In this issue...
Welcome to Members' News 21 June 2010
The World Cup is now in full flow, and the UK online centres team are having lots of fun following the action. The World Cup could also be a great way for you to engage learners to your centre and encourage them to get online. Why not hold an event based around the World Cup? If you’re a non-funded centre, we’ve even got some event grants to help support myguide registrations. You can find out more details about Event grants here.
Last week, we updated a number of myguide features to help improve the experience for both you and your learners. All these changes were made following consultation with centres, and your input is vital to the development of myguide. If you have any suggestions, please email ukonlinecentres@ufi.com.
Best wishes
Helen Milner
Managing Director, UK online centres
myguide updates
The myguide updates we have told you about in the previous weeks have now gone live. These include:
- • The Learning log now allows multiple entries for the same course maintaining separate records for each time a course is completed.
• Registration on myguide is now all contained on one page, making it quicker and easier.
• The Initial assessments (IAs) now receive learning goals which display the learner’s level upon module completion. The IAs also email a certificate that details the type of questions the learner may have answered in order to obtain their level.
• Additional information is now included on certificates, including full user name and ID number and the Centre ID if available.
We hope these new myguide features will make the experience easier for both you and your learners. Why not try them out today?
Partnership - register now!
If you haven’t signed up to become a UK online centres’ Partner yet, it is really important that you do so. As Partnership replaces our existing membership agreement, you will need to re-register to remain part of our network. This means, in order to take part in campaigns such as Get online week, sign up for our training or apply for grant funding in the future, you will need to be a UK online centres Partner. We’re making this change in order to strengthen our network, and ensure that those wanting to get online will receive all the help and support they need at a UK online centre.
You can find out about what it means to be a UK online centres Partner, and how you can sign up, on our website.
Event grants
The Event grants system is now open again to help support events you are holding in June. You can plan an event around anything you like. How about a World Cup themed event, or even a Summer Fair? As long as it supports myguide registrations in your centre, we will be happy to support it. Tell us all about the event that you want to hold here.
If you held an event in May, the claims process is now open. There’s a new online system which we hope you will find really easy. It will automatically check the registrations made against your Centre ID, and let you know how much you can claim. Then all you need to do is print off a form, sign it and pop it in the post to us. It couldn’t be easier! Make your claim here.
The Three online bus
Three, the country's leading mobile broadband provider, has teamed up with UK online centres. They’ll be launching the Three ‘Double Decker bus’ in July which will tour the country promoting mobile broadband. But when it’s not busy at a festival or shopping centre, the Three team would like it to be put to good use to help people get started online!
Three would like to take the bus to day-care centres, care homes, local libraries and other community projects to help people discover the benefits of getting connected. There's also the opportunity to take the bus to local community events. So if your centre is planning to run a community fair or project in August or September, that you'd like to take the bus to then let us know.
The bus comes fully equipped with laptops and internet enabled phones which when partnered with our training expertise offers the perfect mobile online centre.
Tell us about how you could put the bus to good use by emailing ukonlinecentres@ufi.com with “Bus” in the subject line and details of your event or activity before 30 June.
Get online week
We’re working hard on our plans for Get online week, which will take place from 18 – 24 October this year. As it runs over a whole week, this year’s campaign looks set to be better than ever! The BBC and the Post Office are already on board to offer their support. We’ll give you more information about the campaign in the coming weeks, but make sure you save the date!
Benefitting from my public services online
We’ve launched a new product on myguide in conjunction with Directgov which will show your learners all about how they can benefit from the online public services available. A range of real life UK online centres learners talk about how much they have gained from online public services, offering tips on using a wide range of websites. Why not try it out now?
St Mungo's Action Week
St Mungo’s, a charity and UK online centre in London, are holding an Action Week this week to highlight the support homeless people need in their journey back to work, and arelooking for your support. You can support them by:
- Joining them on the St Mungo's Action Week Walk; Hit the streets to get more people off them
- Finding out why Jamie, a resident at the Cromwell Road hostel is leading the St Mungo's Action Week Walk, and helping him to raise his sponsorshop
- Making a donation to support the Action Week campaign
- Supporting the campaigning, by signing up to receive our St Mungo's enewsletter.
Your Questions...
...answered
Q.
I applied for a UK online centres Capital grant - when will I find out if I've been successful?
A.
All centres will have been informed today of whether they were successful in their bid for Capital grant funding. If you have been successful, we will need to receive your drawdown form by this Thursday, the 24 June.
What else is happening?
Get online week - 18 - 24 October