A great place to start if you are looking for links to advice and guidance relating to online help is the Cornwall Link Resource Page. You will find information and advice to help you through Covid-19, collated by Age UK Cornwall & The Isles of Scilly, disAbility Cornwall, CRCC, Digital Inclusion (Cornwall Council) and the Inclusion Cornwall teams, as well as reliable contributors.
Subjects provide online help in the following areas:
If you have a specific enquiry, there are a number of resources available in Cornwall that might be able to help with advice or guidance. Please remember, these resources are under huge pressure in the current climate so may not respond immediately.
Digital Inclusion is about ensuring that the residents of Cornwall are equipped with the knowledge and skills to use digital technologies in their everyday lives. Cornwall Council has a Digital Inclusion Team that ordinarily provides a range of basic computer training in locations throughout Cornwall. At this time, face to face training is not taking place but if you have a device at home and wish to get started we can offer support online. You can email them here.
Technology Support on Facebook – Software Cornwall employees and business members wanted to help the Cornish community in isolation as this time with technical problems they might have to keep them connected to the wider world. They created a Facebook Group called ‘Software Cornwall Tech Support’. Anyone with a technical problem with computers, phones or tech in Cornwall can ask for help
There are a huge number of free resources online to help you.
Basic IT Skills for home – Learn My Way has free courses for you to learn digital skills to stay safe and connected. The Good Things Foundation has courses on Google, Outlook, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and productivity tools.
Basic Computer Skills – Digital Unite have an award-winning range of 400+ how-to guides covers a whole host of digital topics. Written by subject matter experts and updated daily, the guides are perfect for supporting others with digital skills or improving your own knowledge.
Make It Click features free courses, tools and templates that you can trust. You can learn new apps, improve the skills you already have and take a positive step forward. Subject include using email. Using social media and working from home amongst others.
A comprehensive working from home Toolkit developed by COSMIC. This toolkit will provide much of the information and advice required to effectively establish home working within your business
Google Tools – Free tools and resources to help small businesses stay connected and productive in today’s environment. Working remotely can be a new or challenging experience, whether it’s working around limited WiFi or balancing family commitments within set working hours. These resources have been picked to help some of the common challenges of working from home. Access it here.
Resources include:
There are many useful free to access resources on the internet to support businesses in these challenging times. The CIoS DSP is trying to work with partners to highlight the most valuable resources and ensure they are available to those who need them.
Some of the most important high level resources for businesses are outlined below:
BT Skills for Tomorrow – free short video tutorials aimed at daily life, parents, business and teachers. In the Daily life section, you can find short tutorials on using email, online shopping, making the most of the internet and keeping your money safe. In the parent section you’ll find courses on learning at home and setting controls. Managing money section links to the Good Things Foundation courses which include topics on how to apply for Universal Credit bt.com/skillsfortomorrow/
Upskill Digital – The UpSkill Virtual Academy brings you a selection of interactive, online labs to grow your business, boost team productivity and learn key marketing strategies from world class experts. Upskill Digital also offer a range of training webinars and online discussions on key digital skills subjects.
Google Digital Garage – Online mini-courses in Digital Marketing, Data, Time Management, Productivity and more. There are 26 free online courses available to anyone in all things related to digital marketing. These range from the fundamentals through to Google ads and analytics.
At Microsoft, we’re working to do our part by ensuring the safety of our employees, striving to protect the health and well-being of the communities in which we operate, and providing technology, tips and resources to our customers to help them do their best work while remote.
If you are new to working remotely or just looking for tips, LinkedIn has put out a free learning path of 16 online courses including: best practice for working remotely, time management, productivity tips, executive presence on video calls, building resilience and leading at a distance.
OpenLearn is a free learning platform, delivered by The Open University as part of its Royal Charter commitment to support the well-being of the community. Here you will find almost 1,000 free courses, topical and interactive content, videos and online games. Some of the most relevant today are:
Google Hangouts Meet and Google Classroom – Find out more from Google here. Google is offering free access to advanced features on Hangouts Meet to all G Suite and G Suite for Education customers globally until 1/07/2020. These advanced features include:
Microsoft Teams are offering a free version of Teams that lifts restrictions on how many users can be part of a team and allows users to schedule video calls, conferences, chat, share files and access 3rd party integrations. Video training on how to use Microsoft Teams can be accessed here.
The free version of Zoom enables video conferencing with unlimited 121 calls, group calls with 40 min limit and chat functions. Check out Zoom here.
Slack is an online tool that helps people work together and collaborate as easily online as they do in person. It’s designed to support the way people naturally work together, making collaborating with people online as easy and efficient as it is face-to-face. To get your head around how it works and what it is, Slack has a range of training materials available including a Slack 101 guide for those new to it and a hints and tips section as welL
Future of Tech – Library of resources from CompTIA that include video’s and interactive tutorials in Big Data, Cyber Security, Digital Health, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence
Cisco Network Academy – CISCO Networking Academy transforms the lives of learners, educators and communities through the power of technology, education and career opportunities. Online courses available in Security, Internet of Things, Linux, Cyber Security, Networking and Entrepreneurship
Code Academy – Advanced courses Web Development, Mobile Development and Data Science. Free Pro Academy unlimited access passes for 10,000 college students across the world.
Future Learn – Includes disease outbreak prevention course
If your business is facing the prospect of making difficult decisions about staff redundancy or needs to restructure as a result of Covid-19, then you will find information on the support that’s available in Cornwall & Isles of Scilly to your business and staff here.
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Digital Skills Partnership (DSP), alongside its six fellow DSPs across the country, have teamed up with Google Digital Garage to deliver a series of weekly sessions providing practical digital advice for small businesses, charities and individuals.
It marks the first time that the country’s seven DSPs, comprising Cheshire and Warrington, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Heart of the South West, Lancashire, South East, West Midlands and West Yorkshire, have worked together so closely.
DSP Coordinators came together to share local insight for their patches and agree a programme of 12 useful webinars that address common local needs or fill regional gaps. This new series of webinars with Google Digital Garage is tailored to help businesses and charities, operating in an increasingly digital economy due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
These hour-long sessions will comprise:
Those interested in attending can register through Eventbrite.