The I.T. training room is an environment where individuals come to learn an I.T. software application or to gain a greater understanding of computers. There are numerous formats for the delivery of training, but this study concentrated on direct, instructor-lead delivery of pre-defined course materials. The topic being covered during the investigation was an introduction to the use and application of the presentation program Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 in the Windows environment. The two training delegates involved in the study are not highly PC literate and do not work in an environment where they have a large amount of exposure to computers. .
The initial project proposal intended for research to be carried out with individuals attending a government-funded programme to gain improved PC skills with which to seek employment. Due to the complicated nature of obtaining permission and the multi-level organisation of groups involved in programmes of this type, the project has instead focused on the delivery of a training course to two individuals seeking greater understanding of the PowerPoint application, which they hope will benefit them in their employment choices in the future. The theme of the project remained consistent with the original proposal in that the training is intended to empower the trainees to gain a better job or have more choices in the job market, although the scale of the project was reduced to examining the discourse between three individuals including the trainer.
Control in the educational environment.
One of the purposes of this study was to examine the control of discourse in the training environment. Critical discourse analysis takes its foundation from the assumption that there is inequality between speakers and listeners, readers and writers and that this can be linked to linguistic accessibility and social resources. According to Van Dijk (1996), control of public discourse is an important symbolic' resource particularly in respect of knowledge and information.