Enabling IT

Why not Spring Online?

2011-05-04T09:32:00.000+01:00

Monday 16^th May sees the start of Spring Online week. Spring Online week is a national event organised by Digital Unite in partnership with UK online centres, the BBC and Race Online 2012, all supporting a campaign to give more people the opportunity to find out what they can do online.

During Spring Online week I’ll be running sessions in both Blyth and Morpeth libraries. Open to complete beginners and those with a bit more experience I’ll show people how to access websites and how to search for information. Come along to find out about YouTube, watching TV online and much more... Spaces are limited so contact the libraries direct to book a place.

Celebrating our success

2011-03-28T10:20:00.005+01:00

On Friday I was invited to the "Tea-time treat" at Johnson House, Longhoughton. This is a regularly monthly event attended by neighbours and friends as well as residents. This month, as well as the usual bingo, we celebrated the success of the Get Digital programme at Johnson House.

Since October I've been working with a small group of residents and local people showing them the wonders of the internet and the benefits of going online. One of the learners already had a netbook and was familiar with using Skype to speak with her family abroad. She was kind enough to help me demonstrate it to other learners and they quickly saw the benefits. Gladys was soon making regular calls to her daughter in Canada and grandson in France. Other residents are interested in researching their family trees and we've been treated to some great talks by Anne Newberry Local Studies Librarian at Northumberland Archives.

At Friday's event Housing Manager, Bruce Dixon, described how Johnnie Johnson Housing is using Johnson House as a shining example to many of their other housing schemes where computer equipment is lying idle.

Special guests at the event were children from Longhoughton C of E First School. The children, and their headteacher, visit Johnson House once a fortnight to help and encourage the learners. Recently they have helped with online shopping, sending e-mails and digital photography. Both the children and the residents have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

I handed out certificates to all of the learners to acknowledge their participation in the programme and John Whitbread, manager at Johnson House, explained that the residents will be putting together a video to celebrate Spring Online in May. In the video they'll showcase the skills they've learnt in the last few months - searching the web, e-mail and shopping online.

Although only a small rural sheltered housing scheme the residents of Johnson House have really embraced Get Digital. Long may it continue!!!

Anyone who keeps learning stays young

2011-02-07T10:19:00.006Z

There's a stereotype of older people sitting in front of the fire, watching TV. Gran will have her knitting and a tabby cat, grand-dad will be smoking a pipe. That's certainly not true of the learners at the Get Digital schemes that I'm involved in.

As Henry Ford famously said: "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young."

The Get Digital learners are keen to prove Henry right. At Longhoughton G. looks about 20 years younger than her age and has taken to the PC like a duck to water. She's using Facebook to keep up to date with the activities of her great-grandchildren and Skype to chat with them. J. is an artist and now that I've introduced her to a simple drawing package she's planning to create artwork for the art club electronically for the first time.

At Woodridge Gardens in Washington some of the learners have mobility problems. But that doesn't stop them using the computers. M. dashed in last week to check what time the King's Speech was showing at the local cinema. F. came in with her two daughters to Skype family 'down south'.

The Get Digital programme may be aimed at older people but they're all so keen on learning they'll be staying young forever.

Free IT for beginners sessions

2011-01-24T10:03:00.002Z

I'll be running free IT taster sessions in four libraries in south-east Northumberland between 21st February and 1st March. Check your library for details.

Washington calling the world

2011-01-21T12:31:00.005Z

I began Get Digital learning sessions at Woodridge Gardens in Washington in early January. I've a wide range of learners - some complete beginners and others who are looking to learn more about e-mail, digital photography and shopping online.

As usual I'm finding that learners' families are very enthusiastic about the opportunities and are supporting the leaner, perhaps by buying them a memory stick or a digital camera. One learner M. even has her daughter attend the session with her. After I've shown her what to do, her daughter helps her practice her new skills.

At a recent session I explained to mother and daughter what Skype was. I pointed out the tiny camera on the PC and described how when we made a call we'd be able to see the people we were talking to. This week they arrived promptly for their lesson clutching a piece of paper with Skype addresses scribbled on. Could they make a call? Relatives in Scotland and Eire were waiting to speak to them.

We quickly found the people we wanted in the Skype address book and made our first call north of the border. Our call was answered and we could see and hear M's other daughter. But she couldn't hear us! A slight technical problem - we'll call again once she's got her speakers working.

Our second call was much more successful. M's granddaughter in Eire was waiting to speak to us. And with her, she had her two year old - a great-grandson that M. had never seen before. After waving to his great-gran he was off to race around the room!

M. enjoyed her Skype calls and I left her arranging a regular time to call her family each week.

Everyone's Getting Enthused

2010-12-17T11:54:00.002Z

This week I've visited two more sheltered housing schemes where I'll be running Get Digital projects - Woodridge Gardens in Washington and Nellie Gormley House in North Tyneside.

The first stage of any of these projects is to meet with potential learners and help them "get enthused" - that is learn about the project and be excited about the possibilities. I was thrilled to meet with a number of enthusiastic residents at both schemes. All the schemes are different and at Woodridge Gardens almost everyone who came along to the coffee morning had very little experience of using computers - but were excited by the opportunities available to them. Everyone is very keen to keep in touch with family and friends and we talked about the benefits of e-mail and Skype.

Naturally people are a little nervous about learning something new but one resident told me: "I look at you, and I think, if she can do it, so can I!" Clearly a determined lady she's not going to be put off by her wheelchair and poor health. Another is determined to fit in computer lessons around her hospital appointments.

