Workshop: 22 February 2010 (2.30 – 5 pm).
At this workshop we will demonstrate a USB turntable that creates MP3 versions of vinyl tracks. Conventional turntables send a signal to speakers through an amplifier. This turntable sends the signal to computer software, which converts it to a computer music file.
MP3, by the way, is a very common way of encoding music and other sound files.
The USB turntable must (of course) be attached to a computer, so that the MP3 files can be saved on the hard disk. The default storage location is within an iTunes folder – if it exists (it’s not essential).
Please bring your own questions to the workshop. Bring some vinyl too — but the vinyl must be clean.
ACC members can reserve places on these workshops by asking us directly, or by sending an email to acc@lawns.org.uk (if you don’t trust your own email skills, please ask for help).
Workshop: 15 February 2010 (2.30 – 5 pm).
At this workshop we will try to …
- Make sure we all know what email actually is.
- Think about the importance of email in the world we live in now.
- Look at how Agewell Computer Club members use email to keep in close touch with all their family and friends, wherever they live.
- Show you how to read, send and reply to email messages.
- Show you how to save ‘attachments’ that have been sent to you.
- Show you how to send attachments to your own emails.
- Show you how to manage ‘address books’ and contact lists.
Please bring your own questions to the workshop.
ACC members can reserve places on these workshops by asking us directly, or by sending an email to acc@lawns.org.uk (if you don’t trust your own email skills, please ask for help).
We will be demonstrating email with the seniors.org.uk email package that most new members learn with. People with email addresses at gmail.com, googlemail.com, or bold.org.uk will be OK. Others should definitely try to reserve a place, as we have to create a seniors.org.uk address for you in advance of the workshop.
Workshop: 8 February 2010 (2.30 – 5 pm).
At this workshop, we will show you how to use Irfanview — the default image editor and viewer at the Agewell Computer Club (that means it is on all our computers, and easy to find if you are logged in as ‘agewell’).
About Irfanview …
- It’s free (for personal and educational use), highly-regarded, has been around for years, and has a large user base.
- It’s used for viewing digital images, and performing basic image editing tasks such as cropping, rotating and resizing — all of which it does very well.
- You can download it and install it on your own computer at home.
- There is a ‘portable’ version which you can put on your flash drive.
- It has a simple interface to scanners — you can scan directly into Irfanview.
Things we would like to do.
- Help you understand digital image file formats.
- Show you how to use Irfanview on our computers at The Lawns.
- Show you how to download Irfanview from irfanview.com, and install it yourself.
- Help you install Irfanview on a flash drive (don’t forget to bring a flash drive if you want to do this).
- Show you how to scan new images from our scanners directly into Irfanview.
- Show you how to process photographs to make them suitable for email and World Wide Web sites such as Facebook and Internet dating sites.
- Demonstrate Picasa — a free Google program for organising and editing images, and a good choice for anyone who has a lot of digital photographs to manage.
Things we might not do.
- Discuss email attachments — that it is one of the topics of the 15 February workshop.
- Discuss how to transfer digital photographs from your camera to a computer or other storage media — that it is one of the topics of the 1 March workshop.
Workshop: Friday 29 January 2010 (2 to 4.30 pm).
This will be a repeat of the 15 January workshop Using the World Wide Web which so many people could not get into. It’s the first of two ‘Using the Internet’ workshops – aimed at beginners, but also suitable for others who would like to refresh their skills and understanding. We will, of course, begin at the beginning!
What will we do?
We will …
- Find out what the World Wide Web actually is.
- Look at some of the really useful and entertaining things you can do with it.
- Discover how to get into it — how to use a web browser to open up web sites, and then navigate through them.
- Get on top of some of the jargon which confuses WWW learners.
Please bring your own questions to the workshop.
Workshop: Friday 8 January 2010 (2.30 – 4.30 pm).
Socialising online can mean many things, but for most of our learners it means social networking sites (eg: Facebook), chat rooms, and forums — online places where you can ‘talk’ to other people — family, friends, or people you are never going to meet in person.
What will we do?
We will focus mainly on security and privacy issues — often confusing even to quite experienced web users. We will use Facebook as an example. Facebook is the most popular social networking site used by our members, so we know there is a ready audience for this workshop. We will show you how to sign up, give you a few ideas on how to use it to stay in touch with your family and friends — and most of all, we want to make sure you understand the security and privacy controls built in to Facebook and other social networks.
Please bring your own questions to the workshop.
Workshop: Friday 18 December 2009 (2.30 – 4.30 pm).
This workshop is for anyone who uses the Internet — so that includes all of us — not just those who have computers at home.
Are you worried about computer viruses, spam, phishing, identity theft, trojans, malware, scams?
You may have heard that there can be certain risks for Internet users. They are sometimes difficult to understand, so it is not surprising that some people can get caught out occasionally. What can you do to make sure you are not one of them?
Fortunately, there are many ways to protect yourself. You can set up your computer to make yourself more secure, and there are some simple rules which you can follow to minimise risk. That is what we will be talking about at the workshop.
Some topics.
- How to safeguard your privacy and the privacy of your friends.
