Digital Mentoring
CITA have won a tender from VONNE to deliver Digital Mentoring to 12 “Hard to Reach†(H2R) infrastructure groups in the North East under the Improving Reach project.
The project runs for 6 months from 1st November and aims to help to improve IT within H2R infrastructure groups so that they can help their client groups in turn.
A Digital Mentor would be available to work with your organisation on a 1-1 basis with a staff member or volunteer who you choose to nominate. They can spend up to 6 days with you, spread over a 6 month period. They can help you develop an ICT Strategy, a full staff and volunteer training needs analysis, carry out an asset inventory of your office equipment for you and put together an annual ICT budget. They will be available to follow up on progress periodically with you over the 6 month period.
This help is funded through a Capacitybuilders Improving Reach project which is aiming its support specifically at infrastructure organisations who work with the following groups;
- black and minority ethnic groups,
- refugee and migrant groups,
- faith groups and
- isolated rural groups.
The full background on this project is available on the Improving Reach page of our website.
CITA Training Pilot
CITA is luanching a small scale pilot and hope to develop a larger scale service to the VCS, depending on our findings, that aims to train people, especially volunteers, to become more capable of managing the IT systems within a voluntary sector organisation.
We are especially interested in groups that are currently using volunteers to help support their IT but will also work with employees (full and part time).
We have been flooded with requests but, numbers are strictly limited and as a result of limited funding we have had to cut the numbers further, although we hope to attract additional funding in the near future. We are also experiencing a slight delay whilst we await centre accrditation for the ITQ, a flexible NVQ in IT.
This pilot runs for 6 months and allows for up to 20 hours of 1:1 on site mentoring aimed at either helping to improve IT management within a group and/or helping the IT manager towards an IT qualification. The fundamental aim of the project is to improve the IT within a voluntary group and help an individual gain IT experience and qualification, thus enhancing career prospects. At this stage we would prefer to limit groups to one person at a time.
It means that a considerable time commitment is required from both the chosen group (releasing the member of staff and providing a suitable venue for the learning)and the individual in terms of time (both to study and be mentored). The provision is flexible and is very dependent on previous experience, knowledge and qualifications and so some time will be spent assessing the needs of both the group and the individual selected.
The pilot is open to any voluntary group and is not geographically limited, we can cover the entire region from Teesside to Berwick! Turnover is not a limiting factor but we would prefer to help groups that we have not engaged with before and/or are in greatest need of improving their IT provision.
As this is a pilot we will only be selecting those people who we feel will provide us with the best case evidence to develop the project further and those we feel will complete the proposed programme. If we are successful in attracting further funding or launch the project in full we would be happy for any of the unsuccessful groups to re-apply.
If you are interested please contact us via the link above. If selected CITA will contact you during October.
Please let us know if we can hold your records and offer you a place on an extended project we are hoping to launch in early 2010.
Web Design News
CITA are please to announce a wide range of new features and functions for our web design service:
Website make overs - re-vitalise that out of date site, repair links, remove old and unwanted information.
The website MOT - update and upgrade your Joomla software.
On going telephone support for our Joomla websites added to our extended membership package.
CITA can now offer to help you to create your own website from prices starting under £100. Expert staff guide you through the process of creating a 5 page website that can include a variety of features and functions.
New Joomla website modules are under development. Prices will range from £150-£200. Under test are modules including, web directory, room bookings, layered security, comments and e-bulletins. Prices will include full training.
For details on any of the above please contact us.
Testimonials
"We have had a close working relationship with CITA for the last 18 months and this has proved invaluable to us. The fact that they specialise in working with small voluntary sector projects makes them better able to understand our requirements and ways of working.
The service provided by CITA under a maintenance agreement over the last year has been very reliable. Based locally, CITA has managed to respond quickly when problems have arisen. On many occasions they have made recommendations about ways in which we can improve our computer systems to avoid problems arising again.
Recently Search gained funding to replace much of our equipment and we turned to CITA firstly for general advice, then for specific recommendations about equipment and networking options. Following on from this CITA supplied and installed all the new equipment and staff are now enjoying the benefits of being successfully networked for the first time. Because of funding constraints the decisions about equipment and its purchase had to take place within a very short period of time and Search appreciated being able to place everything in CITA’s hands, confident that they would deliver within our deadlines. CITA has also provided IT Training tailored to our staffs’ particular requirements and skill levels.â€
Search Project
“I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you and your staff for all the work that they have done for Community Transport in setting up our IT network. The technical advice I received prior, during and after installation were first class. The effort that Dave and his team put in to ensure that the job was completed on time was beyond the call of duty. CITA took the time to explain what was happening before each step was completed. They also give me options that I had not considered which were most helpful.
I would certainly have no hesitation in using IT academy again in the futureâ€.
Community Transport
“We found CITA’s service to be very efficient, helpful and very supportive. We have found them very easy to approach. We were very impressed, how you were able to work & deliver within our budget, the computers, printers, etc and connecting our broadband up. Your price was very good, which enabled us to get the set-up that we needed for different users of the project.Since the computers were installed, the numbers on the project have grown.
