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DigiKnow Digital Champions Weekly Newsletter

week beginning 13th March 2023

It’s quiz time again. Every 6 weeks we have a quiz to test your learner’s knowledge. It’s brilliant to check what people have learned, and a chance to re-cap anything where people get stuck. You can access the quiz below and we encourage googling the answers (that’s another digital skill).

We usually take a few copies of our guides with us to quiz sessions, so if someone does get stuck, you have the answers there for them, and can support them to pick up the topic again. If you’ve been following the newsletter for a while, you’ll know that popular topics come up a few times a year, so you can reassure learners that there will be a chance to revise what they’ve learned.

You might want to encourage your learner’s competitive side by putting them in teams, or support less confident learners and encourage the social side of learning by teaming them up in pairs. We definitely encourage a bit of friendly ‘cheating’, with chatting answers through and discussion in our groups.


Also in the newsletter: A call out to Digital Champions to support people needing photo ID to vote from May.

Sign up for our DigiKnow Digital Champions Spring Social and ‘Lunch and Learn’ in Cornerstone and the town centre on Friday March 31st.

Learn about the ‘ Minimum digital living standard’? Find out about new improvements to Learn my Way.

March Quiz Handout

Digital Champions/DigiKnow Volunteers – can you help?

The UK government has introduced new legislation which means you will need suitable photo ID in order to vote in person at future elections. We have an upcoming Local Election in Stockport on Thursday 4 May 2023.

We are looking for digital champions to assist residents to: check if they are registered to vote, register to vote online, find their polling station, learn about the different ways they can vote, find out what ID they need to take to vote in person, apply for postal votes and apply for Voter Authority Certificates (if they do not have suitable ID).


You do not need to be an expert in elections to help out. We are looking for volunteers to help residents to access information digitally, complete online forms, take photographs on tablets or mobiles and print off forms to fill in by hand.


How you can help

  • Raising awareness of the above in existing digital sessions and classes – talking through the information with your students, staff or clients and offering digital support where needed

  • Offering 1:1 support where you can

  • Sharing this information across networks and in your communities,

  • Signposting residents to the Elections Office for further information

If you would like further information about anything elections related, please contact the Elections Office at Stockport Council via 0161 217 6026 or elections.office@stockport.gov.uk


DigiKnow Digital Champion ‘Lunch and learn’ and ‘DigiKnow Digital Stockport Walk’.


Join us for our Spring Social for DigiKnow Digital champions and monthly ‘Lunch at Learn’ - this month at CornerstoneRSVP to Clara essential for numbers and food. Clara@startpoint.org.uk


Friday 31st March

  • Lunch and learn – 12.30 noon – 2.00pm at ‘the big table at the back’ in Cornerstone.

  • DigiKnow Digital Stockport Walk – 2 – 3pm. Meet outside the door of Cornerstone 2pm for a 2.10pm start, or join us after the Lunch and learn.


Address: Cornerstone - Stockport Homes building, 2 Edward street, Stockport, SK6 1RJ. This venue is just off the A6 near the town hall. You may have seen the ‘Windmill café' sign in the window.


DigiKnow Digital Champions ‘Lunch and learn’

Meet us at the ‘big table at the back’ in Cornerstone (Stockport Homes building) Meet other champions, share tips and stories about your volunteering. We will cover the new updates to Learn my way.


DigiKnow Digital Stockport walk – Meet at Cornerstone at 1.45 for a 2pm start.Our short walk around Stockport town centre will take you on a journey of tall stories, urban myths, digital facts and handy apps you can use when out and about. 45 mins at an easy social pace, walking at the pace of the slowest walker. We are in Stockport so there will be a hill at some point. We aim to make our walks as accessible as possible, please let us know how we can help with your access needs. Please dress for the weather.


Learn My Way – New and Improved, coming soon!

Good Things Foundation say: “We can’t wait to bring you the new site, which allows users to tailor their own learning programme, offers a choice of bitesize topics and is accessible across multiple devices.”

The new site will offer more secure registration, increased safety and security, and updated topics.

We know that Learn my Way is one of the most popular sites for DigiKnow Digital champions to use with their learners, so keep an eye on this newsletter, and the Good Things Foundation website for updates.

Starting Point’s learners have been invovled in some user testing for the new and improved ‘Learn my Way’ and it’s looking good!


To note: On 31 March 2023 Learn My Way will be unavailable for some essential maintenance in preparation for launching the new site.

Good Things also say that From 1 April, they’ll be switching off all registrations for the current version of Learn My Way as our new and improved version is coming soon


See the announcement HERE


What is the Minimum digital living standard?