- Understanding security software.
- Using email safely.
- Using the World Wide Web safely.
- Common scams and tricks to watch out for.
Please bring your own questions to the workshop.
Workshop: Friday 11 December 2009 (2.30 – 4.30 pm).
We will focus almost entirely on how to buy a computer — everything you need to know, understand or think about before coughing up your cash. For example …
- Do I really need a computer at home?
- Second-hand or new?
- Desktop or laptop?
- Online or high street retailer?
- What is the meaning of all the jargon?
- How much should I spend?
What will we not do?
- We can’t recommend particular brands or retailers (the final choice must be yours, not ours).
- We won’t have time to guide individual people who want to order a computer online at the workshop (too time-consuming).
- We probably won’t have time to discuss problems with computers that you already have at home (we can do that in future workshops).
Workshop: Friday 4 December 2009 (2.30 – 4.30 pm).
We will show you how to find and use information published on Directgov — the huge official government website http://direct.gov.uk/.
The list below is just a sample of the range of topics which might interest you or affect you …
- Education and learning,
- Employment,
- Money, tax and benefits,
- Home and community,
- Disabled people,
- Travel and transport,
- Pensions and retirement planning,
- Caring for someone,
- Crime and justice,
- Environment and greener living,
- Health and well-being,
- Government, citizens and rights,
- Britons living abroad.
Try searching the directgov site using the keywords ‘over 50’ (this is the search link). The first 2 pages give us these results …
- Job programmes for over 50s,
- New Deal 50 plus,
- Guide to health issues for over 50s,
- Changes to age discrimination law for over 50s,
- Tax credits information for the over 50s,
- Guide to leisure pursuits for over 50s,
- Becoming self-employed if you are over 50,
- Over 50s retirement contacts,
- Guide to greener living for over 50s,
- Over 50s learning and technology contacts,
- Guide to health and fitness for over 50s,
- Guide to volunteering for over 50s,
- Free prescriptions and sight tests for over 50s,
- Guide to concessions and other help,
- Over 50s work and career contacts,
- Qualifications and courses for over 50s,
- Internet use and computer training for over 50s,
- Older women’s health,
- Improving your CV after 50,
- Staying physically active,
- Breast screening,
- Flu jabs and immunisation,
- Keeping mobile and preventing falls,
- Healthy eating for over 50s.
That’s only the beginning. There are more than 500 other search results.
Come to our workshop to find out how to search for information on DirectGov, and understand it when you have found it.
You can reserve a workshop place by sending an email to workshops@lawns.org.uk, or by asking us directly.
Workshop: Wednesday 23 September 2009 (10 am – 1.15 pm).
We will help you sign up to, and understand, any of the sites listed on our social networking page, but we will focus mainly on the sites which we see most of our members using …
- Saga Zone — friendly, amusing and safe.
- Facebook — the biggest one, very popular with older people.
As part of the workshop, we will be looking at issues of privacy and security related to social networking.
Level: participants should be able to use a web browser, and should have a working email address.
Booking a place is essential. You can do it by sending an email to workshops@lawns.org.uk, asking for a place on the Social Networking workshop.
Workshop: Friday 25 September 2009 (10 am – 1.15 pm).
We will help you understand and use …
- The Hackney Council website, including services such as adult education, benefits, community directory, council tax, councillors, housing, jobs, libraries, online payments, parking, parks, planning applications, recycling, rubbish collection, social care.
- Government websites and online services, for example — the main government website direct.gov.uk, NHS, Government Gateway, and websites of government departments and units.
At the end of the workshop, you should be able to to find your way around the informational sites, and use the services on offer — especially those concerned with job search, benefits, pensions and health.
Level: participants should be confident navigating web sites and using email.
Booking a place is essential. You can do it by sending an email to workshops@lawns.org.uk, asking for a place on the Government and Council Services workshop.
Links for this workshop.
Workshop: Tuesday 22 September 2009 (4.45 – 6.45 pm).
The next workshop in Trevor Little’s convivial Sudoko series will be a special late afternoon session, aimed at intermediate players and learners (beginners will also be very welcome, of course)
- Learn how to play Sudoku — online and offline.
- The origins of the game, where it came from and who invented it.
- The basic concept of the game — a handout for everyone of an example of a simple game of Sudoku.
- Hands-on practical group tuition — the best way to learn.
- Go home with a certificate showing how good you are.
You can find links to more information, tutorials and online puzzles on our Sudoku links page.
A message from Deborah Kingsland, Documentary Filmmakers Group …
What’s Your Story?
If you could speak to Hackney residents of 1909, what would you like to know about their lives? What was really ordinary to them but is now completely strange to us? We can’t have that conversation but we now have the technology so you will be able speak to the residents of Hackney in 2109. So what will they want to know? How did you come to be in London? What was life like in the country of your birth? What’s your family history? Do you have memories from the ’30s or the War? What memories, or thoughts would like to share with future generations? Do you remember the way Hackney used to be?
Would you like to record a message for posterity on this or other subjects? Or would you like to learn basic video camera, interviewing, editing skills and uploading skills from professionals? ’What’s Your Story?’ will also include an intergenerational element, so you can choose to interview or be interviewed by young people from the area.
