Eager to learn!

Since February 20th 2012, Emma Slater has been running Stepping Up courses through Te Whare Kokonga every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Although there was not too much notice on when the courses started Emma was surprised to see the number of people who turned up to her classes eager to learn more about computers and develop new skills.

Emma now has a regular attendance of seven people and is impressed to see the progress they are making with the course. Participants skills range from Computers in Homes graduates who are quite technologically savvy, to those who are not sure how to use a mouse. However the classes work extremely well together and we all end up having a whole lot of fun. "I am just excited to learn how to use a computer so that I can help teach my grandchildren" explains one of the participants to Emma.

We are very proud of all participants and look forward to your graduation!

Our first Adult Education Scholarship recipient

Congratulations to Lisa Herbison who has just been accepted into our Adult Education Scholarship programme! Lisa is our first recipient for the Adult Education Scholarship and we are very excited to be working with her whilst she is completing the course.

Lisa has been a dedicated trainer for Computers in Homes Waikato, through providing training for both Stepping Up and Computers in Homes since 2011.

When Lisa received and email from us advertising the opportunity to apply for a scholarship she saw this as an opportunity to become a better facilitator to those she taught as well as the added bonus of professional development. Lisa decided to apply for the scholarship because she felt the course would help her to gain new skills in order to help her work more confidently with people and be able to learn the various types of learning styles. Lisa explains, "I feel that if I am able to understand and identify individuals learning styles, I will be able to ensure that each participant will get the maximum benefits from the courses I teach."

When asked to explain how she intends to use this scholarship in the future Lisa says; "I want to continue working with Computers in Homes, but in the long-term I want to focus particularly on women wanting to return to the workforce and better their skills. Being a solo mother working part-time I understand how hard this is and hope that I will be able to help other women with the same struggles. I am really appreciative to Computers in Homes for the opportunity to do this and am really looking forward to it."

We wish you all the best with your studies Lisa, and thank you for your hard work and dedication to Computers in Homes.

Crawshaw School

Sixteen people graduated from Crawshaw on the 16th of December 2011. This is a huge class and we are very proud of all of you for successfully completing the programme so close to Christmas. This class is made up a huge variety of people who all got on extremely well with one another. One individual in the class has been waiting for over a year to be able to have the internet connected. She already had extensive computer knowledge but completed the Computers in Homes course anyway in order to have the opportunity to have the internet connected at her home. She has worked well and has been a huge support person to fellow class mates by sharing her knowledge with them. As the class was so large this was very helpful for trainer Andrea who had her work cut out for her. So a big congratulations to all participants you have done really well! Enjoy your new computers!

Paeroa Central School

What an awesome success for Paeroa Central school. Eleven people graduated on the 13th of December 2011. With Mayor Julie Hardaker present this was a very special moment for all graduates. Although it was close to the end of the year all participants worked extremely hard in order to have their new computers in time for Christmas. A big thank you to trainers Stalina Collier and Martin Rodley who worked tirelessly to help these graduates finish in time for Christmas. We hope you have thoroughly enjoyed you new computers and continue to develop you skills even further.

Ngaruawahia Primary Success Story

Dedicated mother of six, Raewyn Tarawhiti has made a significant difference in her life through attending the Computers in Homes course with Ngaruawahia Primary School. Through her 11-year-old daughter attending Ngaruawahia Primary, Raewyn was introduced to the programme. Due to her children’s education becoming increasingly more technology oriented, Raewyn felt her lack of knowledge in this area was not beneficial for her children’s learning. So Raewyn signed up as a student in the first programme held at Ngaruawahia Primary in term one of 2011. Her initial response to the idea of attending the course was apprehension. She explained how she was nervous to attend the classes, as her experience with computers was minimal. Before Raewyn began the Computers in Homes course she described herself as a “follower who was happy to sit in the back of a classroom and follow what others were doing.” However throughout the course Raewyn felt herself feeling less apprehensive about participating in the course. Her confidence was growing and she found her skills increasing rapidly. Raewyn described the atmosphere of the classroom to be a great leaning environment. “On the first meeting everyone is all feeling slightly nervous and not too sure what exactly to expect, but once they get going they never want to leave, they enjoy it so much.” This is how Raewyn described her learning in the classroom and also her teaching experience. After she had she then signed up to be a trainer for the second programme being held at Ngaruawahia Primary. By attending the Computers in Home course Raewyn has helped not only herself but also her children. She now understands how to help her children with their homework can look for jobs online as well as keep in contact with family. Raewyn explained how her 11-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son work together with her and learn from each other when accessing the internet from home. The confidence that has been provided to Raewyn through Computers in Homes has been an amazing turn around. Raewyn has successfully grown from ‘following the leader to becoming the leader.’ Overcoming her fears of learning how to operate a computer has been the best thing Raewyn has done for herself and her family.

Te Kura Kaupapa O Te Ara Rima

Congratulations to the eight individuals who graduated on the 23rd of November 2011. There has been a lot of dedication and hard-work seen throughout the course of the programme. A huge thank you to trainer Melissa Kani who has been the champion of the programme. You have been a fantastic support person for all who were involved and we loved working along side you. We hope that you thoroughly enjoy your new computers and continue to learn new skills on a daily basis.

Te Aroha Graduation

We were excited to have 10 families graduate from Te Aroha College last week! This was our very first school in Te Aroha and the furtherest we have ever been going in Piako. We look forward to further training at the school and partnerships with the local primary school just across the road.

It was neat to talk with the graduates and hear everything that they had learnt. We had some families who had never turned on a computer before, and for one South American family not only was this their first time, but they had to do it in English.This was a credit to trainer Steven from Piako computers, originally from Scotland, who kept the learners engaged with a great sense of humour and expertise. It was entertaining to hear the stories of new users at the graduation. We will upload a video they have created of the fun times they had in class.

A special thanks to Principal Robin, Deputy Principal Sam and Teacher Troy for their positivity and hard work. After hearing about Computers and Homes in a conference it was exciting to get the project off the ground. Since then we have found personal links with Sam's mother a Stepping Up tutor in Taranaki, and Troy's father in law the principal of a Computer in Homes school some years ago. Its great to see Computers in Homes known so widely.