At Nellie Gormley House they've been lucky enough to have had training from Age UK in the past and one or two people went on to buy their own laptop or netbook. So they've a better idea about how they want to improve their skills in various areas. One gentleman is keen to do some digital photography; a lady is skilled in crafting and is wondering about the possibilities of selling her hand-made goods online. One man did confess to being a complete beginner: "My five-year-old grandson is on the computer all the time, I want to understand what he's talking about!"

So, lots of excited people, including the tutor! Roll on the New Year when we can start the lessons.

The magic of a Christmas card

2010-12-07T15:59:00.003Z

One of my fellow Get Digital tutors, Kathy Suddick, was kind enough to send me an e-Christmas card yesterday. As it was an animated snow scene I thought some of my learners at Longhoughton might like to see it.

The card needed some simple mouse skills to activate it - a couple of clicks and drag-and-drop - so it wasn't just a pretty picture - there was a little mouse practice too!

The learners loved the animation, the music and the pretty images. One lady, who'd had a frustrating morning trying to talk to a call-centre went away saying she felt much more cheerful. And a couple of others want to know how they can send cards themselves - so guess what we'll be doing next week!

Many thanks to Kathy for the card. Your kind thought spread a lot of happiness today!

Exciting times ahead

2010-12-02T07:48:00.004Z

Earlier this week I visited the Get Digital scheme at Longhoughton. The learners have all had their initial lessons and we were meeting to talk about how they will continue to use the computers once I'm no longer helping them.

Since we started we've got complete beginners who are now confident when sending and receiving e-mails. A learner who had some previous experience has increased her skills and is offering to help other residents find the best deals for their gas and electricity suppliers.

The headteacher of the local school came along to the meeting to talk about how some of the children can get involved in helping. Like all young people the children are very enthusiastic computer users and will be keen to show off their skills to the learners. We also hope that the older people can teach them a thing or two - the children will be involved in a World War II project soon and some of the older residents may have first hand experiences that they can pass on.

All the learners are very excited at the thought of working with the young people and hopefully they'll be looking forward to it to - it'll be a change from Maths lessons!

The whole of the north east of England has been buried under a few inches of snow this week. When I visited Longhoughton the main roads in to the village were clear but the road to the scheme was probably six inches deep. Only a couple of the residents have ventured out. So far all the learners have been cautious about the idea of shopping online but if this weather continues they might get a bit more enthusiastic...

Reminiscing

2010-11-22T11:43:00.004Z

At last week's session one of my learners didn't fancy learning. He has some health problems and just couldn't be bothered. I offered to control the PC and find something to interest him. So I opened up Google Maps and asked where he used to live.

We quickly found that the house he'd lived in as a child is still standing. And according to Street View it hasn't changed much at all. "There should be a pub round the corner..." And sure enough a rather large pub is still there. And the learner went on to tell me how his mum had worked behind the bar and he'd visit to collect bottles of beer for his father.

We also found the houses he'd lived in shortly after getting married - living in with the in-laws. He hadn't liked that at all!! Finally he'd moved from Birmingham to York and the houses he lived in then are also still standing. That prompted more memories - his dad had come to live with them for a while.

I think the learner enjoyed this session - no pressure to use the PC when he wasn't feeling well, but a chance to remember some good and bad times from the past.

"I'll have to buy my daughter a webcam for Christmas"

2010-11-03T15:55:00.005Z

At my Get Digital scheme in Longhoughton the scheme manager has been very keen for me to demonstrate Skype. A number of residents have family who live far away including a 97 year-old who has a daughter in Canada.

One of the learners who lives nearby is already a Skype user. With lots of encouragement from her son she now regularly Skypes him at his home in Florida. So she's already an expert.

Yesterday afternoon with a spare hour I asked J, our expert, if she'd kindly wait by her laptop at home for us to call her. The rest of the learners gathered in the computer room and G pressed the "video call" button. As the phone rang at the other end we could see ourselves on the screen. M said "there's a lady with a coat like mine. Oh, it's me!"

Then J answered the call and we could see her too. And hear her and chat about how much we're all enjoying the new computers. J explained how often she calls her son and how she attended a party in Florida last week - via Skype.

We made so much noise that one of the other residents came to see what all the fuss was about it. "Oh", he says, "that's a good idea."

After we finished the call we chatted about how easy it had been and all their friends and family need to do is get Skype on their computers. Our youthful 97 year-old was very interested in the webcam, "my daughter doesn't have one of those on her computer. Perhaps I'll get her one for Christmas".

Getting online in Get Online Week

2010-10-20T10:19:00.002+01:00

Last week the learners at Longhoughton practised using the mouse and keyboard. It was time for something much more exciting this week. And as it's Get Online Week what else could we do...

After a quick explanation I showed them a website and told them to look out for the mouse pointer turning to a hand - "what happens if you click now?" So they clicked and explored and found news stories and recipes.

M. had heard that you could catch up with TV programmes on the internet. "It'll just be some writing telling you what happened in that episode", she said. So I suggested she click where it said "Click to play". Her face was a picture as the programme started!

G. had been shopping in Newcastle but had no luck finding a nice winter coat. "My son says I could've looked on the John Lewis website". So she looked on the John Lewis website and quickly found the ladies coats. But lots were in boring black - a simple click on a little red square and she could see all the bright, red coats. Almost like magic!

Learning at Longhoughton

2010-10-13T08:15:00.006+01:00

Yesterday I delivered the first of the learning sessions at Johnson House in Longhoughton. Through the Get Digital scheme the residents have bought a brand new PC and laptop and I'll be providing lessons for the next few weeks.

Last year the village had a visit from a "computer bus". This bus was kitted out with PCs and internet access so that people in rural areas could get a taster of surfing the web. The residents of Johnson House loved that experience and were really looking forward to using their own computers.

