For 67-year-old Barnsley resident Sheila, researching the family tree always meant sitting behind her brother whilst he used a computer to search the net for information. Now, thanks to UK online centres, she’s taken charge of the mouse and is discovering the wonders of the web for herself.
“Learning how to use a computer has opened up whole new worlds for me,” she says. “It took me a while to get there though! Aside from a few stints in a Post Office and hairdressers, I’d been a housewife all my life, so I’d never had to use a computer for work. Not being able to use one had never really bothered me until I saw what my granddaughter could do on one and I started to think I was missing out.
“I felt as though I was being left behind by the new technology and I didn’t like it at all. My husband could see it was upsetting me and he encouraged me to go on a course, so I found one. You had to pay to go on it and I did it for five months but I have to say I didn’t really enjoy it. It was taught in a formal way and I didn’t like having someone hovering behind me all the time and felt like I was being rushed from subject to subject before I’d grasped them. By the time it finished, I knew how to turn a computer on and use a mouse, but that was about it.
“Ten months after finishing the course, my husband passed away. We’d always done everything together – he was ill at the time otherwise he’d have done the computer course with me – and I was devastated. I went into myself and shut myself away. Then one day my brother said he’d put my name down for a computer course at Royston Lifelong Learning Centre to get me out of the house. I didn’t want to go and played merry hell about it! But eventually I gave in and went and I’m so glad I did – it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Royston Lifelong Learning Centre is a newly opened purpose-built UK online centre in the Barnsley village of Royston.
“We’ve got all sorts of facilities here including an IT suite, crèche, library and canteen,” explains the centre’s ICT tutor Trevor Roberts. “We get a real mix of ages and experiences for the computer courses, from parents looking for something to do whilst their kids are at school to older people like Sheila who want to learn about computers pretty much from scratch.
“Sheila was really nervous when she first came to us. She didn’t know much about computers and was very reliant on her brother. myguide has helped her pick things up very quickly. Her confidence is sky high now and if someone gets stuck and I’m busy, she’s the first one to go and show them what to do. We’re really pleased and proud of her progress.”
Sheila continues: “It has been a dramatic transformation in five weeks. I was very nervous when I first went into the centre. You become frightened of new technology as you get older and even though I knew how to turn the computer on and use a mouse, I was still worried that I might somehow do something wrong and break something! But the tutor was marvellous and really put me at ease. Plus it was great to find there were other people my age in the same boat -I’ve made some friends down there and we have a laugh together when we get something wrong!
“I started out on myguide’s introduction to computers course and I knew straightaway that it was a cut above the other course I’d done. What I really like about the myguide courses are the easy-to-follow instructions and the fact you can go at your own pace. I started off taking notes until I realised there’s no need to, because it’s all there for you on the screen and you can go back to things again and again if you don’t understand. If you get stuck, the tutor is there immediately to explain what to do and you can come and go as you please, you’re not tied into a timetable like I was on the other course.
“It has been fantastic to see myself getting better on the computer and learning how to use emails and the internet. The best moment for me was when I sent an email to my nephew who is travelling around Australia and he replied straightaway. Words can’t describe how I felt when that email came through to me – it was the most brilliant thing that’s ever happened. He said in his reply that it was great that I’d joined the 21st Century at last and he was right. I didn’t used to know what people were talking about when they spoke about web addresses and email, but now I can join in the conversation.
“Doing the myguide course has given me so much confidence. I go down to the library sometimes with my brothers to research our family tree online but I had always been too frightened to sit in front of the computer. I was terrified of making a fool of myself and it was only ever my younger brother who operated the machine. Now I can do it myself, and it’s brilliant. We’re really making progress and the research is going really well - we’ve got back as far as 1800 using Google and the Barnsley archive but there’s still a long way to go.
“The internet really is a wonderful invention – and it’s not just the family history stuff. I visit the Marks & Spencers website to see what’s going on with the latest fashions and I look at BBC News to find out what is going on in the world. I also use email to keep in touch with friends and family as, especially for the ones in Australia, it’s a lot cheaper than using the phone!
“Once I’ve finished introduction to computers I would like to do more UK online centres courses. I’d really like to learn about ebay and, once I get my finances sorted, I fully intend to get a computer of my own so I can carry on learning at home. I’d never have done that if it wasn’t for myguide. I’ve learned more from UK online centres in five weeks than I did on the other course in five months and I’d recommend them to anybody.”