Where I cover: South of Ipswich to Harwich, Clacton & Frinton. Postcodes: CO7, CO11, CO12, CO13, CO14, CO15, CO16, IP9.

To contact Kirt, click here.

Availability: Weekdays by arrangement.

What I teach:

• Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Desktop Publisher for creating greeting cards, brochures etc.
• Use of the Internet and email.
• I’m particularly keen to help with home entertainment, such as digital photography and video, e.g. using digital cameras and camcorders, printing photographs and editing home movies, converting old videos to CD etc.

I can also help with:

• Setting up internet connections to send and receive emails.
• Wireless networking, setting up and connecting 2 or more home computers
• Installing antivirus software and firewalls to protect PC’s.
• Repairing, maintaining and upgrading PC’s.

About me:

I guess I’m one of the fortunate “older ones” to have been exposed to computers nearly all of my working life. I worked for Rank Xerox during the 70’s and early 80’s selling dedicated word processors and the 820 Personal Computer for business. The 820 was like the IBM PC and ran very basic word processing and spreadsheet programmes.

Since then I have worked for companies like NEC, Canon, Atlantic Computers and been involved with IT at all levels from providing strategic IT consultancy to giving presentations to companies and organisations ranging from large corporations to Chambers of Commerce and one man bands.

During my work as an IT Manager for a small petrochemical company I setup a PC manufacturing plant building 12-15 PC’s a week, even though I no longer build PC’ s commercially I’m often asked to build them for friends, so would be pleased to advise on buying and upgrading equipment or sorting out hardware or technical problems.

Teaching is something I particularly enjoy and gained a Cambridge University CELTA to teach English to foreign language students. I did that for 3 years and still occasionally teach one to one.

Where I cover: Ipswich, Woodbridge and Felixstowe areas and surrounding villages.

To contact Angela, click here.

Availability: I am flexible and offer classes during daytimes, evenings and weekends, subject to other commitments.

What I teach:

• Microsoft Office software – Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook for beginners, improvers and advanced levels.
• Desktop publishing – Microsoft Publisher.
• World Wide Web – search engines.
• Auction sites – how to set up an Ebay account
• Using Freecycle.
• Online shopping – Tescos, Amazon etc.
• Online banking
• BBCi Player and podcasts
• Audible audio books.
• Skype – free phone calls to other Skype users.
• Assistive technology – for disabled people, including learners with dyslexia.
• Mindmapping software (Inspiration) for planning writing.
• Text to Speech
• Voice Recognition (Dragon)
• Portable devices – MP3 players, digital voice recorders, digital cameras.
• Podcasting – downloading your files.
• Creating your own audio files using Audacity.
• IT skills for students – introduction to online learning.
• Word for academic assignments and essays.

About me:

I’ve lived with my husband and three children in a small village near Ipswich for the last eighteen years. I’m an active member of the local community and amongst my other roles have produced a newsletter for the local youth football team and currently run the website for a county wide youth organisation.

I’ve been busy passing on my computer skills to other adults for more than 15 years. I originally trained as a librarian and was involved in teaching staff in local secondary schools to use online information in the early days of the World Wide Web, back in the 1990s.

Following the birth of my youngest child, I decided on a change of direction and embarked on a career in teaching adults, as a tutor for my local Community Education service, gaining teaching certificates from City and Guilds. Since then I have been helping people develop their computer skills, teaching on Computers for the Terrified and CLAIT courses. I have experience of working with individual learners, many of whom had never used a computer before and wanted to learn the basics of using a keyboard and mouse from scratch, as well as others who wanted to develop their skills in using the most popular software packages. I have continued to develop my own IT skills over the years by learning new programs and tackling new projects in the areas of desktop publishing and web page design, and joining Digital Unite gave me the opportunity to continue my lifelong learning path.

Since 2000 I have worked as an online tutor for the Open University on computer based courses such as ‘You, Your Computer and the Net’ and have introduced many adults to the pleasure of using the World Wide Web and email for education and leisure purposes. I have helped learners overcome their fear of technology and get started with using the internet for shopping, learning and keeping in touch with friends and family and have taught them how to create web pages.

I have wide experience of working with disabled adults, including learners with visual and hearing impairment, as well as mobility difficulties, who want to use their personal computer more effectively for work or study purposes. I am able to give advice on ergonomic aids to make computing a more comfortable and pleasant experience and can help users customise their personal computer system to suit their individual needs.

I have experience of using a range of assistive software packages, such as voice recognition systems (Dragon Naturally Speaking) TextHelp Read and Write Gold, a popular software package for dyslexic learners, and predictive writing programs.