Digital training starting
Tenants are about to learn more about getting connected in a series of free coaching sessions.
ŌCHT digital coaching advisor Joanne Cantrick is looking forward to Kanorau Digital’s first training sessions for ŌCHT tenants.
The first training sessions offered as part of a free digital skill service for tenants are set to start as the Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust’s digital coaching service ramps up.
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa’s skills programme Kanorau Digital delivers its first free digital training sessions especially for ŌCHT tenants on Wednesday and Thursday this week.
The two, three-hour sessions will be held in the community lounge at Harman Courts, an ŌCHT community in Addington. The class size has been reduced from 20 to eight people in line with COVID-19 Alert Level 2.
ŌCHT digital coaching advisor Joanne Cantrick says lockdown highlighted the fact there’s even more of a need for people to have the digital skills to be able to engage with online services.
“From knowing how to use the COVID-19 tracer app to having the confidence to use internet banking and using online video calling to connect with others, it’s even more important for people to have the digital skills that keep us all connected.”
The Kanorau Digitial Training programme offers four wāhanga, or modules: Digital Connections and Communication, Digital Tools and Productivity; Digital Problem Solving and Digital Life.
The Digital Connections and Communication wāhanga is the first offered to ŌCHT tenants.
Over the course of the first wāhanga, tenants will set up and use a Google account and all the Google applications. They’ll also access more Kanorau Digital course material online.
People don’t need to take their own device. Kanorau Digital’s experienced trainers provide Chromebooks and free wifi for the duration of the sessions.
Further one-on-one sessions will also be made available to people who might want to learn more after they’ve finished the first module, Joanne says.
The classes are the first of many planned for the hundreds of ŌCHT tenants across Christchurch who’ve indicated they want to take part in digital training.
Joanne led a team that called tenants over lockdown to find out what people wanted from the Trust’s new digital coaching service.
The team had contacted 1600 of ŌCHT’s more-than 2300 tenants by the start of last week. About 45% of those contacted wanted to take part in free digital training, Jo says.
People who said they wanted to use the free service will be contacted to arrange a booking before sessions are planned in their part of the city.
ŌCHT is grateful to the Rātā Foundation for its support.