Digital Matters - magazine for sheltered housing tenants

For sheltered housing residents
Matters
Luton Borough Council magazine on the benefits of computers and the internet
This Digital Matters magazine has been
produced as part of the ‘Sheltered housing
improvement project’. £50,000 has been
committed to providing a computer
station, with access to the internet, in all
22 sheltered housing schemes. There is
now a computer in all of our schemes
and residents also have access to a Wi-Fi
connection. If you’re a sheltered housing
resident you can now browse the internet
for free using the new computer, or on
your own device such as a laptop, mobile
phone or tablet, by connecting through
the Wi-Fi.
Kate Savenko, the project manager for the
“IT in sheltered housing” project explains
more; ‘We spoke to residents about the
type of technology they would prefer and
www.luton.gov.uk
their feedback helped us to decide what
to provide.’ Residents from our sheltered
housing panel and the project team also
visited Central Bedfordshire sheltered
housing residents who had been using
computers in their schemes for 3 years to
find out about their experience. Now that
the computers are here I’m sure you can’t
wait to start using them and I look forward
to hearing about your experience online.”
By providing free access to the internet,
the Council hopes that even if you haven’t
used the internet before, you’ll give it a
try. We know it’s sometimes difficult to
learn something new but there are many
benefits to being online and we hope
you take this opportunity to see
what it’s all about.
Encouragement Matters
Go for IT!
Are you a complete novice? Don’t be afraid, give it a try! It can open up so much
for you.
Free tuition will be available from professionals and of course friends and family
can also help. So, go for IT!
Maureen Linane, Sheltered housing tenant, Service Area Panel (SAP) chair
I’m Nikki and I’m a sheltered housing tenant, but I’m also a computer ‘geekess’,
which means that using the computer for day-to-day tasks is a part of my life. I
can create websites, email, browse the Internet and I share my interests on Twitter.
I also use my computer and tablet to research family history and I’m currently
working on expanding my family genealogy tree. There are some of you who
might not be as confident, but despite what you may believe it’s very difficult to
break a computer. Computers were invented to be used, not just to sit and be
looked at and given an occasional polish and wipe with a duster.
Computers in all their forms are here to stay, they have a huge part to play in
all aspects of life, and you can use them too. They are universal and have been
designed to meet all needs, abilities and budgets and they can easily be adapted to
meet the needs of people with restricted vision or movement.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve listened to people sitting around the
coffee table in the morning conversing about an actor or an actress and trying
desperately to remember the name of a film or show they appeared in. Well that’s
exactly something that can be looked up on a computer very quickly and easily!
I can only ask for you to keep an open mind, and look to a computer as a tool to
help you get things done, rather than something you might accidentally break.
There is always help at hand, and there’s always someone about who can help so
all you need to do is ask, it really is that simple. It’s time to embrace computers,
look upon them as a friend, give them a mindful ‘hug’ for finding answers to your
questions or just for saving you money (see my top tips article on page 7!).
Nichola Knight, Sheltered housing tenant
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Digital Matters 2015
Encouragement Matters
Benefit from IT!
We started introducing computers into sheltered housing schemes in 2012.
The experience has encouraged social interaction between residents and
relatives. It’s taught residents to shop online, skype and e-mail relatives and
friends, research information and write letters. Residents have also learnt
how to use the Central Bedfordshire Council website to pay their rent or
council tax and report repairs or issues. It’s laid the foundation for us to work
in partnership with Housing Officers on other housing projects and we’re really glad
that in some way we have inspired our Luton counterparts to do the same.
Margaret Luther, Sheltered housing tenant, Sheltered Tenant Action Group
(STAG) chair, Central Bedfordshire Council
My computer is useful for keeping in touch with my family. I can even
speak to people on a video call and see their faces. It’s also really good
for checking my bank account and paying bills. It helps me keep up with
the latest news about my football team and I can watch the goals if I
miss the game. Sometimes I download books and read them offline and
I can even download spoken word audio books or music.
Richard Beattie, Resident Involvement Project Officer
One of the many things you will use a computer for is to keep in contact
with family and friends by emails. These can be sent and received by you.
Computers are also useful for ordering food from supermarkets, as well
as keeping control of your banking arrangements. I have just purchased
a new computer which is much quicker and I’d like to learn more about
how to use the computer with the help of others.
