The project was launched on March 19^th with a full-day session where iMedia students met others on a Practical Skills course and helped them develop small-group wikis using ClickStart. The session was facilitated by Andy Minnion from the Rix Centre, which developed the software.

Sixteen Young DOTs from City IMedia mentored 30 young Sheffield City College students with disabilities ranging from autism, severe and moderate learning disabilities and blindness around digital inclusion. Their course is called Practical Skills.

The Young DOT/iMedia students worked in groups 2-3, with each group pairing up with 4-5 Practical Skills students. There were 5 groups in total and each group were expected to populate their own group wiki. Their task was to put images, sound and video onto their wiki, all focussed upon identity – individual and group identity. The focus was group building and ‘ getting to know each other’ in preparation for the Game2Engage project where Young DOTs engage ‘Practical Skills’ students in technology through games.

The event was attended by a total of 60 people and started with a terrific dance routine by DOT Lawrence Bennett, which set an upbeat tone and finishing with dancing by all. Standout moments of the day included Sam Deakin, a DOT with profound physical disabilities, engaging and delighting a severely autistic student with a teddy bear game that he had especiallyput onto his ipad for people with severe learning disabilities.  Another emotional point came at the end of the day when each group presented their wikis to everyone and it was very clear that group identities and bonds had been forged and  cross-course friendships had been formed, underpinned with respect and equality.

The day forged warm contacts between the iMedia students and those on the Practical Skills course which will hopefully develop when they meet again at Sheffield City College.  It was an awareness-raising experience for the iMedia students, while the Practical Skills students stressed how much they really appreciated being listened to.

As a result of this launch, the Practical Skills students felt validated and listened to.  They now know other students at the College who they can talk to and feel included in the institution.

A party of eight from the South Yorkshire ‘Making IT Personal: Joining the DOTs’ digital mentoring scheme, known as the DOTs scheme, travelled to Athens in January to learn from similar volunteer programmes in Greece.  The study visit was particularly focused on exchanging information on how IT can help people into employment.

Digital Outreach Trainer Nick Jeans described some highlights of the visit:

“At the Electra Hotel in the centre of Athens We saw a presentation from George Drogoudis, senior project manager of a company called Militos (http://www.militos.org) that works on a number of EU-funded Lifelong Learning projects.  The latest one, ‘This is IT’ (www.thisisit4u.eu), which started on 1^st Jan 2012 with funding for three years, is similar to the DOT scheme, using volunteers to introduce IT and digital technologies to others.

“It was interesting to compare and contrast our models and both parties learnt a lot.” 

“Following this, we visited a volunteer organization called KEAN (Cell of Alternative Youth Activities, www.kean.gr) which focuses on the protection of the environment, promotion of new technologies, youth education and youth rights.  Marilena Karadima showed us a board game called ‘Planet Book’ which KEAN has produced and distributed free to Greek schools to improve awareness of the environment.  There are plans to develop the game in other languages and also in a digital version, which DOTs may be able to help with – proof-reading the English edition and testing the online version.

“Another KEAN project awaiting EU approval is aimed at improving the IT skills of gypsies to boost their chances of finding work.  Marilena commented that many Romanies could benefit by using IT to contact others in Bulgaria, Romania and Spain, using social media.  She was interested to hear that South Yorkshire has a large Romany community which might benefit from involvement in this scheme.

“Given the strong volunteering element of the DOTs project, part of our remit was to engage with volunteer organizations.  We visited ELIX (http://www.elix.org.gr/) which arranges placements for international volunteers in Greece. Its main activity is organizing projects to protect the environment and preserve cultural heritage.

“Dora Vougiouka told us that last year the agency placed 200 foreign volunteers in various projects around Greece, including an animal welfare project in Athens; summer camps for disadvantaged kids; helping people with disabilities to move around on vacation; restoration work on Mt Olympus; maintaining a forest at Marathon and restoring traditional houses in Northern Greece.

Normally volunteers join an ELIX project by working with a volunteer organisation in their home country.  Following our presentation of the DOT scheme, ELIX would be very pleased to accept volunteers from MITP:JtD.  Our DOTs were impressed with this, since it offers a safe and organised way to travel abroad and meet people from other countries including opportunities to share digital skills.

“In the afternoon, we saw a presentation from HEPIS (Hellenic Professionals Informatics Society) which is similar to the UK’s British Computer Society (BCS).  Manolis Labovas told us that HEPIS is working on a women and technology initiative (www.itfwomenict.org).  The European Centre for Women and Technology (www.womenandtechnology.eu) is helping to run European e-Skills Week 2012 which shows people how to get jobs in the digital age.  HEPIS also supports an initiative by the National Bank of Greece called ‘Show them’ (Deixtous – www.deixtous.gr) which promotes digital inclusion.  HEPIS advised us that the Microsoft Unlimited Programme could be interested in the DOT model and provided contact details.

