Twenty-one levels, one mat each
PC Operator Curriculum
A structured route from knowing what the machine is to running your own workflow: files, browser, the suites, utilities, backup, capture, paperwork, troubleshooting, security, automation, networking, media, data, accounts, the command line and technical literacy. Every mat ends with a pass check you can test yourself against.
Everyday Competence
Levels 0, 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 11
Know the Machine
Orientation
Level 0 · Everyday Competence
What the hardware is, where files live, the words that get mixed up, and the file types you will meet.
Windows Core Fluency
Desktop, Explorer, ten shortcuts
Level 1 · Everyday Competence
Start, taskbar and displays; File Explorer from rename to batch rename; the ten shortcuts that change everything.
Typing, Text & Keyboard Control
Select, move, paste, find
Level 2 · Everyday Competence
Selection by word and line, paste without formatting, find and replace, the symbols you actually need, and cleaning pasted web text.
Web Browser & Search Mastery
Habits, operators, trust checks
Level 3 · Everyday Competence
Tab and bookmark discipline, site permissions, the search operators, and how to tell a real source from SEO spam.
Screenshots, Recording & Documentation
Capture, annotate, record, report
Level 8 · Everyday Competence
Snipping and OCR, redaction that actually redacts, recording settings, a bug report template and a how-to guide shape.
Printing, Scanning, PDF & Paperwork
Paper in, paper out
Level 9 · Everyday Competence
Printer setup and stuck queues, scanning at the right dpi, PDF merge-split-sign-OCR, and a paperwork routine.
Security & Privacy
Non-negotiables, phishing, scams, habits
Level 11 · Everyday Competence
Password manager and 2FA, the phishing tells, the common scams, and the everyday habits that close the gaps.
Office Productivity
Levels 4, 5
Google Workspace
Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Calendar, Forms
Level 4 · Office Productivity
Search operators and filters in Gmail, sharing levels in Drive, styles in Docs, the working formulas in Sheets, and Forms that land in a sheet.
Microsoft Office Suite
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
Level 5 · Office Productivity
Styles and track changes, tables and pivots, slide masters and presenter view, rules and scheduling.
Power User
Levels 6, 7, 15
Essential Third-Party Utilities
The clean utility stack
Level 6 · Power User
PowerToys to WSL2: one tool per job, marked free, freemium or paid, with the install rules that keep junkware out.
File, Backup & Cloud Discipline
Naming, folders, 3-2-1
Level 7 · Power User
A naming convention, a folder template, the 3-2-1 backup rule, and cloud hygiene.
Media & Creative Production
Images, sizes, audio, video, design
Level 15 · Power User
Formats and resizing, the aspect ratios and store sizes, an audio chain, a video export recipe, and design rules.
Operator Plus
Levels 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
Basic Troubleshooting
The framework and the tools
Level 10 · Operator Plus
Ten questions in order, the "internet is broken" decision tree, and the built-in tools that answer them.
AI-Assisted PC Work
What it is good at, the rules, the prompt
Level 12 · Operator Plus
Where an assistant helps, what never to paste into one, a prompt pattern for problems, and the tools.
Automation for Normal People
No-code first, then ten-line scripts
Level 13 · Operator Plus
Filters, templates and schedulers first; then the built-ins and the ten-line scripts that rename, resize, convert and back up.
Networking Basics
Vocabulary, Wi-Fi, commands, sharing
Level 14 · Operator Plus
Modem versus router, the two Wi-Fi bands, the diagnostic commands, the router page, and local sharing.
Data Handling
CSV in, summary out
Level 16 · Operator Plus
Importing CSV properly, cleaning, summarising with pivots and the IFS functions, validating, and knowing when Sheets is not enough.
Accounts, Admin & Online Operations
Hygiene, money, roles, ownership
Level 17 · Operator Plus
Every account in the manager, subscriptions listed, the business-critical logins documented, roles understood, data exported yearly.
Command Line Basics
PowerShell, with the Linux flavour
Level 18 · Operator Plus
Moving around, files and folders, apps and system, network, safety, and the Linux equivalents for WSL2 and servers.
Light Technical Literacy
One-line mental models
Level 19 · Operator Plus
API, database, frontend and backend, Git, Markdown, JSON, environment variables, logs, DNS, cache, latency: one line each.
Personal Workflow Design
Build once, reuse forever
Level 20 · Operator Plus
Templates, the checklists worth owning, a twenty-minute weekly review, the inventories, and two note formats.