{"id":11293,"date":"2015-08-04T09:45:53","date_gmt":"2015-08-03T23:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/?p=11293"},"modified":"2015-12-01T17:36:45","modified_gmt":"2015-12-01T06:36:45","slug":"connecting-a-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/connecting-a-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting a community"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tech<\/a><\/p>\n

Pairing tech savvy schoolkids with older people\u00a0struggling with new technology has proved a\u00a0perfect match in the Victorian town of Traralgon.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The idea of a service to help older peoplein the community with their digital devices staffed by local high school\u00a0students seemed logical to Joh Lyons, project worker for the\u00a0Digital Shed, a project of Traralgon Neighbourhood Learning\u00a0House.<\/p>\n

As a former secondary school teacher, Joh knew that many\u00a0local high schools offered Community Service one day a\u00a0week. She also knew that what seemed simple to high school\u00a0kids \u2013 using email, setting up apps, shopping online \u2013 could\u00a0be more challenging for older members of the community.<\/p>\n

Established in 2013, the Digital Shed offers a drop in service\u00a0where high school students help community members with\u00a0easy-to-understand technical information and advice.<\/p>\n

Advantages for young and old<\/h3>\n

The service benefits both teachers and learners, Joh says.\u00a0\u2018It\u2019s a reciprocal relationship. The older people often tell\u00a0stories to the kids and they tend to give lots of positive\u00a0feedback, which the kids just love. They often bring cakes\u00a0and things along because they are just so grateful.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018For the kids and particularly those who are quiet or\u00a0introverted, it\u2019s a great social activity \u2013 they become experts\u00a0and it really brings them out of their shells.\u2019 Parents notice\u00a0the change too. \u2018They say they notice their kids are more\u00a0confident and happy and talk about the people they\u2019ve met.\u00a0A couple who were pretty disengaged at school have taken\u00a0on more of a leadership role as a result of their work here.\u2019<\/p>\n

Tutor training<\/h3>\n

All tutors are trained for their role. \u2018They learn how to\u00a0deal with people who are courageous enough to ask for\u00a0assistance \u2013 they learn that older people can feel silly asking\u00a0for help so it\u2019s important to bear that in mind, to be polite\u00a0and considerate.\u2019<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s rare that Joh has to take a student\u00a0aside and have a word about dealing sensitively with customers. \u2018The kids are spectacular,\u2019 she says.\u2018I also tell them that it\u2019s OK to not know and ask someone\u00a0else. So they learn from each other and become real\u00a0problem solvers.\u2019 But it\u2019s important for them to know their\u00a0limits. \u2018Young people tend to experiment a lot when they\u00a0are learning but it\u2019s best if they don\u2019t experiment on other\u00a0peoples\u2019 devices. If they don\u2019t know the answer it\u2019s best to\u00a0refer people to a computer shop.\u2019\"For<\/a><\/p>\n

Teacher Will Snell, aged 15<\/h3>\n

Will Snell was 13 when he started working at the\u00a0Traralgon Digital Shed two years ago.
\nHe took on the job as part of a Community Service subject at\u00a0his school, Lavalla Catholic College. In that time he reckons\u00a0he\u2019s taught over 100 customers how to use their digital\u00a0devices more confidently.
\nWith his flair for ICT, Will was a good candidate for the\u00a0tutoring job but once he started he found that people\u00a0skills were just as important.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019d never done anything like\u00a0it before, it was completely new to me and I needed help\u00a0with interacting with customers. I watched what the other\u00a0helpers were doing and I learned from that. I found out you\u00a0don\u2019t just have to be silent, you have to talk to people and\u00a0you don\u2019t just sit there and solve the person\u2019s problem all\u00a0by yourself. I show them how to do something. I\u2019ll do some\u00a0talking and check that they are following me. Then I get\u00a0them to do it. I help people to do things themselves.\u2019<\/p>\n

Will\u2019s learned as much from his customers as they have\u00a0from him. \u2018They look at me as a teacher not just as some\u00a0kid.\u2019 Some customers come as a one off to resolve a specific\u00a0problem. Others like Peter and Dawn keep coming back.\u00a0\u2018At first Dawn came for help with email but now I teach\u00a0her different tools like eBay and YouTube and she\u2019s really\u00a0satisfied. She wants to keep up with her friends and I help\u00a0her do that.\u2019<\/p>\n

