If you or someone you know wants to develop digital skills and confidence in a friendly and welcoming environment, next week at Onkaparinga Libraries is a prime opportunity.
Get Online Week (14-20 October) sees events held around the country to help people take part in what is an increasingly digital world, and City of Onkaparinga is hosting a range of sessions at Aldinga, Noarlunga, Aberfoyle Park, Willunga, Seaford and Woodcroft Libraries.
There are sessions on topics such as how to avoid scams – hosted by the popular Adelaide Tech Guy – using apps and how to take up digital hobbies, as well as general digital “drop-in” sessions, where residents can come in and seek support for whatever digital issues they have, on whatever device they bring with them.
You can find a program flyer at our website, which you can print out and give to those who are after an extra helping hand with their digital skills.
Alternatively, people can visit any of our libraries to ask staff for details and grab a flyer.
Aldinga Library Team Leader, Andrew Berney, says improving your digital skills can be life-changing.
“Becoming more confident online can help you keep in touch with friends and loved ones, keep on top of day-to-day tasks such as bills and shopping, and gain instant access to a world of information on whatever interests you,” Andrew says.
“The great thing about our Get Online Week events is they take place in non-traditional and welcoming settings, where there’s no such thing as a stupid question.”
Onkaparinga Libraries also hold year-round weekly digital drop-in sessions, while an in-home Digital Literacy Program – recently highlighted by ABC News Adelaide – is available to older residents.
The volunteer program started in March and helps residents aged 65+ learn how to use digital devices in their homes for $3 a session.
It has already prevented one resident from losing thousands of dollars in an online scam, helped a vision-impaired woman set up a speed dial system on her phone to contact family and important numbers more easily, and taught another resident how to make video calls to stay in touch with his daughter in a more personal way.
Lisa Elder, City of Onkaparinga’s Social Connections Coordinator, says the program has been a great success because people learn how to use devices in the comfort of their own homes at a pace that suits them.
She says it also eliminates the awkwardness and anxiety that comes with being in a classroom environment with other people, where it can be scary asking questions.
Program participant Sylvia Andrews, 76, was able to recoup money she lost to a scammer and she told the ABC she now can’t imagine a world without her computer.
“Because I’m on my own, a computer is like a way to communicate with the world,” she said.