13 Wanganui families celebrate new digital skills
Thursday, 17 December 2009 15:09
16 December 2009
13 Wanganui families will graduate from the national Computers in Homes, Rorohiko I roto nga Kainga, programme today with a ceremony at Whanganui UCOL.
Parents received 20 hours of computer training including word processing, emailing and using the Internet, conducted at Wanganui East School. The training aims to empower parents to become actively involved in the online world and their children's learning, as well as increase their own employment opportunities and confidence.
Computers in Homes has now reached over 171 families in Wanganui. Since the programme started in 2000 it has supported almost 5,000 New Zealand families nationwide with refurbished computers, six months of free internet access, computer training and technical support via their local school.
The graduation celebration will be attended by Councillor Sue Westwood, National Computers in Homes Coordinator Di Das and Whanganui UCOL Principal Julia Pedley.
Local Computers in Homes Coordinator Alistair Fraser says feedback from Wanganui participants has been extremely positive. "The programme has made a real difference to participants in the Wanganui community. Many people who undergo the training have never used a computer before. They find it opens up a whole new digital world to them and they want to further their skills," he says.
A key goal of Computers in Homes is to bring computer and internet technologies within reach of all New Zealand families with school-aged children and allow parents and grandparents to connect and be more involved with their children's learning.
Although the programme has made good progress, there are still an estimated 100,000 New Zealand families with school-aged children in low income communities who don't have a computer and the Internet at home.
This year Computers in Homes launched the ‘100,000 Challenge' which aims to connect the remaining families without a computer in their homes and encourage digital literacy and competence. "The announcement of the Government's Community Partnership Fund earlier this year has boosted our challenge by allowing us to reach a further 1,500 New Zealand families including 150 Wanganui families. We encourage the Government to continue this funding so we can support more communities to improve their digital literacy," Ms Das says.
Computers in Homes is an initiative of the 2020 Communications Trust with support from the Ministry of Education, Housing New Zealand and the Community Partnership Fund. The 2020 Communications Trust seeks funding and support to expand Computers in Homes to all communities where children do not have access to computers and the Internet in their homes.
For more information visit the Computers in Homes website.