If you are interested to learn more about What’s Your Story? and offer suggestions on how it should operate, come and meet Deborah Kingsland from DFG next Monday afternoon, 6 July 2009, 2.30 pm at the Lawns.
What is DFG?
Based in Dalston Kingsland, the Documentary Filmmakers Group is the leading provider of training for the TV industry.
DFG also runs special projects e.g. Last month, we completed ISIS, a training and production programme for women to make human rights films — http://thedfg.org/courses/page/271/isis.
Deborah will be at the Agewell Computer Club next Monday 6 July (from 2.30 pm) to discuss her ideas and how we might participate.
Workshop: Monday 29 June 2009 (10.30 am – 1.00 pm).
Skype is a program which you can use to make free Internet ‘phone calls’ to anyone else who also has Skype. At this workshop we will try to get you started as a Skype user, either at home or at The Lawns.
Requirements for your computer at home:
- The Skype program (a free download from skype.com).
- A broadband connection to the Internet.
- A microphone to talk into (usually cheap, and nearly always incorporated in headphone sets, and often in webcams).
- Speakers (external speakers for your computer are not essential, but much better than the tinny internal PC speakers).
Things we might do:
- Demonstrate how Skype works, including ‘conference calls’ to several people at the same time.
- Show you how to download and install Skype yourself
- Help you install Skype on a flash drive (don’t forget to bring a flash drive if you want to do this).
What you should bring to the workshop:
- Yourself.
- A flash drive (if you have one).
- Headphones (if you have a set).
By the way:
- Monday mornings are for special workshops and events only — there is no general drop-in.
- The Lawns will close at 1 pm, and re-open later for the Agewell Computer Club.
Workshop: Monday 6 July 2009 (10.30 am – 1.00 pm).
Irfanview is a highly-regarded free program for viewing digital images, and performing basic image editing tasks such as cropping, rotating and resizing. It is the default image editor for the Monday afternoon Agewell Computer Club. Email attachments seem to be a perennial source of frustration. At this workshop we will try to get you started as an Irfanview user, and help you understand how to handle images — including preparing them for email.
Things we might do:
- Show you how to use Irfanview on our computers at The Lawns.
- Show you how to download Irfanview from irfanview.com, and install it yourself.
- Help you install Irfanview on a flash drive (don’t forget to bring a flash drive if you want to do this).
- Show you how to scan new images from our scanners directly into Irfanview.
- Show you how to process digital camera photographs to make them suitable for email and World Wide Web sites such as Facebook and Internet dating sites.
- Help you attach images (and other files) to your email.
By the way:
- Monday mornings are for special workshops and events only — there is no general drop-in.
- The Lawns will close at 1 pm, and re-open later for the Agewell Computer Club.
Are you an unemployed older person trying to get back into work?
We are planning a series of workshops – starting Monday 22 June 2009 – for older people (50+) who are either
- Currently unemployed, and actively looking (or at least hoping) for work or training opportunities.
- In employment, but worried about your prospects in the near future.
The workshops will focus on using IT (including email, World Wide Web, and word-processing) to search for and apply for jobs — but they will not be IT training sessions. The primary aim will be simply to help you do the things you need to do, so that your opportunities will be as good as anyone else who has more advanced IT skills.
We think the workshops will be especially suitable for people who are applying for jobs that do not require IT skills – ie: IT is not part of the job description. If you are like that, you just need to find vacancies, and then apply for them. Beyond that, there should be no IT obstacle, except perhaps replying to emails that your prospective employer might send you.
It will all be about practical help — we will help you do the job search you already know you want to do, fill in the online application form you have already found, make sure that you have a working email address for employers to respond to.
If you need to improve your IT skills because you are looking for work that involves computers, you will be welcome, of course. We hope we can find a solution for you too.
The workshops will be held at The Lawns, but will not be part of the general Hackney Silver Surfers program.
The first (pilot) workshop will take place on Monday 22 June 2009, 10.30 am – 1.30 pm (but we should be able to do some preliminary work before then).
If you are interested in joining this group, please contact us …
- Age Concern Hackney, 52 The Lawns, Matthias Road, London N16 8QB.
- Phone: 020 7254 2183 .
- Email: workshops@lawns.org.uk .
The current Agewell Computer Club program (Social Networking) ends on Monday 16 February 2009. On that day, we would also like to show our members version 1 of the Agewell Cookbook, which they helped to compile last year at Whitmore IT centre.
Version 1 is a short document in a large PDF file. It’s intended to be displayed on a computer screen, and for colour printing. Version 2, which will have more content and should be ready quite soon, is being designed as a series of web pages.
We hope that everybody who helped with this project will come to the Agewell Computer Club next Monday 16 February 2009, 2 – 4.30 pm. We would like to hear your ideas on what to do next with the Agewell Cookbook, especially if you have anything else to go in it.
The Agewell Computer Club meets at The Lawns every Monday afternoon (2 – 4 pm). Mid-lifers (people in the 50-65 age range) are welcome to come to any sessions they have time for.
