Place are still available for a computer training initiative at NUI Galway aimed at teaching people with little or no technological experience basic computer skills.
The Click and Connect initiative will see tutors teach students the basics of computers, showing them how to surf the web, set up and use email, download photographs and how to access government information online. Classes will be small and will be carried out in local, informal learning settings.
Professor Gerry Lyons, dean of the College of Engineering and Informatics at NUI Galway, said that there are thousands of people living in Ireland today who have been left behind when it comes to the internet.
“Older people will particularly benefit (from the initiative), as will unemployed people and disadvantaged groups in the Galway region,” said Professor Lyons.
“These people miss out on opportunities most people take for granted. For example, those not yet online cannot send emails, do internet searches for products or information, or conduct government transactions online,” he said.
The free training is part of a partnership between Limerick Community Connect, DCU, Age Action Ireland and NUI Galway, which aims to teach 400 people basic computer skills between now and May 2012. It’s funded by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
For more information or to register for classes, applicants can contact Trish in the Discipline of Information Technology by phone at 091493913 or by email at clickandconnect@nuigalway.ie.