The young people use the computers for homework, internet research, e-mail & MSN. We have had success with older clients, gaining employment through Job Centre Plus Online, also seeking new homes through Your Choice Homes and dealing with Inland Revenue - Tax Credits, etc. We would like to thank-you for the installation, etc of the computers and the after support you provide, when and if we need it. “.
Byker Youth Project
“Lewis carried out two days of IT training with the staff here at Mind in Gateshead. We all understood and enjoyed it very much. Lewis took us all at a steady pace and we were able to ask as many questions as we needed to. CITA carry out any repairs needed to our IT equipment and is always at the other end of the telephone if we have any queries.â€
Mind
“As we are a small organisation of limited means, it has been of great benefit for us to have the support of CITA to help us rationalise our IT set up. Our new file server has helped to centralise our file storage and minimise the risk of data loss through a regular backup regime. The new desktop machine is a real boon as it is more modern and faster than the old second-hand machines we were relying on.
As well as reducing our IT costs, the use of Open Source Software fits comfortably with our ethics as a charity - it is software developed in a collaborative fashion for the benefit of everyone. It also has several practical benefits - the most noticeable being the hugely reduced threat of virus and spyware infection."
Scotswood Natural Community Garden
“The Community IT Academy have supported us during setting up, training, and running our IT systems. Their patient and flexible attitude has been invaluable in the recent set up and management of a network server and the consequent, ‘teething problems’, often caused by user incompetence. The IT Academy introduced us to Open Source software which has allowed us to offer more varied resources to our service users.â€
Tyneside Women's Health
“Lewis had called into Key Enterprises’ during the summer and discussed with David Younger the application of Censornet. CITA provided Key with a Linux server with Censornet installed. The purpose of Censornet was to enable IT room staff to monitor usage by Service Users of Internet Sites. If usage was abused in any way identified in a Censornet report, IT staff could block that person’s access to the site or from the Internet altogether. We needed some method of monitoring and agreed to take part in the project.
CITA was a great help in setting up some test machines and troubleshooting glitches encountered. He also spent some time checking out and testing remote access to the Linux server. Lewis provided support and advice both in person and through emails. Throughout our testing we know that we can rely upon Lewis to rescue us if we have a crisis as he is just a call away.â€
Key Enterprises
“Our organisation was in need of a communication and marketing tool that would improve our effectiveness and promote our activities, but be cost effective because our budget is tight.I am pleased to say that Stephen Brydon and Lewis Atkinson at CITA helped us enormously by accepting us on the website project. I found them and the project to be the answer to our problem. They were knowledgeable and provided first class training and support to help us get our website up and running. Without this project we could never have afforded such a facility and it has contributed enormously to our work.I recommend Stephen and Lewis and the project to any other organisation seeking similar help.â€
Konnekt NE
“Like many small voluntary agencies with limited ICT experience or knowledge we have bounced from pillar to post in the past when we have had problems often reeling at the costs from firms who have carried out work for us. We discovered CITAS through a recommendation from another voluntary agency and they have proved to be invaluable. Having an ICT project that knows and understand the constraints both financial and knowledge wise that the voluntary sector operates under has been incredibly valuable and reassuring. They have been reliable, realistic, endlessly patient and supportive and I would have no hesitation in recommending their services to other voluntary agencies. We have also undertaken some training recently which was customised for us. This has meant that we have been able get solutions to the problems that we encounter in our day to day work rather than spending precious time on things that we already know and understandâ€
Them Wifies
Website Design
Website Whats
What are we going to use?
Joomla for the content management engine
What will CITA provide?
- Assistance on “speccing up†your website (what it needs to do)
- A choice of look and feel (skins) (To view these click here)
- The website set up and accessible options
- And full training on how to update and manage the site
What you need to do:
provide the content, the staff and the time for the process.
What can you get?
Contact us forms, forum, Blog, accessibility, file management, secure log ins, polls, User management
Content Managed Websites
What is “Content Managedâ€
“Content Managed†(CM) refers to the way in which your pages, the text and images within them are stored within your website system.
Older websites have individual pages made up of individual code (HTML) that is often difficult to change without expert knowledge.
A CM system holds the look and feel (Skin) as a kind of template (Cascading Style sheet - CSS) and adds new text and images (content) through a database. You, through the database, govern where and how the content is displayed, you manage the content and hence what each individual page displays. Variations on the look and feel, the content and the navigation are all fully configurable within the database.
Some systems allow people to have layered access to manage their parts of the website.
It sounds complicated but is in fact very straight forward, full training is provided.
What is a Circuit Rider?
The term Circuit Rider originates from the American Wild West, where a judge would ride his horse around an area (a circuit) dispensing justice from the saddle. Based on an American model the term has been updated to mean a 21st century IT development worker and is sometimes termed "e-rider".
The basic function of a Circuit Rider is more than simply being a mobile IT Technician. Different Circuit Riders bring different skill sets to the role, for example; strategy, management, fundraising, training, etc. All Circuit Riders should be able to impart a level of technical help. They should also be able to signpost an organisation to many sources of additional support.
The NRFCR project is developing a range of Circuit Rider services utilising the skills sets of a team of Circuit Riders.
The Circuit Rider movement encourages collaborative work between Riders and organisations. see UK Riders list.
The role of a Circuit Rider is NOT to build dependancy, rather to assist organisations build the capacity to face technological challenges on their own.