Students who want to know exactly how that piece of machinery humming on top of their desks works can find out at the Office of Academic Information Technologies in Durham Center.

AIT, formerly named the Computation Center, provides instructional and research computing for the university. AIT offers more than 35 free courses through the Computer Survival School, including Microsoft Office topics, iMovie, WebCT, Unix and Photoshop, said Mike Bowman, assistant director of AIT.

The courses, which are held nearly every day, are funded by student computer fees and are free to students with a current fee card, according to the office’s Web site, www.ait.iastate.edu. The classes require preregistration, which can be done in the Solution Center in 195 Durham.

A schedule of the classes is available at the Web site.

If the scheduled course times don’t work for the student, there is always an online option, said Dorothy Lewis, interim director of AIT.

“About two years ago, in partnership with the College of Business, we greatly expanded our training offering by licensing 200 online courses from SmartForce,” she said.

These courses are available to anyone on campus with a valid NetID, Lewis said. “The online courses are a really wonderful way to pick up new skills on your own schedule,” she said.

According to the Web site, private scheduled classes for groups of eight or more also can be arranged.

The courses give students a familiarity of basic software as well as offering advanced and Web-related courses.

“Although these are non-credit offerings, many instructors require their students to have the knowledge offered in one or more of the short courses,” Bowman said.

Few people are taking advantage of the program, Lewis said, but it can be an excellent addition to a r‚sum‚ for those in information technology fields.

Handouts used in most of the courses are available in the Solution Center and are also available for viewing in the Parks Library Media Center, Bowman said.