The row of buttons below is so you can find out the details of our courses,
so just click on the button below to take you to what you want to know.

Courses

Please note that the courses listed here are for your information only and you will need to check the availability of vacancies in any course by looking at the rosters in the hall at the clubroom or by phoning 49616576 during office hours or you can email the roster team.

Put your name and phone number on the roster ONLY IF THERE IS A BLANK SPACE. Please do not put your name at the bottom if the spaces are already filled. You are not enrolled until we receive payment so send it in as soon as you enrol or you may miss out!

Training

Four training sessions of one and a half hours are conducted on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during school terms.  That gives us the school vacations free to do those important things like having the grandchildren for holidays.

We have special courses running on Fridays.  Mondays are devoted to activities such as train-the-trainer sessions and occasional other courses as required.

Our training methods have evolved over the years and will probably change as our circumstances alter. 
We have structured "courses" which have been designed to allow individuals to progress at their own rates but still guide their learning towards the essential skills on which they can build. 

Our Training Courses
We have designed hands-on "courses" for our training.  By using CDs, printed handouts and PowerPoint presentations under the guidance of tutors, people progress at their own rates and not feel threatened during the learning process.  Handouts emphasise ACTIVITIES, and as the courses are limited to five weekly periods, the printed materials are generally about 10 pages long so that learners don't have to spend their time writing notes.

We have found the notes used in conjunction with the PowerPoint slides on the CD have gained great acceptance.  They can be used during the training sessions and then re-used at home, both for the dreaded practice and for reference later when the memory needs a prompt.

We have organised for a lead tutor to present the lessons with assistant tutors helping individuals who may encounter problems.  This method means that we generally have a tutor for each two people.

We are often asked, “What are the best courses for me to do?”

The answer is simple, “It all depends on what you are interested in achieving.” 

Just remember that it is important to build a basis for your learning.  You may want to learn to use the Internet, but if you don't understand the basics of your computer, you'll end up totally frustrated.  Come along with realistic goals and be prepared to accept advice from the tutors and you'll gain most from being a member of our club.

To help you decide, the basic content of each course is detailed on the pages accessed from the COURSES tab at the top of this page. 

Throughout most courses we will be using Microsoft products which were donated to the club by Microsoft under its Community Assistance Initiative

We have over 30 people as actively involved tutors.  Some of these are people who started as learners only a short time ago - now they are putting their knowledge to good use (and with their training sessions they're adding to their skills with the computer so there are advantages to them as well as to the people they are helping). 
To help our newer tutors gain confidence, we have developed a process in which we have a "lead tutor" and a couple of "additional tutors".  The lead tutor is the most experienced of the tutors and has additional administrative responsibilities as well as tutoring a couple of learners. 

If you would like to become involved as a tutor,
or if you know someone who has the skills but is not yet a member of our club,
please contact our Education Officer. 
WE CAN ALWAYS USE MORE TUTORS.

Generally older people prefer to be taught by people of a similar age.  Our tutors fulfil that requirement.
People don't want to feel that their tutor is an "expert".  Most of our new tutors started as learners only two years ago and if they are asked a question to which they don't know the answer, they're not too embarrassed to say "I don't know, but I'll find out for next week."  And they do!

We have upgraded our computers and have completely new machines running all our software.  All our computers are now dual booting with access to either Windows XP or Windows Vista.

 New courses are being prepared using Windows Vista.  As there is increased demand for people using Vista, so the range of courses will develop.