The U3A room (with NBN Wi Fi) and rostered 'Be Connected' mentors will be available to assist U3A members who would like some help with their device. There will usually be a 'theme' for the session; members will be encouraged to use Be Connected* modules and the course will evolve according to needs.

​Days:  1st & 3rd Monday
​Time:  10:00 am to 12:00 noon
Place:  U3A Meeting Room
Contact:  Margaret Jenkins 57627944 and Bill Parris 0417 329 278

*Be Connected is an Australian Government initiative targeting people over 55 years comprising online learning modules which help to make the most out of being online.

The highlight of October 2019 was the Get Online Week lunch held in the U3A room on Wednesday 16 October. About 50 U3A members and others attended and enjoyed the BBQ cooked by the Benalla Lions Club in the U3A entrance area. We were pleased that the numbers attending this BBQ were substantially up on the first BBQ held in July, so obviously the sausages and hamburgers together with coleslaw and bread provided was enjoyed by all.

During the lunch we had vocal entertainment provided by David Palmer with Neville Gibb accompanying him on the piano.  Later we used the overhead projector to outline several aspects of what can be looked up on line. These included finding out about the NBN, any health aspects that interest us and managing money. We also had a discussion on the breadth of the Be Connected Program and a demonstration of two of the modules which showed the various buttons on a tablet and their uses and setting up PIN and fingerprint identification on our device. 

Full sessions of Be Connected have continued during each Wednesday of October. This month we have looked at On Line Hobbies such as Researching family history, exploring Google Earth and using on line journals or Blogs. We have also navigated looking up the train timetable from Benalla to Melbourne as well as taking photos with our devices. 

This series of Be Connected is finishing at the end of October. It has been pleasing that so many of the participants have come each week and we have seen their skills develop during the four months that we have run Be Connected. I would like to sincerely thank the Mentors who have come each week to help participants – without them the participants would not have made as much progress as they have. Thank you Jenny Sawyer, Lin Ryan, Pat Treleaven, Dorothy Webber and Geraldine McCorkell. 

​A Summer Series of Be Connected is planned for Tuesday 7th, 14th and 21st January 2020 at 10am. Any U3A member is welcome to attend. We will be catering for both iPad and Android users.

Margaret Jenkins

Much progress has occurred with our Be Connected program during September.  The modules we have looked at include information on Wi-Fi networks, Safety First Skills On Line and more On-line skills including Shopping On-line. We have also gone over how to send Emails to multiple people including the use of cc and bcc where appropriate.
 
One week during September we welcomed our U3A President Dorothy Webber as a Guest Presenter to Be Connected. Dorothy gave a great presentation on the benefits of Facebook, and shared some of her Facebook skills with the Be Connected members. Thank you Dorothy.

During September we have had a couple of new U3A members join our group which is great. One of the benefits of the Be Connected program is that members can access it at home and go over anything which they have missed or are slightly unsure about.

On Wednesday 16th October 2019 we are holding a BBQ lunch in our U3A room at 12 noon. This is open to all members of the Benalla community over 55 years of age as part of an Australia wide Get OnLine Week. U3A Benalla has received a Grant from the Good Things Foundation who organise Be Connected for running the BBQ. After the BBQ we will demonstrate the range of the Be Connected program and share a couple of worthwhile online skills. All welcome.
​
Margaret Jenkins

During August as a group we have made considerable progress with our Be Connected Course.
We have been looking at the module Getting Started Online and have covered segments on Using the Internet, Using Email, Using search engines and an Introduction to Internet Safety.
We have also taken a photograph with our devices and sent it to a family member.

Later in the month we looked at All About Apps and we all downloaded the ABC iView app onto our devices.

One encouraging aspect of the group is the way everyone is coming each week. We all understand that we are not going to retain everything that is presented each week. However, by constantly coming each Wednesday afternoon we are all making considerable improvement to our computer skills.