Most of the learners are complete beginners so I tried to keep yesterday's lessons nice and easy and fun! Everyone learned how to turn the PC on and off and started practising their mouse skills. We all had fun with the SeniorNet mouse exercises - lots of laughter as the computer made cat and dog sounds. The Solitaire game is ideal for practising with the mouse and one learner is already well on the way to being addicted!

Soon everyone was a mouse expert so we had a go at typing - one finger typing is all that's needed. And there's no hurry - the computer will wait while you find the key you want! It's always hard to think of something to type when you're just practising so most people just typed their name and address but I jokingly asked one lady if she knew any poems. A few minutes later she'd typed out a verse of the first poem she learned at school when she was four years old. It was a local story of the lifeboat volunteers in the village where she was brought up - her father had been one of the crew. A wonderful little snippet of social history!

I'm always concerned that learners won't enjoy the sessions and find the computers a bit daunting. No need to worry at Longhoughton - one gentleman started the session saying that he had come to see what it was about but that he wouldn't be able to learn. After an hour he thought it was "very interesting" and looking forward to next week. The 'poetry lady' would have "been on all day" if she hadn't had a hospital appointment to go to and another is going to make sure her WI activities don't interfere with computer lessons.

I think this is going to be a very successful scheme!

itea and biscuits

2010-09-28T11:43:00.003+01:00

Last week was itea and biscuits week. Promoted by Age UK these events are intended to provide an introduction to computers and the internet for older people.

I ran a session in Blyth Library with Hilary Love of Northumberland Libraries. We had a full house of people ranging from complete beginners to those who have their own computers but want to learn a bit more.

With only an hour to spare we could only give people a quick introduction to the many facilities avaialable through the internet. We looked at the BBC website and I explained about watching TV programmes. We explored how to search for information and we looked at places we knew on Google Maps.

As usual we could have spent much longer answering questions and we hope to be able to offer further sessions in future. Subjects that learners are interested in include e-mail and researching family history.

As simple as that...

2010-09-22T11:05:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I visited a residential care home which has just taken delivery of three SimplyUnite PCs. Like Alex these PCs are aimed at making computing simple for older people. They offer only a limited set of functions - reading and writing e-mails, making Skype calls, viewing photos and videos and surfing the web.

The users of the these PCs may have problems using a keyboard and mouse so touch-screen technology has been used and the system has nice clear labels and buttons. Whenever text needs to be entered an on-screen keyboard appears. A standard keyboard and mouse are also available for users who prefer them.

I spent time with a number of staff showing them the features of the system and they were very excited about some of the possibilities for their residents. They are keen to get families and friends involved and the system provides easy ways for people to send photos and videos for users to look at.

I look forward to hearing how they get on and seeing this system rolled out to other care homes.

Getting Digital

2010-09-08T09:51:00.007+01:00

Get Digital is a government funded scheme helping older people learn digital skills and get connected to the internet. Sheltered housing schemes have received grants to pay for computer equipment and internet connections. They then receive training and support from Digital Unite tutors.

I'm lucky enough to have been allocated two schemes to work with - one near Middlesbrough and the other in rural Northumberland. A few days ago I visited the rural scheme to meet the potential computer users and run a Get Enthused session.

Longhoughton is a small village with a population of only a couple of thousand but with close links to the nearby RAF base at Boulmer. The sheltered housing scheme participating in Get Digital is also small but they have lots of links with the local community.

I visited during their regular "tea afternoon" - residents and locals alike are invited to the scheme for tea, sandwiches and home-made cakes. They have a raffle, a couple of games of bingo and a chance to catch up on the local gossip.

They were all quite excited while I explained to them about the new PCs that would shortly be set up in one of their spare lounges and that I would be coming along every week to help them learn to use them. Many people had heard about the internet and are keen to find out what it can do for them - they're very interested in ways to save money on their shopping!

Most of the learners will be complete beginners and a couple of ladies confided in me that they're concerned that their sight problems will prevent them seeing the screen. I reassured them that there are lots of things we can do to make it easier for them to use the computer. After that they were quick to sign up for the lessons.

One lady who lives nearby is hoping to improve on the skills she already has. About six months ago her son, who lives in America, had a laptop delivered to her and arranged for a broadband connection to be installed. She'd never used a computer before and was rather wary of it. But with a little help to get started and lots of encouragement from her son she's already learnt how to use e-mail and Skype. And she's looking forward to helping demonstrate Skype to her friends! She's also making a list of questions to ask once the lessons start. That's what I like - lots of keen learners.

Anti-virus software

2010-03-24T09:40:00.003Z

Everyone knows that they need virus protection and everyone has their favourite software. And for every person that tells you how great XYZ product is there'll be another with a horror story about the same product.

If you're elderly, visually impaired or simply a computer beginner you want something that you can rely on and ignore most of the time. You want something that will quietly keep your PC safe without you have to check on it all the time.

Often in this situation I suggest AVG Free as it will update itself without user intervention and can be scheduled to perform a regular scan. However, Fred uses the Jaws screen reader and after an AVG update we found that the two products clashed with each other. AVG simply wasn't happy running at the same time as Jaws.

So, after a chat with the experts at the RNIB, we decided to try AVAST anti-virus. Although we couldn't schedule a scan Fred was able to control the software with the keyboard and run scans manually. As he's still using a dial-up internet connection he'd also perform updates manually when he knew he'd be online for a while.

Recently Fred called to say that Avast was reporting that it needed a major upgrade and so I visited to install that for him. No problem! Except that the new version has a new interface which is virtually impossible to use with the keyboard.

So, once again we need to find another anti-virus solution. I'm evaluating MS Security Essentials and so far that seems to be keyboard friendly. Next step is to get Fred to try it....

