This term, Macquarie Community College is helping senior Australians to improve their digital skills, become more computer savvy and learn how to use the internet. We will be running free Computer Clubs for people 50 years and over, who wish to learn in a friendly and supportive environment, where questions are encouraged.
Inspired by the international campaign, ‘Get Online Week’, which aims to support the two and a half million Australians who are not online , Macquarie Community College has decided to extend our popular Tech Savvy Seniors classes to include free Computer Clubs. This will provide extra opportunities for seniors to ask any digital question they want.
Jess Wilson, National Director for Good Things Foundation, the organisation running the Get Online Week campaign, says “Get Online Week will help thousands of people across Australia to improve their digital skills – whether they’ve never been online before, or have done a little but want to do more. There is free and friendly support in hundreds of communities, and so whatever you want to do online, you can find the support to do it.”
Importance of Getting Online
The students in Macquarie Community College’s Tech Savvy Seniors classes (for people aged 60 years and over) also recognise the increasing need to learn digital skills and get online. One student, Agnes, says ‘’(Online) is the way the world is going. It’s important to keep my skills relevant and to be able to keep communicating with my children”. Another student, Sophia, agrees and mentions that her daughter helps her order food online using the Uber Eats and menulog apps. She came to the Tech Savvy Seniors class as she wanted to learn how to use phone apps to order food by herself and become more independent.
There’s also increasing research showing that being connected digitally also benefits older people who are in chronic pain. The study found, “Among people with pain, the rate of depression was lower with social media use. Six percent of those who used social media also reported symptoms of depression, compared with 15 percent of those who didn’t use social media”.
Be Connected
Macquarie Community College is deeply committed to digital learning and holds courses for people of all ages and skill levels. We are part of Be Connected, an initiative funded by the Australian Government, to help Australians improve their digital literacy.
If you want to 'be connected', simply set up an account on the Be Connected website. There you will find loads of tools, articles and videos to help you be more tech savvy. Please remember to select ‘Macquarie Community College’ as your ‘Training Centre’ in the drop down list.
Courses to Suit All Needs
You can also enrol in any of our computer courses below.
If you are a senior looking to become more digital savvy:
- Free Seniors Computer Club (50+ years old)
- Tech Savvy Seniors – Introduction to Downloading & Streaming Digital Music (60+ years old)
- Tech Savvy Seniors – Cloud Computing: Part 2 (60+ years old)
(Register quickly – Our Tech Savvy Seniors classes are always popular. Each class only costs $10 as they are subsidised by the NSW Government.)
If you want to improve your computer skills for work or study: