Directgov becomes a learning tool

Directgov becomes a learning tool

A handful of UK online centres have begun to use the government's central citizen website as a tool for teaching people how to use the internet

Nine of the centres have begun a three month pilot in which the Directgov team has provided their staff with information to support their introductory lessons for first time internet users.

The support will be provided in one-on-one or in group sessions.

"When people come into the centre for the first time the staff will introduce Directgov as part of the process," a UK online spokesperson told GC News . "It will encourage them to use the site, and also help Directgov to find if people are finding it intuitive and easy to use.

"We will see what kind of feedback we get from the customers then talk to Directgov about what comes next and how we can do it in more centres."

The nine centres used have already been picked for the NHS Community Champions network. The pilots began two weeks ago.

Jayne Nickalls, chief executive at Directgov, said: "In this new project, working with UK online centres, we are engaging specifically with those people who don't use computers and the internet regularly. We want to show people what they could potentially do with Directgov, and how easy it is to access public information online."

UK online centres provide support for people with no internet skills, of which there are an estimated 17m in the UK. They are managed by the University for Industry.