Computers in Homes suspended awaiting funding renewal

This blog is not being updated whilst we await renewal of funding.

Please visit 2020.nz or computersinhomes.nz for latest news or follow us on twitter at https://twitter.com/2020trustnz

Thank you

Bill Dashfield
20/20 web maestro

Funding restored – what it means for NZ families

The 2017 Coalition Government Agreement stated that Government funding for Computers in Homes – which ceased in June – will be restored. We are waiting to discuss this with the new Government. Meanwhile we continue to support the families from 2016/17 for their first 12 months online.

Because of this gap in funding, in some regions we no longer have a regional coordinator, and our national team are supporting those families.

The stories and statistics in the Computers in Homes Annual Report 2016/17 shows why the programme is so important – and successful – in helping New Zealand families get full benefit of being online.

Graduations Computers in Homes May 2017

As we held the final graduations for Computers in Homes Whanganui it has become a reflective time. Marton ICT Hub and James Cook Primary School put together a slideshow of all of the graduations we have shared there and it was wonderful to see the happiness and joy shared.

This will be the final post for us in Whanganui Region.  Over the last 10 years we have graduated 1,100 Computers in Homes families.  That is 1,100 homes who have technology that would not have had it.  We have moved from big chunky PC's to Chromebooks and from very few internet connections to almost 99% connectivity.

Technology is no longer a nice to have thing but is now a necessity for modern life, education, health and connection.

Here are our wonderful graduates from Marton

Our wonderful graduates from Taihape

Our wonderful graduates from Ohakune

Our final ever graduation at Tawhero School Whanganui

We wish you and your families every success in all fields and hope the technology will support this.

Chromebooks Rock!

I had the pleasure today of watching a class of new learners, many of whom have never used email before create labels and filters for their emails.

So many whanau I talk to get overwhelmed by the numbers of emails in their mail boxes and not being able to find things.  We showed them through a simple video how to create labels.  Youtube is a fantastic resource to learn new tricks on google.  If you like this one there are heaps more.

How do we learn easily?  We learn by sharing together, laughing, trying new things out and sharing our knowledge.  This was my experience in Taihape today with our two classes we have 18 students all together.  One who learn during the day and one in the evening.  Students move between the classes when they have other commitments.  It works for everyone.

Thank you Taihape

Amazing things are happening in Ruapehu

We are really happy to be able to announce that we are going to be working with Te Pae Tata in Ohakune this March 2017 in the Ruapehu Region.

They are located behind Ruapehu College.  They are driving the Ruapehu Whanau Transformation project which is a visionary project to transform the lives of whanau who live in Ruapehu.

We will be running a Chromebook trial for 10 -12 parents with children in the surrounding schools with the goal of enabling those whanau to have computers in their homes.  This will support them in their wider goals of sustainabilty, employment and education.

Here is a short video to show you what this amazing group are doing.

Here is a short video to introduce our new trainer Chaana Morgan who is talking here about the zero waste management which she is also involved in.

and here is a photo of her test driving the Chromebook

We start our class on Thursday 2 March at 10.30am we look forward to sharing our class photos next month.

Video Streaming - The Legal Way

There are many options for the new computer user in Video Streaming.

Here are a few legal ones

Netflix 










NEON TV

Lightbox

They are all different.  You need to shop around.

The other thing to do is to work out what video setting to watch them on.

When you login  go to the PLAYBACK settings.  If you choose Medium you will get a perfectly good picture but use 0.7GB per hour instead of 7 GB per hour on a premium plan.  It makes a major difference if you are on a set plan.

Check them out.  Remember to put in your phone calendar the week before your free trial expires so you can cancel it if you don't want to keep it.

Happy watching.

Chromebook success at Castlecliff and Keith Street Schools

Over the last few months I have had the privilege of working with a great group of parents at Keith Street and Castlecliff Schools.  These are parents and grandparents bringing up children.  Many of them had very little prior computer skills.  In the 20 hours training they learned about gmail, about using the internet, about the Google Drive, making slides and google docs and how they could support their children's learning.  Here are some of the families from those classes:

They came further than any other classes have using their chromebooks.  Here are the presentations they put together at the end of their class.  They all contributed.  Remember most of them could not have done any of this before class.  This was from the Castlecliff class:

This was from the Keith Street Class:

Here was their graduation

Whanganui Learning Centre October 2016

Congratulations to our 8 wonderful graduates at the Whanganui Learning Centre.

Now you know loads about Google, Google Drive, Google Docs, Word, Excel and how to help your children master technology.