“Our study trip ended on Friday. Ironically, after a week of lovely sunshine but near-freezing temperatures, Athens was MUCH warmer as we left!”

DOT Wakas Hussain shared his impressions of Greek approaches to digital inclusion: “Athens was a brilliant place.  I enjoyed the trip and I was glad to visit the place as a member of the DOT scheme, and represent myself as a young DOT, because the scheme has helped me a lot and it provides valuable information I can put on my CV.

“What most  intrigued me whilst in Athens was the Elix scheme which I found a clever idea: not only do you get to experience Greece with it, butyou also help out the local community, and it’s cheap.  This is crucial since students can’t afford much but they want to travel, gain experience and have something to put on their CV. It was well thought out and I can see schemes like this becoming popular.”

The three days will comprise a mixture of discussions, visits, seminars and presentations, meetings and dialogue with those on the programmes and those delivering them. By the end of the visit our DOTs will have learnt about the cultural and real life issues that people seeking employment in Greece face. We intend this to be a very positive mixture of learning opportunities and contact with practitioners.

Reflections on the visit for the project website will follow shortly after our return.

Five members of the ESF-funded ‘Making IT Personal: Joining the DOTs’ scheme went to the ‘Innovation for Digital Inclusion’ conference in Gdansk, Poland, to let the rest of Europe know about our project and to see what we could learn from projects in other European countries.

Martin Cantor from Barnsley Council, Val Petersen and Paul Thomas from Sheffield College, along with Brigidin Crowther and Nick Jeans from Sero Consulting, attended the conference and were amazed at the level of interest shown by visitors.

Martin Cantor was invited to a meeting with the commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, and gave a strong presentation at the conference that was extremely well received. He finished his talk with inspirational filmed interviews with DOTs – Digital Outreach Trainers – including Khalid Mohammad, Yvonne Gavin, Ben Fuller and Mercy Nguru. These interviews can now be viewed on our website.

Filmmaker Brigidin Crowther, who is documenting the project, said “It was a pleasure to interview the DOTs for the film and hear directly from them how this project is truly transforming lives.”

Paul Thomas, an 18-year-old student at Sheffield College, was also on stage with Nick Jeans for a discussion in front of hundreds of people, where they described their personal experiences of the DOT scheme. The feedback from the audience was very positive, with people from all over Europe seeing clearly how a similar project could work well in their countries.

“I was a little nervous but amazed to see how interested everyone at this conference was in our project. It made me feel quite proud actually, and loads of people came up afterwards and asked questions” said Paul. Nick added that “It was great to have Paul with us and we made the point that most people do not need complicated and expensive IT training, just help with the particular uses of IT that interests them. They then can develop the confidence to try other uses and teach themselves, helped by a DOT as and when they need a particular tip.”

The project was mentioned by another speaker as an example of best practice in European Digital Inclusion projects, and there was enormous interest in the Fast Forward learning materials designed by Val Petersen of Sheffield College.

“I was very happy to be asked for our resources and people seemed to feel, as we do, that these are examples of good practice in action,” commented Val. The DOT scheme is now becoming widely known and admired throughout Europe as a result of the innovative approach and our recent National Learners’ Week Award.

The trip was also a great opportunity to learn more about other projects, especially the widespread use of public libraries in Eastern Europe to provide internet access and advice to people who are not online at home. We also learnt about the value of digital technology in helping people with special needs, which we hope to follow up in the DOT scheme.  Last but not least, we learnt that Gdansk is a beautiful city with a fascinating history, huge shipyard and friendly, helpful inhabitants!

For more on the conference, see: www.innodig.eu

Go On Barnsley will call on local DOTs to get involved in exercising their mentoring skills to those who need it in the local area, as well as organisations in the public and private sector, sports clubs, hobby groups and individuals. DOTs will also encourage their employers to get involved with the activity

Activity will be centered around the Facebook group which will give information on mailing lists and workshops, and also through the twitter hashtags #GoOnBarnsley and #DigiBarns.

The campaign is being timed to coincide with Get Online week from October 30 to November 6, another UK Online initiative in which people will be asked to spend the hour they gain from the clocks going back helping people get to grips with using the internet.

The main contact for the campaign is GoOnBarnsley@barnsley.gov.uk, or FREEPHONE 0800 389 7131.

Jamie Jackson, right, aged twenty, has shown his father, the owner of a guitar shop, how websites like Ebay can help his business. Thanks to Jamie, his dad is completely at home with trading online, and is now ordering stock for his shop using the internet. “It’s made a difference to his work,” says Jamie, who has also been able to help his neighbours by showing them how to digitally rework images for an art exhibition.

Meanwhile, Amy Gilmartin, pictured left, has been helping her mum get to grips with downloading, setting up and using itunes on her computer, giving her more freedom in using her music. “My mum had seen me do it and wanted to know how she could download them to her mobile phone,” says Amy, aged sixteen, who has also introduced her to buying and selling on ebay.

