Ms. Lilian Ukadike is a former Instructor of Business and Information Technology at Piedmont Technical College (PTC), Greenwood, SC, where she taught computer technology and business courses for 5 years (2007-2012). She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Lander University, Greenwood SC, (1993), and Master’s degree in Business Administration from Ashworth University, Norcross, GA., (2007). Prior to becoming an educator, she spent 18 years in corporate accounting, governmental, and nonprofit accounting where she worked as a Controller, Director of Accounting, and General Manager. Despite her passion for accounting, while in graduate school, she spent a significant amount of time in advanced research and studies of instructional computing technologies, management information systems, and technical writing as part of her chosen program of study. Determined to pursue her interest in technology, upon obtaining an MBA Degree in 2007, she left the corporate world and joined the faculty and staff at PTC as an Instructor to teach the business and computer courses she had been passionate about. During her time at PTC, in delivering her daily lectures, she saw first-hand, how her students struggled with the current text book in use at the time, which had incomplete instructional steps for performing basic computer tasks. With her strong desire to help her student learn common basics of technology, she decided to write a very simplified book on basic computing to facilitate easier hands-on learning for the new beginners. She provided her students handouts at the end of each class session with complete steps to help them do their homework. Before each class lecture, she would go through each chapter of the school’s textbook and broke it down, added the missing steps, and provided the handouts to students.  She said,: This process was very excruciating and time consuming but the students became very motivated to learn and were excited to come to class.” This is mission accomplished, that was my big reward.”

The effectiveness of Ms. Ukadike’s  handouts to students as a learning tool caught the attention of many student beginners in computer technology at PTC to the point that students who were not enrolled in her class section were sneaking into her class during lectures. Whenever she identified students she couldn’t recognize as already being in her class and asked them why they showed up in the class section they were not registered in, they would respond: “Our friends told us that you teach really good, break things down in detail so they understand it, and provide them handouts; we want that too.” Every semester, her class section was filled up above capacity as students kept registering in her computer class (CPT-101) section to the point that her class had to be divided into two or three sections at different time slots within a week (both day and night). At that time, word began to spread around campus, all the way to the Dean of Business Technology and Public Service, who invited her to her office and said: “I’ve been hearing some positive things about your basic computer class and the handouts to students, what’s going on?” “Please tell me about it.” After she explained the problem with the current textbook to the Dean, the Dean had Ms. Ukadike’s handouts reviewed by her peers, which was followed by the Dean commissioning Ms. Ukadike to write a custom textbook for the school. The collective handouts she had written over a period of one year became the foundation upon which her first manuscript was written. This was how she became a writer and today a published author, although an Accountant by profession.

The first edition was a seven-chapter book on basic computing skills aimed primarily at non-traditional students who were brand new to computing. It took her a year to complete the book  “Basic Computing Concepts: A Simplified Approach”1^st Edition, based on Windows XP. The book was published as a custom textbook for the college by McGraw Hill Learning Solutions in 2010. Shortly after that, Microsoft came out with Windows 7, Ms. Ukadike, began work updating the first edition with new technologies to create a 2^nd Edition of  “Basic Computing Concepts: A Simplified Approach” based on Windows 7 which was also published by McGraw Hill Learning Solutions in 2011. Thus, the 1^st and 2^nd editions of her custom books were driven by her strong desire to help her students learn the simple basics of computer technology, be able to perform every basic tasks on the computer, and become computer proficient. The two custom books were inspired by her students, and written for her students. Her students also inspired her to become a writer and gave her a voice to speak out to the world on the issues of computer illiteracy.

In July 2012 Ms. Ukadike relocated to New Mexico following her husband’s acceptance of the position of a Judge with NM State Government. She secured a job with New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department (NMTRD) first as Cash Control Manager (Dec. 2012–Feb. 2015) and later promoted to the position of Assistant Bureau Chief (Feb. 2015–Dec. 2022). While in NM, unbeknown to her, the two custom books she wrote for PTC in SC were already getting the attention of a representative from Tate Publishing Enterprise, a vanity publisher based in Mustang, Oklahoma, who wondered why such good books should be confined to one college alone while many beginners in our society continue to struggle with computer illiteracy. In 2013, the Tate representative who reached out to Ms. Ukadike insisted that with the good quality of the book contents, and so many people continuing to struggle with computer literacy, the book should be made available to everyone in the national market where there was a good market it. Tate convinced Ms. Ukadike to write a 3^rd edition of the book which she hesitantly agreed, and the 3^rd Edition of “Basic Computing Concepts: A simplified Approach” was published in 2014. That edition was sold on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, other online bookstores, and in store front bookstores, including the Hasting’s stores in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Tate Publishing later went out of business, but Ms. Ukadike’s book continued to attract attention, specifically from Martin and Bowman, a Delaware-based literary agent/publisher who persuaded her to write a 4^th edition of the book. This time, Ms. Ukadike researched five competing books in the marketplace, most of which bite off small pieces of beginning computing. She was determined to include what she thought was missing in those books with thorough, complete steps to performing basic computer tasks. She also decided to go comprehensive and included chapters on fundamentals of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and online learning platforms for beginners. As with previous editions, that meant exhaustive step-by-step testing on every function she covers plus creating graphics, so users get visual representations of what they are learning. “This is practical computing in real time” she said. “As I perform the functions on the computer, I write them down step-by-step, to create the learning materials.”

