In addition to our “Digital Skills” courses, we’re also running three informal open days at the MadLab this summer. Our technology days are free to attend and suitable for all ages – bring your family and friends! All events run 2pm to 5pm – just drop in when you’re free. Please sign up below to let us know you’re coming – so we know how much material and cake we need!

Day 1: Electronic textiles (Sunday 16th June 2013)

• Combine crafts with electronics and learn to solder.
• Sew, stitch, or paint electronic circuits on clothes, bags, and paper.
• Bring your kids to join the CoderDojo (2pm-5pm), a free & fun coding club upstairs at MadLab for under-18s. No coding skills required!

Day 2: Web development (Sunday 30th June 2013)

• Get a short introduction to web development with HTML and CSS.
• Learn how to build a simple website from scratch!

Day 3: Build your own PC (Sunday 7th July 2013)

• Build your own PC from parts and install an operating system…
• …or learn how to use a Raspberry Pi, a £20 mini computer.
• Take the PC home if you like!

Please let us know you’re coming.

Simply fill in your name, select the events you would like to sign up for, and click the “Submit” button.

After a very successful start with our “Basic IT Skills” classes and one “Social Media” course, we’re now moving on to the next level with our “Introduction to Web Development” and “Introduction to Programming” classes. The courses will be taught by Chris Mills (web development) and Dave Mee (programming), who are seasoned coders, experienced instructors, and really friendly guys, too!

The dates for “Introduction to Web Development” are:

• North City Library (Harpurhey): Tuesdays 10am-1pm, 04/06/2013 – 18/06/2013
• City Library (Deansgate): Wednesdays, 10am-1pm, 05/06/2013 – 19/06/2013

And the dates for “Introduction to Programming” are:

• Longsight Library, Tuesdays: 25 June, 2 July, 9 July (10am to 1pm)
• City Library, Wednesdays: 26 June, 3 July, 10 July (10am to 1pm)

If you have signed up for the classes, you will have received a notification from us today. Please check your email inbox (or your letter box if you haven’t got an email address).

Our first round of “Basic IT Skills” courses started on the 29th January, with courses taking place at North City, City, and Wythenshawe Forum Library. In order to support you in finding more information online we have posted a list of interesting links under “Learning Resources” (under “Learning” in the Menu at the top of this page). We add resources as we find them, so please bookmark them and check back!

We’re also pleased to announce that we have set up a discussion group for members of the courses to ask and answer questions, and to share information, such as useful websites and software. In order to sign up for the group, please register and wait for us to confirm your membership.

To register for a discussion group, simply click the link “Create an account” on the right hand side of this page, enter your details, and wait for a confirmation email.

You can then login to the group area (under “Learning” > “Discussion groups” in the main menu) and click on “Forum” where you can see the discussions members have posted. The image above shows a screenshot of the “New Topic” page you see when you click the “New Topic” button. If you have any questions or problems logging into the discussion group, please contact us!

We hope you enjoy learning and exchanging information even after the course has finished!

It’s only been a few weeks since we’ve started the Digital Skills project, but our courses are already fully booked. The first round of “Basic IT Skills” courses starts next week, and we’re really looking forward to meeting all the people we’ve been chatting and emailing with in the past few weeks.

There are still places available on the “Basic IT Skills” course at Wythenshawe Forum Library, starting on Thursday 31st January. Please click on “Registration” for details!

For all other courses, you can add your name to the waiting list and we will contact you as soon as a place becomes available.

We’re also planning to announce the course dates for our “Introduction to Web Development” and “Introduction to Programming” courses at the beginning of February, so please sign up to register your interest or follow our page on Facebook for updates!

We’ve got some fantastic news! Web Applications UK, an IT company based in Oldham, have kindly offered to donate USB pen drives for the Digital Skills project. This means we can hand out free pen drives with course materials to all the participants! We’re absolutely delighted to get support from the local IT industry, and we would like to thank Web Applications UK for backing this project.

Cheryl Diskin, Project Group Manager at Web Applications UK says:

“Digital Skills for Women in Manchester is a great initiative to break down the perception that IT is something really complicated or to be scared of. 

Classes like those being offered can be the beginning of a real interest in technology. A good example is my mum who did a basic IT literacy course, became really interested in IT and went on to do a BSc in Business Information Systems, graduating at the age of 52 – proving that it is never too late to start!”

Web Applications UK is a successful and expanding I.T. company based in Greater Manchester, specialising in software for the travel industry. As a Microsoft Gold Partner we have one of the most highly accredited development teams in the country and are well equipped to handle a range of I.T. requirements. To find out more about Web Applications UK, visit: www.webapplicationsuk.com

Good news! We have just confirmed the course dates for the “Social Media” classes. The courses  will run at two different libraries – City and Wythenshawe – and will be taught over 2 weeks (I session per week). All sessions will run 10am to 1pm.

• Wythenshawe Forum Library: Thu 21/03, 28/03
• City Library: Wed 17/04, 24/04

The course tutor will be Liz Hardwick from DigiEnable, who will also be teaching the “Basic IT Skills” class. Liz has been a member of Manchester Girl Geeks for over 2 years, and she’s regularly part of the “Social Media Surgeries” in Preston.

If you would like to find out more about the course and how to register, click here!

The poster for our “Basic IT Skills” classes is now available for download. Please print the poster and put it up in your community space, or print smaller versions to hand out as leaflets!

• Click here to download the web version.

We’re delighted to announce the dates for all five classes in the “Basic IT Skills” track which will be taught by Liz Hardwick and Darren Jenkinson from DigiEnable. Information about the registration for the free classes will follow in the next few days. The confirmed dates are:

North City Library (taught by Darren Jenkinson)

• Tuesday 29 Jan, 10am-1pm
• Tuesday 5 Feb, 10am-1pm
• Tuesday 12 Feb, 10am-1pm

City Library (taught by Liz Hardwick)

• Wednesday 30 Jan, 10am-1pm
• Wednesday 6 Feb, 10am-1pm
• Wednesday 13 Feb, 10am-1pm

Wythenshawe Forum Library (taught by Liz Hardwick)

• Thursday 31 Jan, 10am-1pm
• Thursday 7 Feb, 10am-1pm
• Thursday 14 Feb 10am-1pm

Gorton Library (taught by Darren Jenkinson)

• Tuesday 26 Feb, 10am-1pm
• Tuesday 5 Mar, 10am-1pm
• Tuesday 12 Mar, 10am-1pm

Longsight Library (taught by Liz Hardwick):

• Tuesday 5 Mar, 10am-1pm
• Tuesday 12 Mar, 10am-1pm
• Tuesday 19 Mar, 10am-1pm

Finding a job can be tough, especially if the world has moved on since you were last looking. That’s why three Manchester organisations, The MadLab, Manchester Girl Geeks, and the Manchester Libraries, are joining together to offer IT training for women – for free. The Digital Skills for Women in Manchester workshops, taking place in five libraries from January to July 2013, will equip women with the tools they need in today’s workplace.

With this project, we aim to reach out to over 100 women in Greater Manchester who are currently not in employment to help them on their way.

There are four courses available: Basic IT Skills, Social Media Skills, Introduction to Web Development and Introduction to Programming. Participants can choose to take as many as they like. Not only will the workshops help women increase their opportunities to find employment by arming them with vital technical skills, but they will also increase confidence in their abilities to learn new things.