Norman Hughan, Sheltered housing tenant
Recent Council research on “Reducing Loneliness and Social Isolation”
mirrored national findings and revealed that the internet often played an
important role in keeping social connections. People who communicated
with their relatives and friends by emails or Skype video calls said they felt
much more connected and had lower levels of loneliness.
Marek Lubelski, Neighbourhood Governance Manager
To find out more about Social Prescription, the Council’s overall strategy for
reducing loneliness, please visit http://changeday.nhs.uk/story101/
Digital Matters 2015
3
Stay connected
Finding Friends
The Internet has become a very useful
tool for finding old friends. Lots of
websites have been set up to help you
contact people you knew at school,
college, in the Armed Forces, or at work.
The best known website for finding
old friends is Friends Reunited, www.
friendsreunited.co.uk which has over 19
million members. Like similar sites, you’ll
need to register to use it.
You could also try www.servicepals.com to
find old comrades from armed forces.
There are also sites where you can find and
connect with new friends who share your
interests and hobbies. You can also use
the internet to search for local social and
community groups if you’re looking to meet
new people in your local area.
Use the Luton Directory, www.directory.
luton.gov.uk/ to search for local groups in
your area.
A word of caution: It is important to be very careful when contacting people
that you’ve met through the internet. You shouldn’t give out personal details
such as your address or bank details, this applies to new people who you have
not met before but also to people who you knew in the past, who may have
changed and be very different.
To find out more about staying safe online visit www.getsafeonline.org/
protecting-yourself
Would you like to get out in the community and make new friends?
Why not try a free computer class with other sheltered housing
tenants? Have fun and learn together!
FREE group training for sheltered housing tenants
will be run in Luton Town Centre.
The training will be for beginners and will cover
topics such as:
•
•
•
•
Switching on and off the computer
Sending and receiving emails
Typing letters and printing them out
Saving your work on a computer or memory stick
To enrol please email your
details including name,
surname, telephone number
and the scheme you live in
(or ask Sheltered Housing
Officer to do this for you) to
kate.savenko@luton.gov.uk.
Training starts soon so make
sure you book a place!
Luton Adult Learning has funding for this training.
4
Digital Matters 2015
Using web services Matters
Luton Online
There are lots of services available online for Council tenants. For example you can
pay your rent, pay your council tax, find out about your local bin collection or read
Housing Matters magazine!
Below you’ll find a guide of the Luton homepage to help you get started:
Speak aloud will say the
web page aloud for those
with visual impairments
Use the A-Z search to find
information and services
Search the website
using this box
Here you
can find
information
from specific
council
departments
and services
Log into
‘MyAccount’
here
Make the
website
text
bigger or
smaller
Click on
these tabs
to complete
a task like
paying for
your council
tax or
reporting a
repair
Change the language
of the page using
Google Translate
The latest council news can
be found here
Information on upcoming
events in Luton
Universal credit: Another reason to be online.
Universal Credit is being rolled out in Luton in 2016. This means that if you’re in receipt
of benefits they’ll be paid directly to you and you’ll be responsible for paying your rent to
the Council. Being online means you’ll have easy access to your rent account and you’ll be
able to find out everything you need to know about how Universal Credit will affect you.
For more information about Universal Credit visit
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk
Digital Matters 2015
5
Get involved
Go digital with Dan
Dan Hicks is
the Sheltered
Housing Activity
Co-ordinator
and he has been
working closely
with the project
team to develop
activities to help
you get online.
Read Dan’s
article to find
out more.
My role involves supporting residents to be
physically, mentally and socially active. I have
been looking forward to sheltered schemes
going digital for a long time. There are a
number of ways you could benefit from
using the computers, for example it will
allow you to search the internet to access
useful information. Everyone is welcome to
participate and learn more about getting
online; it’s never too late to get involved. I will
be hosting an induction session where I will
share with you how you can get the most out
of the new technology.
Computer Boards
The installation of new ‘Activities’ notice
boards has allowed us to provide better
information about accessing the new
computers. On every notice board there
is now a dedicated space about the new
computers and any updates or scheduled
events will be advertised there. We’ll also
provide some useful contact information
and advice about about staying safe online.
6
Computer Manual
You’ll find a computer manual on every
computer desk. I have put together this
manual in partnership with the tenants’
board. The manual should guide beginners
through the basics of using a computer –
switching it on and off, browsing a webpage
and it will include a jargon buster to help you
understand some of the computer related
words and phrases. It will be accessible at
any time so you can work through it at your
own pace. The manual will also have top tips
about using the computers effectively and
responsibly.
