He also talked about certain groups of people, who due to the recession, may have been made redundant from jobs such as scaffolding etc and are looking to retrain in a new area and need IT/Computer skills in order to do this. Are you such a person? If not, do you know anyone looking to learn computer skills or looking to refresh their computer skills?

If so, I can deliver computer training specific to your needs – whether you are a “newbie” to computers or perhaps you are looking to update or refresh your skills.

Only last week, I gave an “emergency” 3 hour refresher course in EMail, Word and Excel to someone who had been out of work for over a year and was starting a new job this week – hence the “emergency”.

As she had been rejected by many companies over the year she had lost some of her confidence even though she did have computer skills. However, after this session, she had regained her confidence, had picked up some new skills, and felt much happier about going back into the workplace after a long time away.

Training sessions can be delivered online during a live teaching session or I can visit you at your home – depending on location.

Training can be tailored to individual needs.

You are also more than welcome to contact me by email at Eileen@EasyComputerTrainingNow.com with any queries or questions you may have about computer training.

OK – Bye for now

Eileen

Click here to read the full article – A Good Time for Computer Training

Here is a piece from an article I found that tells you a bit more about Phishing and some tips on how to protect yourself while online

Phishing is a scam that Internet hackers use to send spam and other types of pop-up messages in order to lure personal information and financial information from people. There are some ways that you can avoid getting caught in the trap that include:

* Don’t reply to any of the emails or pop-up messages that are asking you for any kind of personal or financial information. Don’t click on any of the links that are in the message and don’t cut or paste a link from the message into your web browser to use. The links may look like they are going to go one way, but really they are set up to go to a different site.

Click here to read the full article and tips

Baroness Estelle Morris said:
“We must be ambitious about the level of ICT skills in the community. Increasingly, those who are not ICT literate will find themselves excluded as technology impacts on more parts of our lives.

Stephen Carter, author of the Digital Britain review, commented:
“Digital life skills are a foundation for participation and employability in a digital society.  Soon, everyone in this country will be connected to broadband so it is crucial every person has the basic skills and confidence to make the most of the opportunities broadband will bring.

Click here to read Baroness Estelle Morris’s report

If you are interested in reading the full report then  click here

Easy Computer Training Now provides easy, basic and simple to understand computer training. If there is any area of computer training you would like some information on then please contact me at  Eileen@EasyComputerTrainingNow.com

We deliver a wide range of computer training programmes and as they are tailored to individual needs, there will be one (at least) that is just right for you.

Streaming simply means that you don’t have to wait a long time for a big file to download to your computer before you watch and listento it.  You can watch and hear as it’s sent to your computer.

The BBC allow you to Stream programmes from the past week (7 days). If you want to watch a programme after this time you will need to download it – and then a time limit of 30 days is in place for you to view it.

• Click here for BBC iPlayer

ITV Player is very similar to BBC iPlayer allowing you to watch your favourite programmes for up to 30 days after they have been shown on TV.

• Click here for ITV Player

Channel 4 offer Channel 4 Catch up and 4 On Demand. For Catch UP you can watch programmes from the last 30 days in “real time”. With 4oD you need to download some software to your computer and then play the programmes from there. Some programmes in 4oD have charges attached to them, but this is very clear from the site.

• Click here for Channel 4 – (4oD)

Channel Five (Demand Five) also offer free and paid for TV as Channel 4. Check out the website for more details of what is offered.

• Click here for FIVE (Demand Five)

Sky Player offer a service to Sky Satellite TV customers, so that you can watch TV programmes from the package you subscribe to online at no extra cost. If you are not a Sky customer but want to watch Sky Channels, then you are able to sign up and pay either a monthly fee OR you can pay to rent/buy single programmes. Once you have subscribed online you are then able to watch some other TV programmes. See  the website for more information

• Click here for Sky Player

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.  Put simply this allows you to keep up to date with the lastest information from your favourite websites BUT you don’t need to visit them all! You can easily have all the up to date information sent to one location on your computer and then you can access it and read it at your leisure. It’s a bit like having your own newspaper. In order to read this information you need to have an RSS reader and this is very easy to do.

Easy steps to get an RSS reader

• Go to Google and if you don’t have a Google account sign up for one as it’s simple to do and you have access to free, useful google tools.
• Once in your Google account you will see a list of tabs – usually the one called WEB is the one you will be taken to first.
• If the Reader tab is not on show, go to the dropdown arrow by the “more” tab and select Reader from the list
• Thats it!

You have an RSS reader now. You will see a tab with Add a Subscription.  All you need to do is click on the tab, type in the website address of your favourite sites (if you know this) and click add. If you don’t know the website address, then just find your sites and click on the Add to RSS link if they have one. If not, just copy and paste the website address into your Add a Subscription tab. Anytime you visit a new site that has an RSS link you can just click on it and add it to your Reader.

Once any of the sites you add to your reader add new information, it will be added here. New unread information will be highlighted in Bold. Decide what you want to read and delete anything you dont want or need anymore. Simple!

Watch this short video showing how to add websites to an RSS reader

To stay updated with all the latest Easy Computer Training Now courses add this RSS link to your RSS reader

http://www.eventbrite.com/rss/user_list_events/1363611931

PayPal is a FREE way to shop online safely, securely and conveniently without sharing your financial details with the seller. In other words…your credit or debit cards details are kept hidden when paying by PayPal.

It’s very easy to use and more online shopping sites have PayPal facilities.

Click HERE for the PayPal MythBuster page where you can find out lots more information about PayPal.

I have listened to many people and heard many fears people have around computers. Lots of people I know have attended training courses but felt “left behind” in the class as others appear to be faster than them. This led them to lack confidence in what they think they can do and they feel they have “failed” and don’t really want to try again – but really it was the course that failed them.

If you have a fear of failing then perhaps give some thought to the following 3 questions and be honest with the answers you commit to.

1. Am I afraid because I never was taught to do this thing?
   • If so, what self-education steps might I take to prepare myself?
   • Who do I know that might be willing to mentor/coach me?
   • How much am I willing to invest (time, effort and money) in my education?
2. Am I afraid because I don’t fully understand this thing?
   
   • If so, what research information is available to me?
   • Who might I talk with who has experience with this thing?
   • How might I go about acquiring some preliminary experience?
3. Am I afraid because I fear I might fail?
   • If so, what is the worst thing that could happen to me if I did fail?
   • What skills, talents and resources would I have to fall back on?
   • What potential rewards am I willing to forego because of my fear?

We all must acknowledge our fears …………and then move forward.

The above questions are taken from an article by Phillip Van Hooser – you can read the full article here


Please feel free to let us know your thoughts on this subject – submit a comment below!

Thanks