Book Reviews / Library Chat

It’s never too late to get tech savvy

Cate Akaveka

BOOK OF THE MONTH

An initiative to help elderly folk on the Fraser Coast to better understand this crazy digitally focused world is coming to the region’s libraries. Education is key when it comes to smartphones, tablets, cyber safety, email, and social media, said Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour. So local seniors are invited to learn about how to improve their digital skills at free Tech Savvy Seniors workshops at their local library, thanks to a $10,000 grant awarded to Fraser Coast Libraries. “We don’t want older Australians to miss out on the benefits of being connected and participating in this digital age,” Mr Seymour said. “The Tech Savvy Seniors programs will help our older residents develop the skills and confidence to use technology and ensure we have better digital and social inclusion as a community.” Councillor David Lewis said Tech Savvy Seniors workshops would be planned in line with the anticipated easing of COVID-19 restrictions. “Hervey Bay and Maryborough libraries will soon have interactive screens, which will help staff deliver workshops while maintaining social distancing requirements,” he said. “These new workshops will build on the DigiLearn and DigiHelp sessions our libraries already offer remotely by phone.” For help with free Be Connected courses at beconnected.esafety.gov.au, phone 4190 5781 on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month between 9.30am and 11am or 1pm and 2.30pm, or on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month between 9.30am and 11am. For quick questions or troubleshooting, phone 4190 5781 for DigiHelp between 1pm and 3pm every Thursday. Cr Lewis said library members also had access to free video learning through Lynda.com, which offered more than 13,000 online courses on topics such as cybersecurity awareness, Windows 10 essentials, and job search strategies. “There are many more online resources available via the library’s website,” he said. Cr Seymour said Fraser Coast residents were encouraged to join online or in person at their local library and use their library membership number and password to access the online training via the eLearning page of the libraries website at frasercoast.qld.gov.au/elearning. For more information, go to frasercoast.qld.gov.au/ libraries or phone 4197 4220.

Dear Parents Gabbie Stroud

In this latest book from Gabbie Stroud, she makes a funny but heartfelt plea to all parents on behalf of teachers. She aims to help parents understand their essential roles as their children’s lifelong educators. She explains how they can support their children’s schools and teachers to achieve the best results for the next generation of leaders. Gabbie Stroud discusses the pressure of standardised testing and government programs such as NAPLAN, which somehow satisfy the ‘consumer’ in many people as they think they are getting results because of ranking and comparisons. However, parents may not realise that the current ways of assessing students’ skills may actually be detrimental to their ability to learn the crucial life skills.