Unfortunately two of our graduates were sick so unable to attend.  To celebrate their graduation each graduate did a slide for their class presentation.  Here is a link to that that presentation.


WLC Presentation by Graduates



Congratulations to the class

Here was our celebration

Chromebook Adventures in September

Today I saw a group of learners, who knew nothing about Google except how to search, talk for ages about the Google Drive, Calendars, Emails etc.

Several of them never used email.  Now they know how to share files, open Google Slides and watch a video that shows them how to learn things for themselves.

You are never too old or young to learn about the Computer.  Here is Bernard a granddad bringing up his mokopuna learning the wonders of the Chromebook from Aaron.  I am not sure what Aaron is showing him but it does have his attention.

For those of you thinking about doing some learning here are some tips and tricks.

Next month our Whanganui Learning Centre class is graduating so we look forward to sharing our success with you.

The Challeges of Parenting in a Digital Age

There is an amazing amount of information around about parenting in a digital age.  It is a huge challenge for parents.  Here are a couple of youtube videos which could help you on that journey.


This is a longer video about the challenges faced.

Recently the Parenting Place and Vodafone created digi-parenting.co.nz which has nice simple tips.  This is an introduction video.

Keep enjoying the digital world.  With it you can learn anything!

Chromebook Insights

In May 2016 we celebrated our first Chromebook trial.  Since then I have been slowly upgrading our Chromebook training materials and discovering the wonder of the Chromebook for myself.  

What is a Chromebook you ask?  The easiest way for me to tell you is to share this video.

Chromebooks are amazing little devices.  They basically have the internet and nothing else.  BUT on the internet you can do EVERYTHING.  They switch on right away and boom you are in the internet.

Instead of using Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint you use Google Docs, Slides and Sheets. They are like simple versions of their Microsoft cousins.  They have some amazing features like in the help area you can type what you want to do and it actually does it for you a lot of the time.  It makes it so much easier.  Some of the feedback from our classes has been "wow this is so much easier.  I have tried to learn Word and Excel so many times.  I didn't get it.  Now I can with Google".

The great news is you can also use Microsoft if you have Microsoft 365 which most children at school do.  Here is a photo of one of our graduates Jonathon with his son enjoying his Chromebook.

We are running three more Chromebook trials at Whanganui in September.  If you have school aged children who live in Whanganui and don't have technology at home go and see one of these schools: Castlecliff School  at Polson Street, Whanganui  OR Keith Street School at Keith Street (In Town) Whanganui OR TKKM o Atihaunui a Paparangi (Putiki opposite the church) to register.

Marton Celebrations in May 2016

Well we are very much in catch up mode here in Whanganui after an extremely busy six weeks.  I have now arrived back in the office and are going to post the photos from our many graduations.  These are the photos from our Marton class on 2016.  Deepest thanks and gratitude to our wonderful trainer and coordinator Angela Coleman from the Marton ICT Hub and Vanessa Te Ua and Michelle Cameron our principals from Marton Junction School who hosted our celebration and Michelle from James Cook.  Also to Andy Watson Mayor Rangitikei who is a great supporter of our programme.

Here is to our wonderful class of 12 graduates who all completed 20 hours of computer training and gained the goal of having technology for their kids.

Here is our celebration on Youtube

Ohakune Graduation

We have never been so busy.  Graduations in Marton, Ohakune, Taihape and Whanganui over a 12 day period.

A cold snap decided to hit in Ohakune and the mountain provided a beautiful backdrop for our 14 Ohakune graduates.

Over eight week our graduates have learned about everything from Word to Google Drive.  There were parents from Ruapehu College, Raetihi Primary School and the host school Ohakune.  Here is our celebration.  Here are our families

Ohakune Graduation on PhotoPeach

Chromebook Trial in Whanganui

Life is very exciting in Whanganui right now.  We are doing a Chromebook Trial with six families from Carlton School and nine whanau from TKKM O Te Atihanunui a Paparangi.

This was the day our new Chromebooks arrived.  It's been a huge learning curve for all of us.  We have had to learn to train in a new way and think about lots of things like technical support and internet connections in a new way.

Our deepest thanks to our trainer Aaron Tasker who has been great and really keen on learning about these new devices.  I have a good feeling about this trial and our families are loving it.

Exciting start to 2016

Well we have a really busy start to the year in our Region with classes in Taihape, Ohakune, Marton, Keith Street School and Tawhero School already in their third week.