Good Things foundation, Liverpool University, and Loughborough University have been working on developing a ‘minimum digital living standard’ This approach works with focus groups of people, avoiding ‘top down’ research, and allowing members of the public to establish what they think is a ‘basket of goods’ needed for an acceptable digital living standard. This piece of research focusses on families with school age children, but has consulted with a wide variety of individuals across England.

The minimum standard created by these groups focusses on three areas,

  1. Digital goods and services - this is connectivity and hardware.

  2. Practical and functional skills – the skills to operate online and when using a device to a useful level.

  3. Understanding and managing Digital risk – keeping the whole family safe online.


A minimum living standard is not scraping by - it’s the minimum standard needed to thrive, not just survive digitally. A take-away for us at Starting Point was that a high standard of devices was felt to be needed, for instance phones renewed every two years. Participants felt that a good connection of WIFI at home, as well as phone data was needed.

Skills included online form filling, use school apps, and an ability to do updates and manage storage on devices, as well as being able to use emails or use a website.


Read the report on the Good Things foundation website HERE


As DigiKnow Digital champions these areas will be familiar to us! We would love to know what you think of the suggested ‘minimum digital living standard’. How many of your participants would meet this? Get in touch with your thoughts.

Clara@startpoint.org.uk

The National Databank
Do you have participants, friends or relatives who are missing calls because they don’t have credit, or are struggling to afford to use the internet on their phones? The Databank is provided by Good Things Foundation to offer free data to 500,000 people in need via Good Things Foundation’s network of community partners in partnership with Virgin Media O2, Vodaphone and Three. The DigiKnow network played an important part in showing why this was needed during the pandemic. Contact the DigiKnow helpline on 07724 217888 or use our online referral form below.

You can find out more about the Databank HERE



The DigiKnow Lending Library
…was established over 2 years ago to support people who cannot afford a device to borrow one, find out about cost effective options to buy their own and gain knowledge about how they can start to save through the Stockport Credit union.


People can be referred or self refer to the DigiKnow Digital Lending library or the Databank by completing the referral form HERE


Or get in touch by phoning the DigiKnow helpline on 07724217888


DigiKnow Digital Champion Training

DigiKnow Digital champion training covers all you need to know to get started helping people locally to feel more confident to use computers.


The next DigiKnow Digital Champion sessions is taking place in March

Tuesday 14th March: 10am-2.30pm.


Follow up support to find a role or run classes available after the training. You can book on this free and friendly session HERE


DigiKnow Friends Training

You can book on this free and friendly 1hr session here. Get the latest updates on how to support people to find local digital support. Sign up HERE


Good Practice in Digital Inclusion

Tuesday 14 March 10am.

This interactive session showcases examples of great work to fix the digital divide, from digital skills to access to connectivity and devices. We'll give practical tips and ideas that organisations can include in their own offer. There will also be opportunities to share ideas and solutions with other organisations. This session is co-designed and delivered with our four Good Things Foundation Ambassador Centres. Sign up HERE

Working in Partnership

Thursday 23 March at 2pm.
In this interactive session we'll share examples of how working in partnership can help you improve your digital inclusion offer, reach more people and maximise provision in your area. Our Good Things Ambassadors will share practical tips and reflections from years of experience of partnership working. There will also be opportunities for you to share your ideas and experiences with other organisations. Sign up HERE

How to Delivery Digital Inclusion Outreach Sessions

Thursday 30 March at 10am.

Rich Avison from Lincs Digital shares recommendations for delivering outreach digital inclusion support. Outreach support enables organisations to reach digitally excluded people who wouldn't be able to access support at a fixed location. Lincs Digital deliver outreach support so that they can reach all kinds of people across a large rural area in all kinds of locations. Sign up HERE

There are regular digital skills sessions happening across Stockport.

If you know of a session not listed here, please get in touch with Clara, and we can add it to our weekly newsletter. Clara@startpoint.org.uk

We will also promote regular sessions on the DigiKnow helpline, it’s all about finding the right session for learners, so let us know about where you volunteer.


On Monday Rachael will be supporting the Oldham Drive estate at their weekly digital group. You are more than welcome to join us to shadow Scott between 9.45 and 10.45 on Mondays.


On Tuesday mornings, there are two digital sessions taking place at StartPoint community room, 10-11am and 11-12pm. Get in touch to find out more


On Tuesday afternoons, James, Chloe and a number of digital champions support almost 20 local people each week. These sessions are funded by Stockport Homes, and take place at York street community centre.


