February 1st, 2010 | by Stuart Parker Published in Resources, Training
October 2nd, 2009 | by Stuart Parker Published in Training
We Share Stuff is looking for people from all manner of industries to help us with a young people’s project in Sandwell, West Midlands. As part of the project, the young people identify industries they might be interested to work in and are set a task to come up with some questions and interview somebody from that particular industry. The interview will only a be a quick fire Q&A style thing and could take the form of video, audio or any other method that the interviewer decides.
So, if you’re based in the West Midlands (or further afield if interviewed online) we’re asking you if you wouldn’t mind joining our interviewee pool. All you need to do is be available for a quick visit / or online chat etc, from the project team at relatively short notice. Just state your name and job / industry that you’re involved with either on this post, email, twitter etc.
Thanks!
September 30th, 2009 | by Stuart Parker Published in Digital inclusion, Events
We have a 30 minute slot at this West Midlands Regional Observatory event, Tuesday 7th October. As their site says, “…exploring the whys and hows of making public data more accessible. We’ll also look at using social media to improve sharing data and information.”
I’ll be using the time to explore what digital inclusion actually means and to raise some stuff about how we might look at ensuring everyone benefits from the techno rush, not just those who are interested.
August 11th, 2009 | by Stuart Parker Published in Informal learning, News, Training
We’ve just heard some good news. The proposal we put forward to run an accredited training programme with Sandwell Youth Offending Team has been accepted. We start delivering our social media flavoured course from September. The course is designed to give young people a range of resources, skills and a qualification in support to them finding employment, training or going into education.
Once we have the course underway, we will share the hows and whats in more detail right here.
July 9th, 2009 | by Stuart Parker Published in Resources
I’ve started up a new Ning for (West Midlands) organisations and individuals (experienced and new) to collaborate, discuss and explore partnership work and funding. As a relatively new setup (albeit with some experience in bid writing), I know it can be somewhat daunting looking for the right information and people so maybe this could be hub for those links. I wasn’t sure whether to go ahead with setting it up as i’m aware of the increasing number of networks springing up everywhere. However, I haven’t seen anything specific which might spark things in the way i’m thinking. So, let’s give it a go and see what happens.
July 7th, 2009 | by Stuart Parker Published in News
Just a quick update on proceedings. As you can see, we’ve trimmed down our logo and site. The site is now a tad faster, looks cleaner and we’ve tried to explain what we do a little better too. A lot of behind the scenes stuff is happening, we’ll update on new projects as and when we get the go ahead.
June 24th, 2009 | by Stuart Parker Published in Digital inclusion, Events, Government
A few nights after the Digital Britain report was published, I had one of those niggling doubts rear itself at 2am. Apart from the focus of the report aimed more or less at infrastructure and my concerns regarding the vague understanding (and coverage) of participation (inclusion? engagement?), I see more potential harm than good happening as a result of the recommendations. Now I strongly believe that technology can benefit society in many ways but do we need to be aware of the speedy technology evolution in relation to how we keep up with it? With more and more services going online and moves to make data public to create better services and applications… the entire way stuff seems to happen online these days….do we risk further excluding those with basic digital skills? While there are the 15/16 million or so ‘excluded’, ie: don’t use the technology at all, how many more will become excluded (tiered exclusion?) if we don’t take a long, hard look at how we learn about these technologies and the ways we integrate them into our lives? The ‘learning’ aspect should not be playing constant catch up with the tools. New approaches?
I don’t believe the ‘Digital Life Skills’ as recommended by Estelle Morris, addresses this issue. Sadly, it sticks to old policies that really don’t do much in terms of the ‘digital divide’, in my opinion. Where are the initiatives to instigate meaningful engagement? (many digitally excluded people will not simply ‘ask’ for training or skills or ‘walk in’ to centres offering courses. Confidence is still a major barrier) Where are the initiatives that look beyond the ‘mainstream’ and highlight and support the stuff that’s really working? Why don’t we get the developers / mentors / trainers together with the service providers AND their customers, put them in a room for half a day and see what comes out at the end?
A few further questions I had was regarding the current recession. As people look to improve their skills in support of finding work, how many of them lack the understanding of today’s technology and the importance of online culture? Are current resources adequate enough to deliver this understanding?
May 15th, 2009 | by Stuart Parker Published in Events, We share
8 out of 10 older people in the UK still can’t access online services – they aren’t media literate. SSD09 gives us all the chance to change that.
Media literacy, in today’s digital age, is more important than ever. It can facilitate a more convenient, cheaper, community-rich lifestyle. Older people, who have so much to gain from the online world, are still largely missing out. SSDO9 will reach many thousands of older people in hundreds of locations around the UK and do something very tangible about redressing that imbalance.
Digital Unite (DU) is managing the seventh annual Silver Surfers’ Day Campaign. Devised in 2002 by DU, SSD is the biggest annual media literacy campaign aimed at older people. (http://digitalunite.com )
(taken from digitalunite.com)
March 11th, 2009 | by Stuart Parker Published in Training
Yes, it’s the latest, most fashionable Internet thing going right now. Some people couldn’t live without it, others cannot see the point. If you’re yet to understand this ‘Web phenomenon, our very own Jon Bounds has done a rather good beginners guide over on his personal blog. He goes deeper into starting out with Twitter than our quick-fire ‘How To’ guides on this site.
February 2nd, 2009 | by Stuart Parker Published in Events, Government
The National Digital Inclusion Conference 2009 will be the fourth annual event bringing together over 300 experts, decision-makers and practitioners to network, debate digital inclusion policy and practice and shape the agenda for action that delivers ‘empowerment through technology’.
So goes the blurb on their website. This event should be pretty important as a lot of people attending are the kinds of people who should either already know, or really want to know about how Britain is shaping up, digitally, if you will. The cost of this conference is somewhat steep with prices between £300 and £400. There’s a good chance that a lot of people who would really benefit from attending, won’t be able to afford it. Plus, it’s in London again which brings it’s own issues.
Jon Hickman had an idea around maybe organising some sort of ‘unconference’ at the same time, for the interested folks who couldn’t afford tickets so we’re in the throws of organising something. We hope to get something organised at the same venue as the conference which could allow conference and unconference peoples, the chance to network.
There’s plenty to try and organise but we’ll keep you updated here as and when.