Here are some photos from our Taihape classes.  We have an afternoon and early evening class going. The parents have a great setup and the school lets them practice their new skills during the week.  The principal gave us some great feedback this morning saying "Computers in Homes has been good for our school"

Next month I will be able to bring you photos from our first Chromebook trial which we are starting at Carlton School next week.

Whanganui Region Computers in Homes Classes starting March 2016

If you have children at school, no computer at home that your children can use and you haven't done Computers in Homes before then chances are you fit our criteria.  If you come to 2.5 hours of training once a week for 8 weeks and paying a deposit of $20 and $5 per week for the first six weeks of training then you will be the proud owner of a refurbished PC complete with MS Office and Windows 7, you could opt for subsidised internet and we look after your computer for 12 months.

So if you have children in Ruapehu, Taihape, Marton, Ohakune, Raetihi or Whanganui then here are your options:


Keith Street School  - Wednesday mornings 9.30 - 12pm  starting early March  address: Keith Street, Central City,  Whanganui (register at the school - other schools very welcome)

Tawhero School - Tuesday mornings 9.30 - 12pm  starting 15 March address: Totora Street - Gonville - Whanganui (register at the school - other schools very welcome)

Whanganui Learning Centre, Thursday mornings 9.30am - 12pm  starting late March 2015 - 232 Wickstead Street, Central City

Marton ICT Hub , Thursday evenings - 6 - 8.30pm starting 10 March  (behind the Library)

Taihape Area School - Wednesdays either 12.15 - 2.45pm  OR 4.30 to 7pm  starting early March (register at the school - other schools very welcome)

Ohakune Primary School - Tuesdays either 12.15 - 2.45pm  OR 5.30 - 8pm starting early March (register at the school - other schools very welcome)

We may have another venue very soon so keep an eye on our Facebook Page Computers in Homes Wanganui

Understanding the difference between a legitimate website and a dodgy one

One of the tricky things for new internet users, and some long term internet users, it coming to grips with what is a legitimate website and what is a dodgy one.  This guide is not designed to be read for research purposes but rather to provide a simple guide for people who don't know what to look for.

Simple Ways you and your children can tell if a Website is reliable?

The Internet contains some extremely valuable, high-quality information sources – and it also contains some very unreliable, biased sources of misinformation. Remember ANYONE can make a website.

That means you need to evaluate the quality of each website you use, whether it’s for a class assignment or your own use. Sometimes Internet sources can be more accurate than print sources. Sometimes it is better to stick with print sources. Be especially careful when shopping.

Depending on what you are using it for will need different levels of research.  This is designed as a guide to help you evaluate whether a particular Internet site is appropriate for your purposes.

Basic checks on Internet Information

1. Who authored or wrote the site?

Look for an “About” link at the top, bottom or sidebar of the webpage. Some pages will have a corporate author rather than a single person as an author. If no information about the author(s) of the page is provided, be suspicious. If there are no contact details also be suspicious.

Does the author provide his/her credentials? What type of expertise does s/he have on the subject s/he is writing about? Does s/he indicate what his/her education is? What type of experience s/he has? Should you trust his/her knowledge of the subject?

Try “Googling” the author – search his/her name at www.google.com. What kinds of websites are associated with your author’s name? Do the websites associated with the author give you any clues who they are? “Google” with caution – remember that sometimes more than one person can share the same name.

2. Who published the site?

What is the organization’s main purpose? What is the main purpose of the site? Is it cluttered with advertising? (suggesting it's not fully credible)?  Does the page appear to be professionally designed? Is the writing trying to persuade you to buy something? Are they promising something unrealistic?

Who is the intended audience? What is the quality of information provided on the website?     What type of other sites does the website link to?  Does it look and feel right after doing these checks?

Look at the domain name of the website – that will tell you who is hosting the site. For instance, the UCOL website is: https://www.ucol.ac.nz/. The domain name is .ac.nz  this URL tells you that the library website is hosted by UCOL. Do a search on the domain name at http://www.whois.sc/. This site provides information about the owners of registered domain names.  It is a .ac.nz site which means it is an educational site.

Check the organization’s main website, if it has one. Is it educational? commercial?  Government? Is it a reputable organization? Where is it based? Don’t ignore the suffix on the domain name (the three-letter part that comes after the “.”). The suffix is usually (but not always) descriptive of what type of entity hosts the website.. Here are some examples:

.edu.nz  = school
.ac.nz  = educations tertiary
.com or .co.nz or .co.kiwi = commercial
.govt.nz = government
.org.nz = non-profit  (mostly but not always)

The suffix at the end also tells you where it come from for example New Zealand sites are co.nz  OR .kiwi OR .nz where as a UK site might be .uk.  Here is a site where you can check where the domains come from http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/num/domains.htm THIS is REALLY important if shopping or paying.