On Thursday we are at Cornerstone supporting to trouble shoot digital issues. Catch James, Clara and our digital champions when supporting learners with form filling, online job applications, or answering digital questions from learners at the ‘big table at the back’.


On Wednesday Join us in our new Lancashire Hill class, and enjoy ‘Tech and Toast’ with us in the community room. Two new classes, 10-11am and 11am-12pm. Come along with any tech questions and James and Clara will be on hand to help.


We have an online E-coffee morning. Open to learners who like the social side of digital, you are welcome to chat to our online volunteers to find out how we do online digital learning (and a lot of chatting)


On Friday James is on hand to support Digital champions at our coffee shop in Woodley, Get in touch if you would like support with your knotty digital questions, or to be put in touch with other Digital champions who may have solved the same issue. Scott is supporting learners 10-12 noon, with an opportunity to chat to other champions over coffee from 12 – 12.30pm


Offerton Community Digital sessions

Tuesdays 10.15 – 11.15

Offerton Community Centre (main hall), Mallowdale Road, Offerton, SK2 5NX

Looking to get online? Want to learn how to use a tablet device and the internet? We'll help you get online, use the internet, email and stay safe online. Join other learners at our friendly session every Tuesday. The first session is free. After this, each session is £2.


Tech club at Walthew House.

Walthew House, 112 Shaw Heath, Stockport, SK2 6QShttps://walthewhouse.org.uk/ Second Thursday of every month.

Walthew house offer support to help you if you are Deaf, Blind, or have hearing and/or sight loss. Walthew House will help you to make the most of your assistive technology, with advice on setting up equipment properly, help from volunteers and advice from others in the same situation.

For more information call George on 0161 480 2612 or email opsassistant@walthewhouse.org.uk


TPA drop in for the Deaf community

The Prevention alliance run a drop in for Deaf Stockport residents. This session includes help to use your tech and feel more confident online. If you Text to Ollie on 07539 468560 to book an appointment.

Wednesdays from 9:30am to 3:30pm at 45 St Petersgate, Stockport, SK1 1DH. Signers are available to help answer your queries. Please book in advance.


Stockport libraries sessions to help people get online

Five Stockport libraries are running special sessions for help getting online and with general PC use.

Hazel Grove, Edgeley and Great Moor libraries hold sessions on Mondays, Cheadle and Marple library on Tuesdays, and Bredbury library on Wednesdays and Fridays. For full details, see the Stockport council digital Events calendar.


When libraries are not staffed, you may still be able to go in and use PC’s as part of the ‘Open plus’ scheme. For further information about Open Plus please see www.stockport.gov.uk/news/use-stockport-libraries-open-plus


Age UK digital drop ins at Brinnington Library

Age UK’s digital drop in’s are back!

First House, 367 Brinnington Road, SK5 8EN

For more information please contact:

Info@ageukstockport.org.uk or phone 0161 480 1211

Drop in for digital support on:

  • Thurs 13th April 12-2pm


University of the Third Age Digital skills sessions

U3A are a long established, volunteer led organisation for retired people. Their members teach other participants new skills, from book clubs and family history to playing Bridge or line dancing – depending on who has which skills locally.

Stockport U3A run two tech sessions for their members.


Members pay a yearly fee to join, after which you can access their courses and activities. To join, arrange to go to a open meeting before you join or find out more, see their website: https://u3asites.org.uk/stockport/home


Tech sessions are the first and second Thursdays of the month:

https://u3asites.org.uk/stockport/groups


Free Beginners’ Coding Course for Stockport Residents run by MadLab

Are you aged 18 –30? MadLab is running a FREE 5-week beginners’ coding course this spring, starting on 29th March.

Go from “no previous experience” to creating your first interactive website.

This course is both in-person and online.

  • In-person sessions run on Wednesdays at Stockport Museum, 10am until 2pm. Free lunch included. The venue is fully accessible.

  • Online sessions will take place on Thursdays. Choose one session, either 10am - 12pm, or 6pm - 8pm.


Learners will:

  • Build up a solid understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

  • Develop an understanding of how websites are made

  • Receive real-world careers advice

  • Build industry-relevant experience with common workplace tools

  • Receive a Certificate of Completion and a Training Reference

Additional financial support is available on a case-by-case basis to support learners to cover (for example) travel costs, childcare support, and access to a laptop.

For more information, please get in touch with team@clickmcr.com or Claire on 07874 040940.

To apply, please visit https://madlab.org.uk/intro-to-web-development-2023. Places are limited, so please apply early.

Applications close at 12pm on Monday 20th March.