Online shopping - choosing a password

2010-02-25T16:20:00.002Z

I'm preparing to teach some sessions on on-line shopping at Berwick Library very soon.

Thinking about the topics I'll cover, choosing a password is a thorny issue. Everyone has heard horror stories about identity fraud and credit card details being stolen. Everyone has heard that they need to be very careful about choosing passwords on the internet. They need a password that no-one can guess and they need to use a different one for every website that they visit. And they mustn't ever write it down.

But many of the people I work with are elderly. They've lots of other things to remember - pin numbers, burglar alarm codes, grandchildren's birthdays. They simply can't remember half a dozen passwords as well.

There are tools that you can use to remember all your passwords for you. And they're very useful if you've got your own PC. If you're using public access PCs in a library or internet cafe you need to be able to remember passwords yourself.

Ideally the password you choose should be a random collection of numbers, letters and punctuation. It will be very difficult for anyone to guess but you probably can't remember it either.

Some hints when choosing a password:

Choose something you can remember without writing it down
Don't use something that's easy to guess - like your daughter's name or your favourite football team
Don't make it very short - that will be easier to guess
Include numbers as well as letters
Don't use a real word
Try combining words to make a nonsense password
Try replacing letters with numbers or punctuation
Use a combination of upper and lower case letters

Examples of bad passwords include:

dog - this is too short
elizabeth - my middle name so easy for friends and family to guess
cucumber - a real word

Some better passwords are:

Caul1flower - the "i" has been replaced by the number "1" and the capital letter helps too
football838 - adding numbers to the end of a real word makes it harder to guess
purplekitten - kittens are rarely purple so running the two words together makes a nonsense word

Transforming Northumberland

2010-01-10T14:15:00.004Z

The latest version of Northumberland News (page 18) includes an article on the Transformation Project.

Pictured, courtesy of Northumberland County Council, is one of the IT sessions at Berwick Library.

Meeting alex

2009-12-13T09:56:00.002Z

alex is a new simple-to-use personal computer that’s aimed at the “digitally-excluded”. Broadband Computer Co, the inventors of alex are based in Newcastle. As the Digital Unite tutor in the region I was invited along to see a demo of the system and borrowed a copy to trial for a week or so.

Setting up alex

When you buy any new toy – computer, phone, breadmaker, etc. – you’re naturally excited and keen to get started. How may times have you been disappointed when you find you need to buy extra batteries, don’t know how to fit the pieces together or can’t find the on switch?

The team at Broadband Computer Co (BCC) have clearly put a lot of thought into your first experience with alex. Each system comes with a slim instruction manual which includes clear instructions explaining how to plug in the power and mouse, how to plug in the router and how to switch on the laptop. All of the instructions are illustrated with photographs of actual equipment.

Once the system has booted up you’re instructed to “follow the on-screen instructions”. However, these are minimal – none of the choosing time zones and locations that Microsoft asks you to do. Finally you’re asked to plug in your “latchkey” – again a photograph shows you how – and type in a four-digit activation number and choose a password. And that’s it – you’re done!

There are bound to be a few people who are too cautious or ham-fisted to set-up alex but with care to follow the instructions even the most novice computer user should be able to manage.

What’s the latchkey about?

The latchkey is a USB memory stick which contains the user’s credentials for alex. The system won’t work unless the latchkey is plugged in and the correct password entered.

The latchkey holds the user’s personal configuration for alex and means that the same laptop can be shared by a number of people all with their own individual latchkey. The latchkey can also be used with another alex laptop meaning that you can use a computer when away from home.

Finally, the latchkey can also be used as a simple memory stick to transfer files between computers.

First impressions

BCC have completely redesigned the user interface. You still need to use a keyboard and mouse, of course, but there’s no double-clicking on icons or navigating a “start” menu. Buttons providing access to the main functions of alex remain on the screen at all times so it’s always obvious how to access the web or check your e-mails.

They’ve also tried hard to replace jargon and cryptic icons with plain English text. So the button to open the web browser is simply labelled “web”. Many buttons also have “tool tips” explaining their function in proper sentences.

Using alex

On signing in to alex you’re presented with your “home” screen – much like Windows this allows you to choose a background picture. “Home” has three small applications available in tabs at the bottom of the screen – “My news”, “My calendar”, “Add a note”. “My news is probably the most useful of these. It allows access to a number of pre-configured news feeds or lets you add your own as you discover them when surfing the web.

“Home” is not terribly exciting and it’s likely that users will quickly head for the buttons on the right hand side of the screen. Here you can access the following functions:
Web

E-mail
Office – include word processing and a basic spreadsheet
Photo – organising and editing photos
People – managing contacts
Play – playing music and movies

Whichever you choose will open up over most of the screen – leaving only the buttons to access the other functions visible. There are no floating windows to drag around here and no notion of minimising and maximising.
’ve been using alex for a few days and it certainly seems to have the functionality needed by most novice users. I’ve browsed many of the most popular websites including YouTube, the BBC iPlayer and eBay with no problems. The e-mail application has all the features you’d expect while hiding the more confusing options such as cc unless you ask to see them.

Within the Office area is a word-processing tool compatible with Microsoft Office and an Excel-like spreadsheet. Again the more complicated options are hidden unless you ask to see them. There are a number of templates available to help you quickly create a document.
BCC have adopted a novel approach to saving files. When you create a new document you’re asked to name it. After that everything is stored automatically – you never need to remember to save anything – probably a much more intuitive method for novice users.

The photo-editing, contact management and play applications provide all the basic functions that you’d expect.