3. Why did the author write it and the publisher post it?  

Why is the website there - is it to sell a product? „ as a personal hobby? „ as a public service? „ To further explore on a topic. To provide general information on a topic?„ To persuade you of a particular point of view?

Have a look at the site and ask yourself -  who is this designed for - people studying or the general public?  Which age group is it written for?  Is it aimed at people from a particular place?  Who is it aimed at?

4. Is the information timely and reputable?

When was the website first published? Is it regularly updated? Check for dates at the bottom of each page on the site. If you’re looking for statistics, information on current events, or information in fields like science, technology or healthcare, you probably need the most up-to-date information available. If you’re looking for information that doesn’t change, such as someone date of birth, it may not matter as much if the website is a little older as long as it is published/authored by a reputable source.

Are they reputable sites? If the author references online material, do they provide links to the material referenced?  What type of sites link to the website you’re evaluating? Is the website being referred by others?

This is the most important check.  Look the information you’ve gathered about your website and compare it to your information needs.  Ask yourself the question "Does this website provide what I need?"

Not all websites will work for all purposes – a website that is fine for finding general information on a disease won't work for a doctor.

If you are in doubt, ask someone who knows more.  Be especially careful when shopping.

2015 the year that was

Yesterday we celebrated the final graduation for 2015 for the Te Heti Te Kohanga Reo and Whanganui Learning Centre classes.

 The theme of this graduation was how technology can empower lives and the lives of our children. I had the privilege to share the story of one our Computers in Homes mums who finished Computers in Homes in 2006.

After Computers in Homes she went from being a volunteer to part time work.  She then went on to be a part of our BYOD trial in 2014 and has just completed her Kiwiskills Jobseeker qualification. She has dyslexia and was amazed to find how easy Kiwiskills was for her to learn. It really suited her to be able to do it whenever she had time rather than turn up to class. A group of mums got together and learned together to get them focused. She loves that now she knows stuff like doing a poster for work, converting it to a PDF for email and then a jpeg for facebook - "It's so awesome to be able to do that" she said.

She also  spoke about how having technology at home has enabled her boy who is often unwell to keep up with his school work. The teacher can email him the work to do, he does it online and then the teacher reviews it online, makes notes and sends him the next lot of work. Before technology he would have just fallen behind.

 She also spoke about how, living week to week, they can't afford to travel. They have whanau all over the world. Having skpe means they can be there virtually at all of there families events. It keeps them connected as whanau.


Our 15 graduates today spoke of overcoming their own learning challenges and how supportive their tutors and environment were. Congratulations to you all.  Our team wishes you every success on your technology and learning journey

Graduation at Te Heti Kohanga Reo on PhotoPeach


2015 has been a challenging one for Whanganui. The flood in our region in June has had a very real impact on the health of our families here.  We look forward to a positive, healthy 2016 and wish you and yours a very happy holiday season from all of us.

Tawhero and Aranui Schools November 2015

Graduations are always special. This evening we were celebrating not only the Computers in Homes graduates but also the six first ever Tawhero Stepping Up graduates and the first two people in Whanganui to complete the Kiwiskills Jobseeker programme. The sad but sweet part of the evening was farwelling Petera Hudson who has been with us for the last 2 and 1/2 years but now goes on to fulfill other goals and the welcoming of Aaron Tasker to our Computers in Homes whanau as a trainer. Petera has taught many of our whanau here in Whanganui and will be sadly missed. Congratulations to everyone.

Tawhero and Aranui School Graduations on PhotoPeach

Whanganui Learning Centre October 2015

This term has been filled with people being ill and lots of people being away and therefore unable to complete their courses.

This wonderful small group at Whanganui Learning Centre battled the elements and illnesses and finished their course this month on October 22.  We trust they are all enjoying their computers at home.

Because it was a small, intimate celebration we got to hear from everyone about what they got from the course.  The all spoke of overcoming their fear of doing something wrong and growing in confidence with technology.  They also spoke of their joy at being able to now share that world with their children at home.

Our team wishes them all well.

A big thank you to Sally Jane Smith for all the problem solving, Nessa Williams for the training and Sue Simons for getting everyone registered and to classes.

Also to our team Simon Waters for the technical support and sharing your wisdom generously and Robin Williamson for your support.

Here is the graduation

Whanganui Learning Centre Graduation on PhotoPeach