Free computer courses in Kortrijk

Web address of the case:

http://www.kortrijk.be/

Country of the case:

Belgium

City/region:

Kortrijk

Posting Date:

24 October 2007

Last Edited Date:

10 May 2009

Author:

Mark Hol (City of Kortrijk)

lessons | Digital | divide

Type of initiative

Promotion/awareness campaign

Case Abstract

Without the knowledge of what one can do with computers and the internet, people will have no incentive to start learning about them.
Without the basic skills needed to work with computers and the internet, people will not start using them.
We are then talking about the digital divide.
The digital divide is connected to existing social-cultural, social-educational and geographic divides.
Through the free computer lessons new social contacts between people are created.
Bridging the geographical divide fits in with the cityâ€™s policy to provide more e-services to all citizens, but it brings a surplus value for the boroughs.

Description of the case

Domain

eInclusion

Topic

Digital literacy and competences

Sector

Education, Science and Research

Start date - End date

September 2004 (Ongoing)

Date operational

September 2006

Target Users

Any citizen

Target Users Description

The target group of the project was initially defined as non-users of computer and internet.
Inside this target group a number of sub-target groups were defined.
The sub-target groups the city of Kortrijk wanted to reach with the project were:
- people with no access to computers and/or internet
- people with-out knowledge about computers and/or internet
- people who can't use a computer and/or internet (for example people with a handicap, the elderly)
- people who are not interested in computers and/or internet
- people who do not use computers and/or internet to communicate
- people who are not helped (enough) by existing computer training initiatives

Gradually, the (sub-)target groups were redefined an divided into three groups.
- people with a disability
- socially excluded people
- the untapped mainstream
There is an overlap groups between the first and the second group.
People from the untapped mainstream are people who have all the basic skills, but who don't feel called to use a computer and/or internet.
Among this group are many people who are to old to have learned it in school, but to young to do without for the rest of their lives.

Scope

Local (city or municipality)

Status

On hold (not operating)

Language(s)

Dutch

Policy Context and Legal Framework

De wwwereld is van iedereen â€“ The wwworld belongs to everyone
This is the title of the ICT-project the city of Kortrijk started in September 2004.
The goal of this project was and is to bridge the digital divide for the people of Kortrijk and its boroughs.
The project is aimed towards those people who do not have a computer and/or internet access and those who canâ€™t work with a computer and/or internet.
One the one hand the city of Kortrijk installed a network of PIAPâ€™s in the form of internet kiosks and public pcâ€™s.
On the other hand the city of Kortrijk provided free (basic) computer lessons.

Project Size and Implementation

Type of initiative

Training and education

Overall Implementation approach

Public administration

Technology choice

Not applicable/not available

Funding source

Project size

Implementation: €300-499,000

Yearly cost:

€300-499,000

Implementation and Management Approach

The pilot partners are:
The city of Kortrijk

Mentor is a society without purpose of gain for training, guidance and orientation.
They provide occupational training with the end goal of long-lasting employment.
Mentor is a part of OCMW (social welfare) and is a centre for education, guiding and orientation for high-risk groups.
They help those who have a hard time on the job market: the long-term unemployed, the lowly-educated, ethnic minorities etcetera.
Every Belgian city has a OCMW that helps all the vulnerable or weaker groups in society, Mentor is specific of Kortrijk.

Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding VDAB is the Flemish Service for Employment-finding and Occupational training.
In short: they help you to get a job.

Bus2Business, a company from Bellegem, provided computer lessons in a bus.
It is a mobile and digital classroom witch formed a nice eye catcher.

The sponsors of the project are:
Minister van Werk, Onderwijs en Vorming Frank Vandenbroucke (minister of Employment and Education supports the project by subsidizing the lessons VDAB gives (witch is 25% of all the lessons).
The subsidy amounts to â‚¬31.012

Regional television station WTV-Focus sponsored the project by making a promotional movie, witch was broadcasted.