A rather neat feature is that whatever you’re doing – browsing a website, writing a document, viewing a photo – you can click on the “Send” button which is always on the screen. This will add the site URL, document or image to a new e-mail message ready to send to a friend or colleague.

The human touch

As well as aiming for a friendly, intuitive user interface BBC have provided some information for beginners in the instruction manual supplied. As well as details of the alex functions there are guides to using the mouse and keyboard – both hurdles to novice users.

They also hope to set-up a community of alex users who can support and encourage each other. And rather than the anonymous “welcome to e-mail” message you receive when you sign up to most e-mail accounts they plan to ask a friend or family member to send a new user a message to give them a friendly welcome.

What do you get?

The alex package consists of a laptop and the alex software. alex is a subscription-based service. The monthly fee of approximately £10 pays for support from a dedicated team and regular updates to the software. New features will be added automatically when they are available.

If you don’t already have a broadband connection you can purchase this as part of the package.

It’s not for you, if...

Alex provides a limited set of functions – functions selected through substantial research and testing. If you’re likely to want more functions than that then you’ll be frustrated by alex as you can’t install additional software.

So if you’re a keen photographer moving to digital images and wanting to use a package such as Photoshop alex isn’t for you. And if you want to use specialist software for card-making or scrap-booking alex won’t be good enough.

alex may not be for you if you’ve poor vision. The web browser application does provide a simple way to zoom the page in and out, but there’s no mechanism to change the screen resolution in general.

alex is not for you if you want to share a computer with a non-alex user. At present alex must run on a dedicated laptop. However, there are plans for a version that will run from a CD or can be set-up on a dual boot machine.

And my personal preference would be for a system that allowed more keyboard use rather than relying so much on the mouse.

Would I recommend it?

I didn’t expect to like alex. I was expecting a “noddy” system with very limited functionality. I was pleasantly surprised.

I liked how easy it was to set-up and I liked the user interface. I like the fact that BCC seem to have done substantial user testing of the product and listened to those users. I like the attempts to use simple, jargon-free language.

alex does have limited functionality. That’s because it’s intended for users who require only that functionality. And I think the functions will be sufficient for most home users – not just beginners.

If I were asked about a computer for a beginner who wanted to surf the Net, send and receive e-mails and look at their digital holiday snaps I’d certainly suggest they consider alex as one of the options. Although I’m not convinced of the benefits of the ongoing monthly subscription.

Transforming Northumberland

2009-12-07T15:21:00.013Z

If you're reading this there's a good chance that you can find your way a computer using the mouse and keyboard. I wonder if you can remember the first time you used one.

I can't remember the first time I used a computer, but I can remember my early struggles with a mouse. It was in the days before Microsoft had invented Windows but we had some sort of windows-type system in my first proper job. I distinctly remember a colleague explaining that I could pick the mouse up and move it to a more comfortable position and stop it falling off the edge of the table! I try to remember that when I'm working with beginners.

Recently I've been working with Northumberland Libraries to deliver IT courses at a number of venues in the county. We've started with an introduction for absolute beginners, looked at surfing the web and an introduction to e-mail.

At one session I'd set-up the PCs showing a screen with instructions to move the mouse over the screen to make numbers disappear. One lady picked up the mouse and held it near the screen - no-one had shown her how to use the mouse and what else was she supposed to think? Soon she - and the rest of the group - were confidently moving the mouse, clicking on buttons and dragging objects around the screen.

Once we'd mastered the basics we started exploring the web. The BBC website is a good start - there's lots of content and usually something to interest everyone. It gives people the chance to learn how to follow links from page to page.

In the sessions so far we've seen a wide variety of people. Some, although absolute beginners, already knew that they were missing out and wanted some pointers to get started. One gentleman had used a computer extensively as a typewritter and published a couple of books. The books list an e-mail address to contact him and he was thrilled when we were able to access his e-mail and read his fan mail!

Another lady already knew how to read her e-mail but had never sent a message. Having sent a message to her nephew she quickly received a reply with a photo attached. She was hooked! And headed off home to check prices of broadband so she could get online at home.

The sessions are all about enabling people - enabling them to use the free computer access available in libraries throughout Northumberland; enabling them to surf the web; enabling them to send e-mails.

But it's also about enabling them to make a choice. Someone may come to a session, see what it's all about, hear about some of the things they could do online and then decide that it's not for them. That's fine - they've been able to make an informed decision.

The programme will be running at libraries throughout Northumberland until the end of March and we hope to give a taster of computers and the internet to many more people in that time.

Why on earth do they do that?

2009-09-25T15:20:00.003+01:00

Many visually-impaired people have other health problems too. Some of them have diabetes. So that they can easily check their glucose levels there's a talking glucose meter called CleverChek. It'll tell you all you need to know about your glucose reading, and more... And then it'll tell you to "have a nice day!"

If you're monitoring your results - or your doctor wants to - you can link the meter up to your PC and download the readings. I visited Steve, one of my regular clients, last night to install the software for him.

As usual we had to fiddle about with leads and install drivers but I soon got it working. Then I passed the keyboard over to Steve for his turn. Steve is blind. Strangely that means he can't use a mouse. Most software lets you control it using the keyboard - not CleverChek. All the controls are graphics - and something happens when you move the mouse over them. Not much use if you can't see them in the first place.

So a piece of hardware specifically for the visually-impaired has software that can't be used by the visually-impaired.

Guess what? Steve and I didn't "have a nice day" yesterday!

Encouraging new volunteers

2009-09-21T10:54:00.003+01:00

I got a call from Fred the other day. He's applied to the RNIB to become a computer volunteer but isn't sure what to expect.