Before writing the 4^th edition, through research and inquiries, Ms. Ukadike became aware that students and teachers in the New Mexico public school system were struggling with computer illiteracy and some were unable to perform everyday basic computer tasks. She decided to conduct a research on the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) curricula. As part of her research, she interviewed high school students, teachers, computer science teachers, school principals and vice principals. The findings from her research show that there was no basic computer technology course listed on the curricular of any of the top ten high school, and 2-year colleges she reviewed. Instead, they teach students Adobe Shop, Robotics, Photo Shop, Info Tech, Basic Keyboarding – all these courses have no value for students to help them build solid foundation in basic computer technology as they prepare for college.  Her findings also revealed that many high school students and teachers in public schools were not computer literate. In addition, the NMPED schools do not have a basic computer textbook; there is no budget for it every year because basic computer technology is not a core course (it’s an elective). Further, teachers use Google and YouTube training videos online as training materials to teach students basic computing which do not contain complete steps in basic computer training. When Ms. Ukadike began work on the 4th edition in March 2019, she was also conducting her research on computer illiteracy in New Mexico state, the findings of which were her inspiration for writing  the 4^th edition of her book. She completed the manuscript in June 2021; additional work continued with the publisher—editing, graphics formatting, and book cover design—for an additional year, including delays caused by COVID lockdowns. Finally, on July 19 2022, “Basic Computing Concepts: All-in-One Beginners Guide to Computer Proficiency, the 4th Edition was released on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and available on 22 online and storefront bookstores in the United States. Shortly after the book was published, Ms. Ukadike submitted a comprehensive 35-page report of her research to NMPED titled:  “The Current Computer Science Program in Public Schools Does Not Meet the Requirements for Introduction to Basic Computer Technology. Find out How in this Report.”

In her role as a Tax Accountant with NMTRD (Dec. 2012–Dec. 2022), her writing skills and classroom teaching experiences placed her in a position to also function as organizational policy/procedure writer and trainer. She wrote standard operating procedures for the Department and also participated in providing employee trainings during implementation of new technologies and new work processes. Ms. Ukadike is an Accountant by profession, a job she loves, and has enjoyed doing for the past 28 years. However, she also loves to write and teach; explaining that she feels very passionate about helping people learn new things; make them feel empowered; and get excited about acquiring new knowledge. As a former teacher who has witnessed firsthand how individuals struggle with computer technology, Ms. Ukadike approaches the learning process from the eyes of new beginners and wrote the 4^th edition of her book “Basic Computing Concepts–All-in-One Beginner’s Guide to Computer Proficiency.” from their point of view to make it easier for them to grasp.

The computer industry is very dynamic as technology creators and program designers continue to introduce new and updated program features for school, home, and business computing. In this constantly changing technological environment, new beginners continue to struggle to learn how to perform basic computer tasks and face the challenge of adapting to the ever changing computing world.  With tremendous empathy for beginners in computer literacy, Ms. Ukadike poured her heart and soul into this 4^th Edition: “Basic Computing Concepts–All-in-One Beginner’s Guide to Computer Proficiency.” Her goal is to capture the essence of today’s technology with authenticity in practical system functionalities, and in real time, to ensure that beginners can learn with ease.  In her own words: “People need to learn with enthusiasm, excitement, and feel the empowerment that comes with new knowledge.” The book also contains beginners guide to the most commonly used Microsoft Office application programs to help beginners become proficient in basic computing as well as build  strong foundation in MS Office programs that will enable them progress to intermediate and advanced levels if they so desire. Ms. Ukadike is married to Dr. Kenneth Ukadike, currently a retired judge from the State of New Mexico. Together they have raised four grown children. She is also retired from New Mexico Taxation and Revenue after 10 years. She is currently focusing her efforts on writing, promoting her book, raising awareness to the problem of computer illiteracy in the state of New Mexico, and operating her accounting and tax business as a Retired Accountant.