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City of Salford Community and Social Services
The NIACE Laptop Networking Initiative has to be applauded as an exiting innovative contribution to development of practical It skills. The overall aim and purpose has been to promote educational/lifelong learning projects within diverse communities. This fantasy and hype that sometimes characterises the use of IT in Adult/Community Learning can be viewed as a stumbling block to improve services on raising standards for community development practitioners. However the opportunities that have been created to make extensive use of this subject of new technology within informal settings has provided a real challenge. Inevitably the quality of basic computing skills has been varied, and my own interest and motivation has been to access all available IT Training and Support e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel, Desk-Top, Email and internet facilities. This has allowed me to overcome any obstacles in delivering small scale demonstrations to local community groups and organisations. This has been ongoing to my own personal and professional development.
The benefits to local practice has been wide ranging in enhancing, and in some circumstances transforming local group work experiences and activity programmes in different settings. The areas and examples of this include:
 | At the Irlam Community Centre- with selected user group; |
| Elderly Persons’ Social Club (at their Millennium Party); |
| Pre-school Parents Toddlers Groups; |
| Community group work projects; |
| Local strategic planning groups i.e. Transport Working Group and Cycling User Group Meeting; |
| Community Festival Committee; |
| Basic Education/Everyday English Classes; |
| Irlam and Cadishead Community Committee; |
Through the use of the laptop all the individual or group participants have been able to maximise their potential for successful partnership working in the given locality. This has involved strengthening active volunteering, and practically assisting groups or organisations to use a computer to engage/involve individually in local group work planning, decision making and evaluation processes.
The laptops have therefore been used to show these groups the value of accessing the internet and websites, offering immediate access to print based learning through word-processing, CD ROM’s, letter writing, document preparation, scanning and extensive information through Encarta etc. The promotions of participation in adult learning has been experimental, immediate and direct, and has always been viewed with enthusiasm and excitement. Naturally the magic of IT and computers has to be de-mystified in order to show the overall potential of computers to new learners. Many pitfalls have been encountered along the way e.g. being unclear about specifics in sequential programming. There still has been a genuine consensus within all local group participants to overcome inadequate knowledge. Once the laptops are introduced into local group settings with regularity and permanency this leads to increasing demands for further use, and the need for more equipment. Part of the challenge will be to maintain the continuing momentum is ongoing community development practice
by Chris Trueblood
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