Under the Communities 2.0 project, GEECS offer a number of workshops geared towards digital inclusion, and more generally engaging people around technology. Our workshops cover the following themes/headings:

• Storytelling

• Digital Inclusion

• Mobile Phones

• Social Media

• Digital Photography

• Film-making

All our workshops are informal, flexible and tailored to the commissioning organisation’s needs and resources in terms of time and equipment. We have a variety of adaptable, fun engagement activities which form the basis of each workshop, taking the focus away from technology to create a suitable learning environment for for people of all abilities, from absolute beginner to the more technologically experienced. Our workshops are suited to individuals and participants from community groups and organisations, and we are able to tailor our sessions to make them relevant to the group receiving the training (eg. heritage groups, writing groups, sheltered accommodation, health groups, drop-in centres etc.)

All training is delivered using FREE PC-based software, free copies of which are given to participants upon completion of the workshop. GEECS have equipment for 10 participants per session.

THE DIGITAL STORYTELLING WORKSHOP

The main GEECS workshop, our Digital Storytelling session is a fun workshop that can help participants find their own voice by creating a personal digital story. Participants are gently guided through every step of the journey, from introduction to the concept of digital storytelling, to story development and finally the tools used to create the story.

Duration:
2 x Days
4 x Half Days

Suitable for:
Beginners upwards

The course covers:
File management
Audio recording & editing
Digital photography skills, including: digitising old photos, taking better photos, editing photos
Film-making
DVD making / authoring
Uploading to the web / online sharing

GEECS offer a train the trainer option for participants who wish to go on to deliver Digital Storytelling work within their own communities.

OTHER STORYTELLING WORKSHOPS

Storytelling activities are the main focus of almost all our workshops, and we are able to devise storytelling-based taster workshops around a number of technologies / participatory media, including:

Skype,
Mobile Phones,
Animation,
Digital Photography,
Social Media
Geo-caching

Please ask for more details if you'd like to run a taster session or workshop around a specific technology.

BETTER DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

A full introduction to digital photography, which guarantees to improve participants photography skills one hundred-fold!

Duration:
Full course 5 x 2 hour sessions
Or adapted to suit time restrictions / needs

Suitable for:
Beginners upwards

The course covers:
Taking better photos
Editing photos, including: cropping, colour balance, colour isolation, silly tricks & digitising old photographs
Storage / File management
Uploading to the web / online sharing
Social photography & adding information to digital photos
In-house graphic design tutorial

ANIMATION

A quick introduction to animation, during which participants make their own animated short using a range of arts & crafts materials including the ever-popular plasticine!

Duration:
1 x 6 hours
or adapted to suit time restrictions / needs

Suitable for:
Beginners upwards

The course covers:
An introduction to animation
Digital photography & photo editing
Animation
Storage / File management
Uploading to the web / online sharing

INTRODUCTION TO BLENDER

Blender 3D is a free open source 3d graphic design and animation package that is hugely powerful and flexible. The workshop introduces the Blender interface and the basics of 3D modelling in order to produce an animated 3D logo that can be used in film-making or as a still image for graphic design purposes. We can offer more advanced workshops dependent on need.

Duration:
1 x 3 hours
or adapted to suit time restrictions / needs

Suitable for:
Basic IT skills necessary

The course covers:
The workshop introduces the Blender interface and the basics of 3D modelling

FILM-MAKING

A full introduction to the basics of film-making using PC-based freeware

Duration:
1 x Day
2 x ½ Day
or adapted to suit time restrictions / needs

Suitable for:
Beginners upward

The course covers:
An introduction to film-making
Capturing film,
Editing film
Storage / File management
Uploading to the web / online sharing

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media is a term that has come to represent a collection of digital tools and platforms that allow people to communicate and publish content to the web. Social media is generally represented through platforms such as social networking, blogging, video sharing, wikis and social bookmarking. This session gives a full no-holds-barred introduction to the pros and cons of social media from a personal or an organisational perspective.

Duration:
1 Day
or adapted to suit time restrictions / needs

Suitable for:
Beginners upwards
Individuals / Community Groups

The course covers:
What is social media
Why is social media important?
An introduction to the main social media platforms
Help on developing & implementing social media strategies
Setting up a blog
Hands-on content publishing

SPECIFIC SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

GEECS can also offer workshops on specific popular social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, YouTube, Flickr, and can also offer a workshop on internet safety. Please contact us for further details if you are interested in these.

GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR MOBILE PHONE

A quick interactive presentation demonstrating how to get the most from your mobile. An effective session that can deliver on a range of mobile phone issues and help people who may not completely understand how their phone works to communicate more effectively, both to family and friends as well as the wider community.

Duration:
1 hour

Suitable for:
Beginners

The session covers:
How does my phone work?
Where is my stuff?
How to SMS
Using SMS for social action

WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM DIGITAL INCLUSION?

A quick, interactive session that aims to get a feel for what a group would like to do in terms of Digital Inclusion activity. A fun session that allows people to get their hands on some kit and get excited about how it might be relevant to them. Through quick activities, participants are consulted on the areas of Digital Inclusion they would like to know more about

Duration:
1 hour

Suitable for:
Beginners

The session covers:
Understanding of what DI is and the various tools/workshops that are on offer through the partnership,
Digital photography,
A chance for participants to gain an insight into how technology might be relevant to them,
An opportunity to see what can be done quickly, easily and at no cost.