He wondered what sort of people he'd be helping and what sort of problems he might encounter. I told him that many of the problems are typical of anyone using a home computer - installing virus checkers; plugging in scanners; replacing printer cartridges; etc. He's got lots of IT experience so he should be able to sort out most problems although he'll have to get used to the PC talking back at him or perhaps having parts of the screen magnified.

Fred doesn't have much experience of dealing with people with visual impairments but as part of the sign-up process the RNIB will be providing lots of advice on that - they're very good to volunteer for.

Of course, I also had to warn Fred about the tea and biscuits he'll be offered every time he visits anyone. And he'll soon get to know lots of nice guide dogs.

I'm sure he'll have great fun.

A change for the better? Maybe not...

2009-08-14T09:08:00.003+01:00

Susan has spent a lot of time over the last year finding her way around the ASDA website so that she can get her shopping delivered. This has made an enormous difference to her - she doesn't have to rely on a volunteer taking her to the shop.

Blind from birth and only a recent convert to computer use it's difficult for Susan to appreciate what I can see on the screen when accessing the website. However, she's learned to recognise key phrases spoken by her screen reader and knows what to do at each stage. She's spent hours setting up shopping lists in different categories and is a wizard at selecting items from a list into her shopping trolley.

So I was surprised to get a panicked e-mail saying that she was "totally baffled" by the ASDA website. Something had gone badly wrong. I took a quick look at the site and saw that ASDA have change things around - no doubt to make a better shopping experience for most people. A problem for Susan though.

I spent last night exploring the new site with her. Even getting in was a challenge. Previously she used a pin number; now it asks for a password. So we set up a password and signed-in. Good news! ASDA have remembered all her shopping lists, her delivery address, etc. BUT they didn't remember that she doesn't want to accept substitute items. Hmm, that's a bit naughty, ASDA.

Susan doesn't appreciate that companies do tend to change their websites every now and again - to look nicer, to make them easier to use or to add new features. All she knows is that she's back to square one again with this site. We need to work through the process step-by-step while she makes notes about what the screen reader says and what she needs to do. We can only do this a bit at a time so it's going to take a few weeks before she knows enough to place an order.

And in the meantime she's back to relying on a volunteer to take her shopping. Thanks, ASDA!

A clever gadget

2009-06-29T12:07:00.002+01:00

John called me last week. He has a talking glucose meter to help him manage his diabetes. His doctor had suggested that they could get more useful results if he could download data to his PC. He'd spoken to supplies of the meter and they were sending him the cables he needed. Could I help set it up?

When the box arrived John was a bit worried. There was nowhere on his meter to plug in a cable. But, when I took a look, there was no need for concern - the meter doesn't plug in at all; it's got an infrared transmitter which 'talks' to a USB pen that plugs in to the PC.

Installing the software took only seconds and we were quickly trying it out. John pointed the meter at the PC and pressed a few keys and at the first attempt the data transferred across. he'll now be able to provide the doctor with the information she wants.

So a nice easy task for me and a nice easy gadget for John to use whenever he needs to.

Better late than never

2009-06-17T11:52:00.003+01:00

We were disappointed in May when we had to cancel the Silver Surfers' Day event in Blyth Library. The technology let us down and the library lost its internet connection that day.

It takes more than that to stop potential silver surfers so we rearranged the event for 10th June - possibly making it the latest Silver Surfers' Day event of 2009.

With everything working this time, team librarian, Hilary Love, and I welcomed nine surfers for an afternoon of exploration. Most had some very basic experience but they enjoyed practising with the mouse before learning more about the internet.

Searching with Google was fun. Someone wanted a holiday in Tenerife; a lady wanted accessories for her new puppy and within minutes a gentleman found information that he'd been looking for for weeks.

We found our houses on Google Maps and took a look at Street View images of Newcastle. No-one was quite sure why they'd want pictures of an ordinary semi on a Blyth housing estate though.

After a couple of hours fun everyone went home, hopefully a bit more confident about using a computer.

Silver Surfers at Ferndale

2009-06-08T14:29:00.003+01:00

Last week I returned to Ferndale Court, Consett to join in a special event for Silver Surfers' Day. Ferndale Court was the location of one of the two PTAP courses that I ran on behalf of Digital Unite.

Ferndale is a one of a number of properties run by Nomad E5 and Sarah Llewellyn from Nomad was keen to show-off the skills off the Ferndale residents. So she invited residents from properties across the north east to Ferndale for coffee and cakes, lunch and, most importantly, some hands-on experience of the PCs. Visitors came from a number of sites - South Shields, Jesmond, Heaton - and met with the Ferndale residents to learn about their experiences.

A number of the visitors had no computer experience so they had a go at learning to use the mouse and a quick tour of some interesting websites including the BBC iPlayer and Google Maps. Others had their own PCs but were keen to try out Google Earth, YouTube and to learn about Twitter.

Once the visitors had enjoyed their lunch and headed home, I spent some time with the Ferndale residents, reminding them how to send e-mail and how to find their favourite websites.

As always I had a great day at Ferndale and I'll be looking for an excuse to visist them again soon.

The Big Day - finally!

2009-05-16T13:26:00.002+01:00

After all the preparation yesterday was, finally, Silver Surfers' Day. And following the problems earlier in the week it was great to have an internet connection!

I spent the day at Timothy Hackworth Court, a McCarthy & Stone sheltered housing scheme in Eaglescliffe, near Stockon on Tees. Lynne, the sales advisor, had invited residents and potential residents to come and chat about computers, learn about the internet and have a go.

They're obviously all very switched on in Eaglescliffe because we had no beginners turn up at all. Everyone who came in had been using PCs for a while and so had lots of questions.

