Be Connected grant creates more tutoring opportunities at the libraries

The Shire’s Library Service is pleased to announce that it has been successful in obtaining a second Be Connected: Building Digital Skills grant from the Federal Government. The grant is administered by the Good Things Foundation, and aims to encourage over-50s to build on their digital skills. A Shire spokesperson said the libraries have been offering free one-on-one digital tutoring for over-50s since January with the first program delivery grant. “The program has been extraordinarily popular, resulting in a waiting list of people who are keen to increase their digital participation and waiting to access a tutor,” a Shire spokesperson said. “This second grant allows us to continue to offer the program for another 6 months. “We’re now working through the waiting list, and we continue to welcome requests from anybody over 50 who would like to participate.” The grant requires that all learners complete at least 30 minutes of online learning using the Be Connected self-learning portal. A tutor is allocated to help each learner to do this, and then a one-on-one session can be scheduled which is directed by the interests of the learner. “It’s important to have some general digital literacy, but most people then have very specific areas of interest that they want to pursue,” the Shire spokesperson said. “Some want to learn about social media, while others might be solely interested in exploring the functions of their mobile devices. “By combining the initial structured lesson with an unstructured, learner-directed session to follow, we hope to meet the varied needs of our older community, and encourage greater digital inclusion.” Sessions are available at both the Margaret River and Augusta Libraries, and can offer assistance with PCs, laptops, tablets and mobile devices. Anybody who is interested in learning more is invited to contact the Margaret River Library on 9780 5600 or email [email protected]