 55 days the survey has been open. Current results favor morning trainings on File management, Microsoft Apps, and AI. If you'd like to help guide topics, locations, and formats for in-person trainings this year, Please take this eight question survey.

Have an idea for a training you'd like to see? Please feel free to share your ideas or thoughts with me! I'd be happy to help.

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Archives:
If you are looking for training sessions recorded prior to 2026, please scroll down to the Legacy Archive section.