Mr W. is thinking of buying a digital camera and wondered how he would get pictures from the camera and onto the computer. He went away clutching some information about Picasa. He's already followed a few blogs but thinks he might like to have a go at Twitter He was very interested in everything we talked about but was sure that his wife wouldn't be pleased - she has better things for him to do than sit at the computer all day!

Mr E. likes to keep an eye on his finances and was sure there must be a way to create some graphs to show his investments going up and down! He thought that the wizard in Excel would be just the job. He's only got dial-up internet access at the moment but is starting to think that he might be missing out on something.

Mr & Mrs H. are thinking about buying a laptop to use as well as their PC so wanted to know about wireless connections. They're also keen to get more out of searching for information and liked the idea of wikipedia for answers to quiz questions!

Eeveryone seemed to have a grand day. Thanks to Lynne for the lovely tea and biscuits.

Not quite surfing

2009-05-11T20:23:00.005+01:00

Kicked off Silver Surfers' Day early with an event at Scarborough Court residential home with Mark Annis of Cramlington Library. Mark has visited Scarborough Court before and knew that their events manager was keen to have talks and activities for the residents.

We arranged a two part event - while Mark talked to a group of residents and showed them some websites I would give one-to-one tuition to a resident who's been surfing for a while.

So I spent the afternoon with Martha^*. She's been using her laptop for a few years now and is already competent with e-mail and online shopping and banking. She's also very active in her church and uses the laptop a lot to produce documents and minutes.

Martha had a list of questions and we talked about organising files into folders, retrieved her password for an online account and I showed her how to add attachments to an e-mail. She was absolutely thrilled by the simple miracle of 'cut and paste'. She's a smart lady and knew that there had to be a better way than to keep typing the same thing over and over...

We covered a lot of ground in a couple of hours and hopefully Martha will find it useful. I left her about to contact her daughter using her new MS Messenger account.

Mark had a small problem with his event because we couldn't get connected to the wireless network - so no surfing for him. Nothing daunted he showed a small group MS Word and let them all have a go at typing and using the touch pad on the laptop. They were impressed that the computer could check their spelling and grammar for them.

Although he couldn't show any websites Mark talked about the Internet and answered some questions about social networking.

The event went well and as we left the Home Manager was talking about getting a communal PC for the residents to use.

* Not her real name.

Press release

2009-05-07T16:20:00.003+01:00

Northumberland County Council have released a press release for our Silver Surfers' event on Wednesday 13th May:

Confused by computers?

Are you over 50? Do you feel confused by computers? Do you think you may be on the wrong side of the digital divide?

A special event at Blyth Library on Wednesday 13th May is designed to help you. The free IT session is part of Adult Learners Week 2009 and could help make you a ‘silver surfer’ - shopping online and emailing friends.

The session, from 2pm until 4pm, will be run by Anne Donnelly, a tutor from Digital Unite - which specialises in helping people over 50 use IT - from internet and email to social networking and blogs.

Anne says: "Between eight and ten million people in the United Kingdom find it hard to contemplate getting online, and have no idea what it could do for them. By providing guidance in a supportive environment we hope to show those attending how to do some of the things that younger people take for granted."

Marguerite Gracey is Northumberland County Council’s Heritage and Libraries manager. She added: "Many of our libraries are actively taking part in Adult Learners’ Week - providing fun and informative sessions that we hope are helpful to people. These sessions seemed perfect as more and more transactions are taking place online and in this way we can support our customers and residents in improving their skills and increasing their ability to engage with the council and other public and private organisations."

The session will be informal and guided by the level of knowledge that attendees have of computers. It will be hands on - using the libraries facilities and including fun and interesting examples.

For further information call Hilary Love on 01670 714371.

The event is already fully booked and Hilary and I are really looking forward to it. I hope the Silver Surfers are too!

The Queen has been sending e-mail...

2009-05-01T19:43:00.001+01:00

... and I've been blogging about it over at Digital Unite

Full up!

2009-04-28T10:32:00.003+01:00

Great news from Hilary at Blyth Library. All the places for our Silver Surfers' Day event have already been taken. So we'll have ten potential silver surfers on Wednesday 13th May. Hopefully we'll be able to inspire them with some of the wonderful things you can do with the internet.

The more the merrier...

2009-04-27T14:49:00.005+01:00

It looks as though I may be involved in four Silver Surfers' Events in mid-May.

Along with Hilary Love of Blyth Library I will be running an event in the library on Wednesday 13th May. We'll be using the free facilities available in the library to show off a few websites and explain some of those strange words - blogging, Google, Twitter, etc. Everyone is welcome. To sign up contact the library on 01670 361352.
On behalf of Digital Unite I'm tutoring at a McCarthy and Stone sheltered housing scheme in Eaglescliffe on Silver Surfers' Day, 15th May.
Mark Annis of Crmalington Library has arranged an event at Scarborough Court in Cramlington. Mark will give a talk on the internet to any interested residents and I'll give individual tutition to one of the residents who is already a computer user and is looking to improve her skills.
And I'm hoping to find a convenient date to do a session at Ferndale Court in Consett where I had great fun tutoring a PTAP scheme last autumn.

See the official website for more details on Silver Surfers' Day.

Peggy's online!

2009-04-06T15:07:00.004+01:00

A few week's ago I mentioned that Peggy had started a computer course at her local library. She was one of my students at the PTAP sessions at Ferndale Court and she was very interested in using the computer to enhance her crafting skills.

Last week I got an e-mail from Peggy. She was practising her new found skills and e-mailing everyone she knows. She's got on great with her new course and has got on so well with her new tutor that she's knitting him an Arran cardy!