Sheffield Online College provides a bank of resources for digital outreach trainers like Amy and Jamie to improve their own knowledge as part of their volunteering, including an online forum, resources about online safety and tutorials on soundfiles and videos.

Julie Hooper, Sheffield Online College manager, says: “Digital technology is playing an increasingly crucial part of our personal and working lives. The DOTS project aims to promote digital inclusion among people who have either shied away from or not had access to technology.

“The project is improving confidence and skills by enabling people to take small steps with technology. At the heart of it is the idea that people can be encouraged to engage with technology by informal mentoring through people they know and trust, the digital outreach trainers who include volunteers from all walks of life and continue to sign up in growing numbers.”

The evening also offered the opportunity to reflect on the scheme’s achievements to date, and allowed those involved in the recent study trip to Malta to share their impressions of that county’s approach to digital inclusion. Feedback ranged from admiration at the amount of possibilities open to the Maltese in the digital realm, to how the trip offered younger DOTs the chance to broaden their skills and gain confidence in areas outside of their studies. This was demonstrated by Sam Blake from Sheffield College’s iMedia course with a video he made while in Malta explaining the DOTs idea to their hosts.

Fellow student Wakas Hussain exercised his growing confidence in public speaking by talking about the benefits that digital technology can bring to the disabled, particularly from the perspective of developments in gaming. ‘Being able to learn in the disabled community is a big thing, and educational games have been developed specifically for those with mental and physical disabilities. Making the connection between digital technologies and learning is important, and the DOTs scheme is helping out people who really need it.’

Martin Cantor, the project director and the evening’s award giver, described how the DOTs scheme is the result of five years work following the realization that ‘the South Yorkshire community really needed something to get it involved in the digital experience, and to help them navigate it in comfort and with confidence.

‘We felt that training courses didn’t offer a full learning experience, and felt we could draw upon people’s natural inclination to help one another to enhance it. And we’ve been proved right—the model we’ve developed has been described as the best of its kind in Europe. These awards, and the DOTs themselves, are further proof that it works, and that people are learning on a daily basis.’

Martin also stressed that the scheme would continue with a focus on digital skills for employability in the coming 12 months: ‘The advent of digital is the opportunity for us to become a leading place again. We need digital natives in our community to keep us at the forefront of the economy.’

The tour took in Sheffield College and Northern College, exploring how the innovative online community is supporting volunteer Digital Outreach Trainers in passing on their IT Skills to family, friends and work colleagues.

Adrian learnt that since its launch in 2010, over 400 DOTs have been recruited and more than 3,000 learners have participated.  He also met some of the mentors, whose stories are available on the resources section of this website, in particular a group of young DOTs aged 14-19 studying on Sheffield College’s iMedia course. They discussed their recent visit to Malta as ambassadors for the scheme and how it inspired them to develop a project for working with students with learning disabilities. Some members of the group are now looking at opportunities for further study in Malta.

Adrian noted how the project is impacting on people’s lives in South Yorkshire, commenting: ‘The Making IT Personal: Joining the DOTs project is a great example of how ESF is helping people develop the skills that get them back to work. What’s more, the DOT approach is having a positive impact on local people by helping to banish fears about using digital technology.’

Attending on behalf of the DOTs scheme are Martin Cantor from Barnsley College, responsible for the management of MITP, and Ian Chowcat and Liz Wallis from Sero Consulting, creators of the Digital Outreach Trainer model. They will be running a networking breakfast event preceding the Digital Literacy and E-inclusion event on the second day, in which workshop participants will explore long-term strategies for digital inclusion via examples of existing practices.

The event held in Westminster, London and hosted by Phillipa Forrester saw awards for adult learners from across the UK, many of whom had overcome disability and challenging personal circumstances to engage with education across many sectors and communities.

“The stories of this year’s award winners once again illustrate the overwhelmingly positive impact that learning has on people’s lives,” said Alan Tuckett, NIACE Chief Executive. “The transformation that those taking part in the DOTs scheme have experienced is due to their dedication, persistence and ambition. I hope that adults across the country will be inspired by their story to take up learning and discover a whole new life for themselves.”

The award for the DOTs scheme is in recognition of the fact that the informal, peer based approach is an invaluable route into learning for those not involved with more formal learning opportunities.

“I am pleased that the European Social Fund is again sponsoring Adult Learners’ Week—in this its 20th year,” said Wendy Violentano, Head of ESF Division at the Department for Work and Pensions. “It is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the Making IT Personal: Joining the DOTs and to show how learning can help improve job prospects. All the winners’ stories will undoubtedly inspire even more people to engage in learning.”

The event also saw an the first Outstanding Contribution to Adult Learning awarded to Sir David Attenborough. A video of the award, and the preceding speech from Business Secretary Vince Cable, can be seen on the NIACE website

To find out more about the DOTs scheme’s contribution to adult learning, click here