Newcastle Library – Adult and Culture Services
Libraries, Information and Lifelong Learning

In addition to 1-2-1 taster sessions and classes on basic Internet Skills and e-mail we also offer sessions on music downloading, online shopping, social networking and will be doing a session on online dating at the end of July and we are planning sessions on eBay, digital photography and file management. We plan new sessions based on public demand and feedback from taster classes – for example we found that by doing the music download sessions that the area that most customers had issues with was basic file management, which is something that most of us take for granted but is essential to both downloading music and moving images from a camera to a pc.

The 1-2-1 sessions are done using handouts that the customer can keep. The taster classes follow the same format using the handout as the basis of a Power Point presentation. We take a show and try approach but this sometimes depends on the skill level of the group.

Taster sessions are aimed at all ages. Although we do not currently gather information on the ages of those taking part a very high proportion are aged over 50. Library customers like the tasters because often they have a specific issue that they want help with and don’t always want to sit through a number of classes on a prescribed course. Our staff are flexible enough to be able to tailor sessions to individual needs and often a taster is a springboard to finding an appropriate course.

From the taster classes we recruited a group of Silver Surfers who meet in the City Library on the first Thursday of the month. After consulting with the group we are working on a monthly programme where we look at a different topic each month. The group wanted to start with basic keyboard skills and we looked at this using My Guides and in the next few months we will be looking at e-mail and file management. So far the Silver Surfers seem to enjoying being in a group setting and are supporting each other and forming friendships as well as engaging with the digital world.

I’ve found the Digital Unite website useful to refer to and really appreciated the link to the ILC-UK report by Simon Roberts on The Fictions, Facts of Older People and Technology as it was thought provoking.

If you would like to share you example of how you or your organisation is helping older people get to grips with digital music get in touch by emailing kate.norman@digitalunite.net

Improving your typing skills has a lot of benefits. Besides the obvious typing speed, people who type with ten fingers make fewer mistakes, spend less time in front of the monitor and suffer less wrist pain.

Here are some free online typing lessons that you or people your are involved with helping along with their IT can try out. They vary from the very formal to the BBC’s version for children (which is just as fun for adults).

Typing Practice 1
http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/typing/

Typing Practice 2
http://www.sense-lang.org/typing/tutor/lessons.php?lang=EN&lesson=1

Typing Practice 3
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/flash/stage1.shtml

Typing Practice 4
http://www.typeonline.co.uk/copypractice.php

Typing Practice 5
http://keybr.com/

Have you got any others which you can suggest and how to you incorporate them in a session?

Discover the new BBC iPlayer

What is your favourite programme on the BBC at the moment?

Fiona Syrett

Are you shopping online for your Christmas presents this year? Millions of us are -  it’s convenient, there’s more choice and you can often save money.    It’s also safe and secure so long as you take a few simple steps first.

Ofcom has today published a video setting out the steps we can take and things we should look out for when shopping online this Christmas.  The video can be found here.

The video forms part of Ofcom’s support for Get Safe Online week (16-20 November), an annual event to raise awareness of internet safety issues. You can read more about that here

gill

Hello from the DNC Blog Editor…

UK Older People’s Day is on October 1st, 2009 (at this rate we’ll have a Day for everyone, a kind of Hallmark Calendar – how about  Uncles’ and Aunts’ Day? or Step-parents’ Day, or …well, let’s calm down).

And, yes, you’ve guessed it, it’s all a plot to make us fitter and happier so we aren’t a drain on resources – which is no bad thing. And (you’ve probably guessed this, too) you can hold an Event!  It can be anything you like, really, so long as it’s celebrating being older and being in a community. And there’s a great little ideas ‘toolkit’ (yes, we hate the word, too, but this one is actually quite inspiring and by the time I’d finished reading it I really did want to Start a Community Garden, have a Clothes Swap Party do Strictly Comes to Town, and then had to lie down).

All this is being put out by our own dear government and you can find more here. And, remember, the best way to get ‘even’ (with the inevitability of ageing, the heat, the cold, the government, the credit crunch) is to ‘have fun’. And that’s official…?! (At last, I feel properly understood…)

Gill

http://www.fundingcentral.org.uk/

Wiltshire Farm Foods provides nutritionally-focussed ready-made meals, delivered frozen to the door. We pride ourselves on service, trust & reliablility – but how does this translate online?

I attend a lot of online events and forums, and I’m repeatedly amazed by my peers who don’t consider the over-50′s to be online, let alone to put enough work into their website to accommodate them! We’ve been running http://www.wiltshirefarmfoods.com for several years now, and whilst yes, it has been a challenge, we passionately believe that we can provide a friendly, safe & risk-free environment for people to try out their first online shopping experience.

As I write this, I’m in a Usability Session. We’ve had several test users come in, to try out out website and see what we’re doing right, and more importantly, what we’re doing wrong. This is what I’ve learnt.

1. Users never click the wrong thing – they click what they think is the right thing, it’s the website that is wrong.
2. Reassurance is the key. The internet is quite a scary place if you’re not familiar with it. 
3. Build a relationship with your visitors. I’ve often spoken directly on the telephone (and occasionally, we make house calls!) – the level of service you provide online should be equal, if not better, than the service you offer offline.

I repeatedly urge my peers to respect elderly web users. We have a saying at Wiltshire Farm Foods – “With Age Comes Wisdom” – age & wisdom are 2 things money can’t buy! There’s certainly a level of life skills and experience that the over-50s have that younger audiences don’t. Celebrate that.

I’m looking forward to SIlver Surfer’s Day, and look forward to greeting new online visitors on Friday!

Matt

Available as a video and downloadable guide, this resource is intended to show parents and guardians how to use parental controls and filters to manage their children’s access to digital TV and internet content. The guide also encourages parents and guardians to talk to their children about what they do on the internet and how to use it safely.

The video and guide can be found on the Ofcom website or you can embed the video from YouTube. Please take a look and circulate to your friends, family and professional networks.