Silver Surfers' Planning

2009-04-06T14:50:00.004+01:00

I met with Hilary Love at Blyth Library this morning to chat about our Silver Surfers' Day event.

As we'll be using the library's PCs we needed to check what we can do and what we can't. Sadly the PCs don't have speakers so we won't be having a noisy session, but there's still lots we can do. We'll be demonstrating:

Some basics of using the computer
Interesting websites
How to search for information
Finding bargains such as cheap flights or cut-price electricity
How to make a greetings card or poster
How to write a letter

We'll explain how you can use your computer as part of your hobby - for example, editing digital photos, tracing your family tree or finding a knitting pattern online. And we'll try to explain some of those odd terms you've heard people talking about - blogging, twittering - what's all that about?

We'll also provide information about where to go next - whether you want to buy your own PC or occasionally use the ones available in the library.

Something to look forward to

2009-03-10T08:40:00.003Z

Susan is becoming more and more confident using her computer. We spent a lot of time looking at the Asda website and she's organised all her shopping into lists and places a regular grocery order on-line. Asda also do a fantastic job - they label all her shopping with Braille labels before it leaves the shop. That means there's no confusion between a tin of beans and a tin of soup!

But last week Susan had a problem with the Asda website. She couldn't quite understand what was going on but it seemed to be telling her that the site was changing. I took a look and Asda explain that they're changing the site - to make it better of course! - but they're introducing gradually in different parts of the country.

In Susan's area the site hasn't changed yet, but it will soon. And when it does she'll have to learn how to the use the new features. So we have a new adventure to look forward to.

Silver Surfers' Day

2009-02-26T08:09:00.002Z

I had a great meeting with Hilary Love of Northumberland Libraries yesterday. We've agreed to hold a Silver Surfers' Day event in Blyth Library on Wednesday 13th May.

More details soon...

Solving problems

2009-02-06T13:51:00.004Z

I visited my friend Susan yesterday. She's one of my RNIB clients but I've visited often and we've chatted so much that I count her as a friend.

She wasn't a confident computer user when I first met her, but she is a touch typist so she's got a head start on many of us. Gradually as we've managed to solve each problem that's come up she's thought of new things that she'd like to use the computer for and we generally find another couple of problems to solve.

She uses Guide software which is a complete package sitting on top of Windows. It's very easy to use for novice users and allows you to write documents, send e-mails, browse the internet, etc. Throughout it guides you with a simple menu system.

However, there are a few things that Guide won't do and you can bet they'll be the things that Susan wants to do! So we've muddled through and worked out a way to output documents to her Braille machine rather than to a printer. And we've solved the problem of downloading audio files from the Talking Newspapers site - Guide doesn't like the security on that site.

Susan also wanted to try shopping on-line. I've been a fan of on-line shopping for years, but I've never tried supermarket shopping so browsing the Asda site was something new for me. Luckily we can do it all within Guide but we've had fun trying to work out which aisle we'll find the tomato sauce in and how to order medium size onions.

We've been rather impressed by the Asda service - the website isn't too difficult to use with a screen reader and the local store are happy to label the items with Braille labels before delivering them - that's pretty good service!

I'll see Susan again in a few weeks and I'm sure she'll have thought of a few more problems for us to solve.

Taking it further

2009-02-03T07:44:00.000Z

I got a little note in the post yesterday. It was from Peggy, one of the learners on the PTAP scheme I tutored at Ferndale Court, Consett.

Peggy is very interested in all sorts of crafts - every week she had a new creation to show me - including greetings cards. Once she'd mastered the basics of the PC we concentrated on ways to find nice verses for her cards on-line and how she could print them out. As the sessions continued she started asking about the sort of things she would need if she decided to buy her own PC.

In her note Peggy tells me that she's signed up for two computer courses locally. She's hoping to improve her basic skills and learn more about the internet and e-mail.

You can see some photos from the Ferndale Court PTAP sessions on DU's Flickr pages.

Another screen reader

2009-02-01T11:23:00.000Z

I visited a new RNIB client this week and, as usual, I probably learned more than he did.

John was having problems with setting up e-mail after changing his broadband provider. He's clearly IT-savvy and once we'd discovered his account settings I was quickly able to set up Outlook Express and he was confident that he'd be able to import the settings into Guide himself once he'd had a chance to catch up on his unread messages.

While I was there he told me about a screen reader I'd not come across before. It's called System Access to Go and can be found at www.satogo.com I've taken a quick look and as well as being free a major advantage seems to be that it doesn't need to be installed and a user should be able to run it from any PC. It runs from the web site and shuts down when you close your browser. Support seems to be mainly for Internet Explorer.

I'm sighted so I'm not the best person to try this out - perhaps I should turn off my monitor! But it's certainly something I'll be trying with some of my regular clients.

An exciting e-mail

2009-01-29T08:12:00.000Z

I received an e-mail yesterday, just a couple of lines deploring the performance of my local football club, but I was thrilled to receive it. It was from Albert (not his real name), one of the learners at the PTAP scheme that I tutored at Hartley Court in Northumberland.

PTAP is Power To All People and is a community programme run by Digital Unite and sponsored by Virgin Media. You can read more about it on the DU blog.

At Hartley Court we had a dozen regular learners making use of the PCs provided by Virgin Media. Many, like Albert, had never touched a PC before and had to learn the very basics of switching on the PC and moving the mouse about.

During my visits to Hartley Court I introduced the learners to the internet, showing them that they can find bus timetables, dancing classes and football results on-line. We spent hours marvelling at satellite images on Google Earth and one of the learners taught me a few tricks for researching my family tree.

And I showed learners the basics of sending and receiving e-mails. And a month later Albert is still practising and sending e-mails. Even if he is insulting my football team...