No longer content to think spam is ham and tweet is a sound cute little birds make, the technologically un-cool members of the Armidale community can now catapult themselves to the hip and happening world of cyberspace with the help of the Armidale Digital Hub.
Funded through the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and part of the Governments Digital Communities Initiative, the Digital Hub was established to give local people the skills to utilise the National Broadband Network.
Program Manager of the Armidale Digital Hub, Leah Cook, has seen considerable interest in the Hub since it opened on April 11, 2012.
“Armidale Dumaresq Council was one in five in mainland Australia to receive funding in round one of the program,” said Leah Cook.
“The Digital Hub provides the community with free training in online applications. We currently do 10 different courses here and we have engaged TAFE NSW New England Institute to deliver those group training courses.
“We also do free one-on-one sessions, providing technical advice and anything to do with getting the NBN connected.”
The Digital Hub program has been so successful that there is now demand for additional courses. The Social Media and Network course has proved so popular that Leah and her team are now looking to develop courses specifically in facebook, twitter, blogging, tablets, ipads and smart phones.
“We have found once people do the overview course in Social media, they are wanting to learn more,” said Leah.
There has been a real mix of people coming to the Digital Hub, however retired people and mothers returning to work are amongst the largest users.
Leah still sees a lot of misunderstanding towards the benefits of the NBN.
“A lot of people are still trying to see what the benefits of the NBN will mean to them. We have a course which is called The NBN Getting Connected and a lot of people are coming along to obtain the knowledge and understanding of the NBN.”
All courses are free. The Digital Hub is located behind the Armidale Town Hall at 4 Cinders Lane. You can contact Digital Hub Program Manager Leah Cook on 6770 3634, email: digitalhub@armidale.nsw.gov.au or log on to www.digitalhub.armidale.nsw.gov.au
Story: Jo Harrison
