I learnt most of that stuff myself through trial and error as a child... for free. Did I ever mess up my computer doing that? Yes. Did I fix it? Well I had to. Did I learn more than what some guide or tutorial could teach me? You bet.
The best way to learn how to use a computer is to use one. I learnt most of my stuff from computer games. First they have to be installed (learn about harddisk management), set up with options and things... download patches and new maps and figure out how to add them... look at game files and see what happens if I change them... computer games taught me more than I ever learnt about computers at school.
I remember the lessons, wasted my time basically. Following all these instructions on how to write a letter or copy a file that were just trival to me and I got bored easily. I suggest, show the kids the basics, then let them figure out how to do it on their own, unless they ask for help or are struggling. Give them some reference sheets on how to use different aspecs, and show them how to access help inside Windows or Microsoft Office, then let them get on with it. They'll look up what they need to and get some hands on experiance problem solving, and learn how to look up information efficiently. Because in real life you don't get handed a sheet telling you what to do.
1. Show them (you doing it yourself) some basics.
2. Give them some general information sheets to use as and when they need.
3. Give them a task, let 'em rip.
Will they work individually on their own computer, or as a group? As a group might be easier (especially if you don't have enough computers!) but make sure all people are contributing... whenever I was grouped with people on things I was good at and they were not I tended to do most of the work. If you see someone in the group is too advanced for the others, make sure he gets something more challanging to keep him motivated, and keep a look out for people relying in others in a group, as the only thing they are learning is how to copy others.
Well I'm no teaching expert, but my two pence. Hope it was helpful.