Getting older has helped. \u2018When I started I was nowhere near\u00a0as good as I am now. I\u2019m more mature. Now when someone\u00a0comes in I know it\u2019s important to ask them what they want to\u00a0learn.\u2019<\/p>\n

Dealing with the questions and queries \u2013 everything from\u00a0how to use Facebook, Gmail, eBay or operate a digital\u00a0camera \u2013 has forced Will to stay a step ahead. \u2018They say that
\nI\u2019m up to anything that comes through the door. It\u2019s really\u00a0good for my confidence. I\u2019m thinking that in the future I\u2019d\u00a0like to work in technical support.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018I see one of our customers Peter as someone\u00a0I can really talk to. He tells me things about
\nhow he grew up and we\u2019ve really bonded.’<\/p>\n

Student Lyn Steele, 67<\/h3>\n

Lyn Steele, 67, was a bit nervous about going to the\u00a0Digital Shed to get help with her new tablet.\u00a0\u2018I thought they\u2019d be too brainy and they might talk down to\u00a0me. But they made me feel really comfortable. It\u2019s been just\u00a0great.\u2019<\/p>\n

When she arrived, she told her student helper that she\u00a0needed help setting up and learning to use her tablet. \u2018I\u00a0said to him \u201cNow just pretend you\u2019re talking to your nanna.\u00a0It\u2019ll go in one ear and out the other so you\u2019ll have to repeat\u00a0yourself.\u201d He just roared laughing, he had a great sense of\u00a0humour.\u2019<\/p>\n

Having individual help has made all the difference Lyn says.\u00a0\u2018I love the one-on-one. They answer my specific questions\u00a0which is something you sometimes don\u2019t get in a class.\u2019
\nLyn now uses her tablet daily for keeping up with her\u00a0grandkids, playing games with friends and \u2018sticky nosing all\u00a0over the world\u2019 on Google.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s so much more confident using technology and enjoys\u00a0learning new ways of using it. She\u2019s now bought a laptop as\u00a0well as upgraded her phone, each time she visits the shed to
\nget help in setting up and using her new devices.<\/p>\n

\u2018They treat you like you\u2019re somebody. I don\u2019t feel stupid asking questions, I don\u2019t feel out of place. I\u2019ve recommended it to all my friends.’<\/p>\n

http:\/\/digitalshed.com.au\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pairing tech savvy schoolkids with older people\u00a0struggling with new technology has proved a\u00a0perfect match in the Victorian town of Traralgon. The idea of a service to help older peoplein the community with their digital devices staffed by local high school\u00a0students seemed logical to Joh Lyons, project worker for the\u00a0Digital Shed, a project of Traralgon Neighbourhood […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":854,"featured_media":11308,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nConnecting a community - Adult Learning Australia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/connecting-a-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Connecting a community - Adult Learning Australia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pairing tech savvy schoolkids with older people\u00a0struggling with new technology has proved a\u00a0perfect match in the Victorian town of Traralgon. The idea of a service to help older peoplein the community with their digital devices staffed by local high school\u00a0students seemed logical to Joh Lyons, project worker for the\u00a0Digital Shed, a project of Traralgon Neighbourhood […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/connecting-a-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Adult Learning Australia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-08-03T23:45:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-12-01T06:36:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Tech-savvy-schoolkids-help-with-seniors-struggling-with-technology-e1435990678195.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Henrik Steenberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Henrik Steenberg\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ala.asn.au\\\/connecting-a-community\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ala.asn.au\\\/connecting-a-community\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Henrik Steenberg\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ala.asn.au\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cadc002c2225219dc4fbec09c4c9ebcf\"},\"headline\":\"Connecting a community\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-08-03T23:45:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-01T06:36:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ala.asn.au\\\/connecting-a-community\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1056,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ala.asn.au\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ala.asn.au\\\/connecting-a-community\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ala.asn.au\\\/\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/07\\\/Tech-savvy-schoolkids-help-with-seniors-struggling-with-technology-e1435990678195.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ala.asn.au\\\/connecting-a-community\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ala.asn.au\\\/connecting-a-community\\\/\",\"name\":\"Connecting a community - 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