Technology is everywhere. It's in our cars, our jobs and our homes. Once upon a time, only one spouse knew how to program the coffee maker and keep the VCR clock correct. Now, almost every home has a computer and both spouses have a need for it. While one may be more computer literate than the other, both should have a working knowledge of how to use information technology for themselves and for the good of the home.



1. Be patient. The last thing you need to do is lose your cool while teaching your spouse. Making them feel insulted will not end just with the lesson but also follow you throughout your home. Learning computers and Internet lingo becomes even more difficult to grasp when there's tension. Start with the basic technology terms and concepts and work your way up from there.

2. When teaching your spouse about technology, you need to decide your role: will you be a teacher or will you be a spouse? Being a teacher will be treating your spouse as someone who is learning, not your "sweetie." Being a spouse will be more playful and probably take a little longer to teach with all the kisses and playfulness. Watch how your spouse reacts to the teacher role, it promotes superiority and may not go well.

3. Use analogies. Liken technology to situations that your spouse can understand. For example, if they're good in cars you can compare computer tech to auto tech. If they understand other technology around you (like TiVO or even the VCR) it can give you a place to make comparisons. Analogies help to sink the concepts in. Just make sure you know the analogies you're using make sense.

4. Watch boundaries. When you're teaching, it helps to teach. When you're a spouse, be a spouse. Don't use your tech teaching to get things for your role as spouse like trying to exchange your teaching efforts to get out of housework. Likewise, don't let spousal activities cloud your teaching technology.

5. Practice. Sit with your spouse and go over using the computer and different tasks repeatedly. If you both want to know how to use the web for paying bills, practice actually doing it. If your spouse wants to know how to install software or use the portable hard drive, do it. If they're not strongly opposed, give them some tasks to try but don't call it homework!