Margaret Jenkins

U3A Benalla welcomed thirty-four people to the BBQ held on Wednesday 3rd July to mark the beginning of the Be Connected course. Cooking for the BBQ was capably done by Benalla Lions Club in the carport near our U3A entrance. Those who came to the BBQ enjoyed sausages, beef or chicken hamburgers, fried onions with various sauces and cold slaw followed by tea or coffee and small cakes. Everyone settled in the U3A room to enjoy their lunch with plenty of chatter and a great atmosphere. We had Meg from the Benalla “Ensign” there with her camera, and a good report of the event appeared in the “Ensign” the following Wednesday.

The Be Connected course is being promoted by the Federal Government in an aim to get more senior Australians familiar with the Internet and doing things online. U3A Benalla applied for and received a Community Engagement Grant to hold the BBQ on 3rd July. The BBQ was to encourage not only U3A members but all people over 55 in Benalla to come and be part of the Be Connected program. 

U3A Benalla is conducting the Be Connected course using the overhead projector in our U3A room every Wednesday from 2pm to 4pm. We are fortunate to have five mentors who are helping the participants get online and find on their devices what is being shown on the overhead projector. Originally the course was aimed at those people who had Android Tablets.  Lin Ryan, Dorothy Webber and Geraldine McCorkell kindly offered to help these people. However, about a third of the participants have Apple iPads so we have Pat Treleaven and Jenny Sawyer on board to assist those individuals who have Apple iPads.

During July we have looked at two online learning modules. The first one was “The Absolute Basics” which included information on what is a tablet. The next Wednesday we studied “Getting Started Online” which talked about using the Internet and getting around online. The next topic is Email, which is a great means of communicating with family and friends.

Be Connected is running every Wednesday at 2pm, so if you want to pick up some helpful tips to help you online, come along.
​
Margaret Jenkins

We held the final ‘Be Connected’ session on 30th January. The ‘Be Connected’ sessions
ran for six months, which included a one month Summer School.

Our total registration of participants reached just over 30.

The ‘Be Connected’ website offers a wide variety of information on using computing
devices and the internet and is aimed at helping older Australians better understand how
to use their computing devices; be it a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet or a mobile
phone.

Even though the Course offered through Benalla U3A has finished, the website still
remains available to all to continue honing their computing skills.
​
Jenny Sawyer​

Our ‘Drop In’ sessions for members keen to finish additional ‘Be Connected’ modules with support from our mentors continued in November with most participants now confident of being able to draw upon Be Connected modules to meet future learning needs. 

Be Connected is continuing in January next year as a ‘summer school’ on Wednesdays 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th January from 10 to 11am, with each session followed by a catch up coffee and chat.   Come along to work on Be Connected modules with support from Jenny Sawyer and mentors. 

We would like to thank Jenny Sawyer for delivering Be Connected and the upcoming Summer School.  Jenny’s enthusiasm knows no bounds! 

We would also like to thank Margaret Jenkins for her work in accessing funding via the Be Connected program, monitoring progress and results and assisting Jenny with report backs to Be Connected.  These funds have been put to excellent use in enabling our office and meeting room computers to be updated.  Margaret’s work on the Benalla Age Friendly committee has also resulted in three new iPads which will be made available to members in next January’s summer school. 

Thanks also to the ‘Be Connected’ mentors, Marg Jenkins, Helen Jeffree, Pat Treleaven and Margaret Walshe and – last but not least - thanks to ‘Be Connected’ participants for their interest, patience and preparedness to help each other out.
​
Bev Lee

In early October a number of ‘Be Connected’ participants attended our drop in session to work on their modules. 

On October 17th, it was time to celebrate ‘Be Connected’s ‘Get on Line Week’.  The theme was #try1thing .  Our President, Dorothy, led the activity, describing how she had learnt to use her phone as a credit card when shopping using a new app.  Dorothy then helped people install the app on their phones for possible future use.  

Dorothy seemed very comfortable teaching tech savvy to beginners– we are keeping this in mind for future guest spots! 

This was followed by a delicious afternoon tea and a group photo...

​Bev Lee