Computer Club
While we strongly encourage sheltered
housing residents to attend basic computer
classes in the local community, I plan to set
up a computer club where residents can
share their learning and help each other with
any problems. These sessions will be primarily
aimed at residents with reduced mobility but
everyone is welcome to join. I hope it will
become not only a computer club, but also a
social club for residents. Once the Computer
Club has been established, residents with
more advanced computer skills may want
to take on a role to support others to get
online. If there is interest, I can also show
you how to set up an online group so you
can connect with other residents online.
For more information, get in touch
with Dan on 07834 611 855 or email
dan.hicks@luton.gov.uk
Digital Matters 2015
Money Matters
Nikki’s Money saving tips
I’m Nikki (you may remember me from
page 2! Thanks for reaching page
7!). I’ve learnt a lot about how to use
computers and on this page I’m sharing
my top tips for saving money online.
www.comparethemarket.com –
compares the prices of car insurance, life
insurance, home insurance and gas and
electricity prices.
There is no guarantee that price comparison
websites will find the cheapest deals but it’s
1. Google search
good to compare prices before buying so
Searching online for me is a great way of
you have an idea of the average cost.
seeing what retailers are charging for a
product. You can quickly and easily look at
3. “Hot deals”
lots of stores and see which is charging the
Finally, my favourite “hot deals” websites
lowest price, you can also check who has a
offer discounted products, sometimes at
sale on or if they’re offering discounts.
the last minute. If you subscribe to these
websites they’ll send deals straight to your
For example, I was recently
email inbox.
looking to buy a kettle, I
knew which one I wanted
Just by subscribing you aren’t committing to
but I needed to find
paying for anything, it just means they’ll send
out where I could buy it
you information on their latest deals.
cheapest! So I typed the
n www.groupon.co.uk - provides great
name of the kettle into
promotional offers on cheap weekend
Google and it showed me that one high
or weekday breaks, meals out, trips and
street store is selling it for £34.99, another has
holidays, beauty therapy, adventure
one for £27.50 but the best deal was from an
interests or on general consumer
online store - £24.95 and free postage! That’s
purchases; visit their website to see
where I’ll be buying mine from!
the full list of current offers.
2. Price Compare websites
n www.lastminute.com - specialise in
If Googling the price sounds like a lot of
saving you money by offering places
work, there are lots of price comparison
on airlines, hotels or cruises that might
websites which will do it for you, although
otherwise go empty and are great for
they are only available for specific products.
people who want a bargain with a last
For example;
minute deal!
www.skyscanner.net – compares the prices n Vouchercodes and Wowcher offer daily
of flights.
deals and discounts on lots of products
and services.
Do you know any useful websites? Why not share them on
Computer Club notice Boards or during a coffee morning
at your scheme?
Digital Matters 2015
7
Crossword
Test your new knowledge of ‘computer speak’ with our cyber themed crossword!
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Across
2. Computer problem causing a program
to halt or the computer to stop working
OR a collision between two objects (5)
4. Something remembered from the
past OR any physical device capable
of storing information temporarily or
permanently (6)
6. A verb which describes removing a
person from your list of friends on a
social networking website, such as
Facebook (8)
9. A portion of the screen used to display
a program, document or data OR a
transparent opening in a wall to admit
light (6)
11. A medium that is capable of storing and
reading information OR a Sunday trip
out in the car (5)
13. Small handheld device which is used to
move the on-screen computer cursor OR
“a wee timorous beastie” (5)
Down
1. An on-line file or program storage
facility OR a large visible watery vapour
floating in the atmosphere (5)
3. Browsing site-to-site on the internet OR
riding on a wave towards the shore (4)
5. An error in the making of a computer
program OR a small insect (3)
7. Two or more computers linked
together OR The British Rail Travel
‘System’ (7)
8. An American multinational computer
company OR the edible round fruit
from a tree of the rose family (5)
10. A small on-screen picture that you
‘click’ to perform an action OR a
devotional painting of a holy figure (4)
12. A malicious computer program
designed to disrupt computer systems
OR something you might be vaccinated
against (5)
Answers Across; 2 Crash, 4 Memory, 6 Unfriend, 9 Window, 11 Drive, 13 Mouse
Down; 1 Cloud, 3 Surf, 5 Bug, 7 Network, 8 Apple, 10 Icon, 12 Virus
8
Digital Matters 2015