Books, guides and magazines

A book offers a convenient way of packaging information and knowledge, is highly portable and easily shared.There are many books on ICT topics, including:

• Dummies guides, Missing Manuals and similar series
  • These popular reference books cover specific software packages and provide an alternative to manuals published by the people producing the software.
  • You may find people willing to donate old copies when they upgrade their software.
• Specialist titles
  • NCVO, Directory of Social Change (DSC), London Advice Service Alliance (LASA) and other sector-specific organisations publish titles that tackle specialist areas.
  • One example is Information Management for Voluntary and Community Organisations, by Paul Ticher, which is published by DSC and provides a guide to the use of ICT in addressing information issues.
  • Another example is The Accidental Techie: Supporting,Managing and Maximizing Your Nonprofit’s Technology. It covers a wide range of subjects from networks to email management and budgeting.
  • Find more information on the NCVO and DSC websites, through Google, or by looking on the bookshelf of your local CVS.
• LASA guides
  • LASA has produced a series of simple but very thorough guides covering a range of ICT-related topics: Buying IT,Networks, The Internet,Data Protection, Project Management, Circuit Riding and Security. Some cost £5, some are available for download. More information at http://www.lasa.org.uk/computanews/gu ides.shtml
  • Much of this information is also found on the excellent ICT Hub Knowledgebase.
• Magazines and newsletters
  • There are several computer titles aimed at beginners, of which Computer Active magazine is perhaps the best-known example. It offers reviews and news and tutorials on a range of tasks, without ever getting too techie.
  • More technical titles such as PC World, PC News and Macworld are aimed at the more technically capable computer user.
  • The ICT Hub newsletter and LASA Computanews provide an excellent round-up of sector-specific news related to ICT. Subscribe for free to the ICT Hub newsletter through the ICT Hub website. LASA Computanews costs £20 a year.
• Useful websites
  • The web is a great repository for help and advice, especially on ICT matters. Here are a few sector specific resources, many of which also include links to email discussion lists, bulletin boards and other interactive forums.

Weblinks

• ICT Hub Knowledgebase
  This is a key resource for the sector. It features hundreds of articles written specifically for staff and volunteers with little or no technical knowledge and covering the wide range of issues they typically face.
• Techsoup.org A US-based site that is like a mirror to the ICT Hub Knowledgebase, covering a similar range of topics with a similar focus on jargon-free advice and useful pointers to other online resources.
• Google, Ask or your favourite search engine.
  • Good answers depends on good questions. Be direct – “How do I draw graphs in Excel?” – or paste in error messages to find out what they mean.

How much does training cost?

Free training
Depending on where you are you may find free courses on offer through a local training organisation, possibly funded by the latest capacity building programme such as Neighbourhood Renewal or ChangeUp.

Getting help from friends, colleagues and contacts is usually a two-way street: if you ask for help you’re expected to offer something back when they need it. Very few email discussions lists or community websites charge for their use and they are generally open to anyone to join.

Paying for training
Budgeting for training must recognise the need to invest in people as well as technology.

You could aim to spend a proportion of your budget on training. A commitment to spend, say, 3 per cent of your income demonstrates the value of training to your staff and volunteers. Or you could take a piecemeal approach and allocate funds on the basis of specific needs.

Costs will vary greatly, depending on what you want to learn, who’s teaching it and how flexible you can be about timing. Few providers will charge less than £20 or £30 per head for a day’s training, especially if it includes the use of a suite of computers so that everyone has hands-on use of a PC.

Working in small groups, for example having a maximum of six or seven people in the classroom, will generally be more expensive, although it’s likely to mean a more personalised approach. Prices for one-day sessions start at about £100 a day, whether delivered by private or community-based training providers.

Longer courses, of 12 weeks or more, may be available at subsidised rates but usually cost upwards of £60, depending on the number and length of sessions.

Books, magazines and other publications vary in cost. Books such as the Dummies guides typically retail at around £20–25 – less if you shop around.