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Seniors helping seniors use computers and the internet

 

History of SeniorNet - page 2

The National SeniorNet Project

Dr. Hilda des Arts managed national promotion of SeniorNet since 1995. Hilda had devoted a great deal of time and energy to the task, presenting the project, its vision and objectives and its plan for national expansion at seminars and conventions in Cairns, Rockhampton, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Geelong and Mornington Peninsular, Hobart and Perth. She had also featured SeniorNet in extensive media coverage - print, radio and television throughout Australia and twice with BBC London.

Hilda is still remembered and honoured every year at the Hilda des Arts Footprints Awards, but her dream of a National Association is now carried on by Australian Seniors Computer Clubs Association. Ipswich SeniorNet Association is a participating member of this National Association which is centred in Sydney.

Hilda picture

The Humanities Training Room

From 1997 until 2003 SeniorNet's training was provided in the Humanities room, which also functioned as the Association's office.  Three further computers were purchased to replaice loan machines and all the computers were in due course upgraded to Windows 98 (but still, of course, with dial-up internet access). The courses on offer were 'Introduction to Basic Computing', 'Internet', 'Email' and 'Word Processing using Microsoft Word'.  A dedicated team of three trainers gradually grew to six and as mentioned earlier training was also offered one-on-one at local retirement homes - in fact the Salvation Army village at Riverview developed a small training team of their own.

However, the space was extremely limiting, and course sizes could not exceed four members; and this in turn inhibited the growth of the Association membership which hovered below 100.  Also the trainers were forced to take unreasonable workloads to handle the demand.  Finally, there was no place to extend our training offerings to other areas in growing demand, such as digital photography.

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