Multi-channel issues:
October 2004 every resident of Kortrijk and all the surrounding boroughs received a letter, a folder and an invitation to take part in the free computer lessons.
There were articles in the cityâ€™s newspaper and an item on the local television.
3638 people reacted to this, witch was about a thousand more than the expected maximum amount of students.

Technology solution

Conventional technology was used. The same type of computers that you would find in an average household.

Impact, innovation and results

Impact

These are the numbers of students for the city of Kortrijk and all the boroughs.

KORTRIJK 1846
ROLLEGEM 134
AALBEKE 165
BELLEGEM 228
BISSEGEM 280
KOOIGEM 39
MARKE 453
HEULE 493
TOTAL 3638

42% of all students were male, a majority of 58% female.
48% of all student were between the ages of 40 and 59, 41% was 60 years or older.
The oldest student was 87, the youngest 10 (they both received a small gift).
They all shared one common feature: they had no or very little experience with computer.
And of course they were all inhabitants of Kortrijk and its boroughs.

The lessons teach the students step by step the most important elements of computers and the internet in groups of 10-12 students.
No basic skills are needed.
There are 7 lessons of 3 hours each (so 21 hours total) in a complete course.
The following items are addressed:
â€¢ What is a computer, a keyboard, a mouse, a printer, windows
â€¢ How to make, save and print a text or a letter
â€¢ How to make a greeting card
â€¢ What is the internet and how can you search for and find information
â€¢ What is an e-mail, how to make your own e-mail address, how to send and answer an e-mail
â€¢ Revision exercises
â€¢ A look at the internet kiosks and filling out a n evaluation questionnaire
â€¢ The electronic identity card
The course is mainly practical in nature with a lot of exercise.
Goal is to be able to work with a computer and the internet.
The pace is adjusted to the slowest student.

All students got the opportunity to evaluate everything at the end of the course.
These evaluations were taken along during the discussions in the regional study group consisting of all teachers and institutions connected with the project.
Apart from the six questions shown on the previous page, the was an seventh and last question: Any other remarks?
The remarks were, almost without exception laudatory and full of praise (for the teachers).

Every student that completed the course received a diploma (certificate).
These diplomaâ€™s were presented during special evenings that were attended by an average of 300 people.

Innovation:
The novelty (for us) was the scale and the fact the lessons were free.

Track record of sharing

After the (first) free computer lessons have ended, the city of Kortrijk has been searching for further initiatives to help people in their search for individual help in using computers and the internet.
The library has been expanded into an â€œopen schoolâ€.
This has been done in close collaboration with the ICT department, the library and Mentor.
The open school wants to provide individual guidance to people in their first and further steps on the internet.

The (central) library has been a well-known place for internet guidance ever since 1997.
Internet education was and is an essential part of the libraryâ€™s work and the library is -of course- accessible to everybody.
The libraryâ€™s network now consists of 20.000 members and 200.000 visitors.
After each free computer course the library has registered a peek of new users.
The internet kiosk and the public pcâ€™s in the central library are constantly occupied.

From October the 20th 2006 every inhabitant of Kortrijk can go to the central library every Friday from 15.30 till 18.30 for individual help and guidance in using computers and the internet, this initiative is known as â€œFriday computer dayâ€.
This help and guidance in provided by experienced teachers of Mentor, volunteers and the desk clerks of the library.

The next step is to organize more free computer lessons.
The city of Kortrijk keeps receiving requests from citizens for these lessons frequently.
For these new lessons the city of Kortrijk will be directing its attention towards those target groups that have not been reached previously and recruit students amongst them.

Lessons learnt

1- If you do this and advertise it, you will get many applications (thousands). If you don't have enough capacity it means you have to disappoint a lot of people.
2- It is wise to make as uniform groups of people as possible, especially when it comes to age.
3- Make the lessons a social event. Give the people coffee and pie and a change to interact with each other. This is a big motivation to attend the lessons.
4- Create a ceremony to award diplomaâ€™s. People like very much to get recognition by receiving an â€œofficialâ€ diploma.
5- When you stop giving lessons, people will keep asking for more. Think beforehand if you want and can give more lessons in the future.

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