We hope to increase the
Basic Digital Skills of the third sector and the people charities and voluntary organisations are so well placed to support. As a One Digital Trainer, I’ve discussed
Canva in Clydebank, quizzed the people of Paisley on learning styles, and considered how the internet could benefit a Foodbank in Stirling.
Here are five things I’ve learned from the project so far:
1. Rural or urban, digital can help
Most of my training sessions so far have taken place across the Central Belt of Scotland, from the city streets of Paisley, to the coastal roads of Ardrossan. Digital can help charities engage with volunteers and users regardless of geography. A popular idea has been to utilise video chat tools, such as
Google Hangouts, to broadcast and record volunteer training sessions to make sure those who can’t physically attend don’t miss out.
2. Online banking is more exciting than it sounds
Online Banking has been a particularly hard sell, especially among older participants who prefer to manage their organisation’s finances face-to-face at the bank. Groups have been amazed to hear that paying-in a cheque is now as simple as
taking a photo of it via a smartphone app!
3. Hooks come in all sorts of shapes, sizes… and flavours
In Stirling, the group were keen to discuss how technology can help to reduce food waste. A novel recipe generating website came to mind called
Chef Watson. The site, an offshoot of IBM’s supercomputer
Watson, adapts existing recipes in accordance with the food that’s in your kitchen cupboard. Needless to say, the group were a somewhat surprised by its suggestions, which included
Banana Risotto and
Turnip Burrito. The site is a great example of a
hook to really get charity staff and their clients interested in using the internet.
4. Technology doesn’t mean replacing face-to-face interactions
A recurring concern amongst some of our training participants has been that the move towards digital means cutting back on face-to-face interactions with their users, but this needn't be the case. Our training helps charities understand that by using digital in some areas of communication, more time and resources can be put into maintaining face-to-face interactions where they matter to people most.
5. If at first you don’t succeed…
As part of the Making Digital Everyday session, we have been helping third sector organisations understand behavioural change to help embed digital into people’s everyday lives. We ask participants to offer examples of the ‘cycle of change’ from their own lives. A memorable example was an environmental charity worker who reminisced about grappling with the World Wide Web back in the days of dial-up. Despite the achingly slow speeds of late-1990s internet, she persevered and now enjoys using social media on a daily basis!
This week I'll be delivering One Digital sessions in Orkney and Shetland. I look forward to learning more along the way!
Last modified on 22 January 2020
