{"id":1212,"date":"2023-06-09T15:42:07","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T14:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/?p=1212"},"modified":"2023-06-09T16:21:59","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T15:21:59","slug":"when-volunteer-digital-champion-mike-answered-the-call-for-help-he-never-looked-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/2023\/06\/09\/when-volunteer-digital-champion-mike-answered-the-call-for-help-he-never-looked-back\/","title":{"rendered":"When volunteer digital champion Mike answered the call for help, he never looked back"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year we celebrate the 10th<\/sup> anniversary of our volunteer digital champion service and over the next few months we\u2019ll be shining a light on the difference this is making to people\u2019s lives.<\/em><\/p>\n

We start with a feature on one of our longest serving champions, Mike Watson.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/a>
Mike Watson, one of our longest serving volunteer digital champions. Pictured at Maiden Castle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a just normal day of the week for Mike as he made one of his regular visits to Dorchester Library \u2013 but little did he know it would mark the start of a new chapter in his life.<\/p>\n

The retired computer programmer was checking out his books when something caught his eyes. It was a card asking if he needed help.<\/p>\n

He recalled: \u201cI thought \u2018no,\u2019 I don\u2019t need any help. But I picked the card up anyway. On the back it said, \u2018do you want to help?\u2019 and I took it away and thought, \u2018yes \u2013 actually I do want to help.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It was that moment in 2016 when Mike became one of Dorset Council\u2019s volunteer digital champions.<\/p>\n

In the seven years since he has helped hundreds of people to be more confident and embrace the digital world \u2013 a world that is increasingly becoming more important in all our lives.<\/p>\n

And although Mike has a background in IT, he says his career was mainly in management and describes himself as \u201cnot very good technically\u201d.<\/p>\n

So, what made him want to be a volunteer? He said simply: \u201cI like talking to people and listening to them and their problems, so I thought \u2013 I\u2019ll give it a try.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his first few sessions as a digital champion Mike quickly realised that most people needed simple help – simple help that made a huge difference to them.<\/p>\n

Mike recalls one example of how introducing people to digital can be life changing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was two years before Covid and I had a lady who used to come in fairly regularly with her iPad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day she came in with her gas bill and asked me how she could look online and reduce her bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cI showed her how to navigate online comparison sites and in 30 minutes we saved her \u00a340 a month.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike passionately believes in helping people to be digital.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Volunteer Digital Champion, Mike Watson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere are many benefits people can apply for, but you must start online. And people are missing out because of this,\u201d Mike said frustratingly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is much more interest in digital since Covid and I do think people are now seeing the benefits of being digital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike said most people who come to him are already on the digital journey, they just need that extra bit of help.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy involvement is usually with people who have a device and want to understand how to use it better or more safely,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut of course, we can also help people who are completely offline.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve developed a response to the \u2018why do I want to do that for\u2019. And my response is: Well, if you\u2019re the sort of person that doesn\u2019t mind paying over the odds for your fuel, perhaps you don\u2019t need it. Or if you don\u2019t want to see pictures of your grandchildren perhaps you don\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t force people to do this, you\u2019ve got to get them to think \u2018I need to do this\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once Mike has got someone through the door, he finds they often come back for several sessions.<\/p>\n

His regulars turn up with a list of things they want to go through. They take notes, practise at home and come back the following week with a new list.<\/p>\n

So, what type of things are people coming to Mike for help with?<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt\u2019s gradually shifting from general communications like emails, saving photos, Zoom etc to more online buying and selling.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one wants to learn how to get online to their GP surgery, however! Which I find crazy! I\u2019m a digital champion at my local surgery and I\u2019ve warned them not to expect people to come in and say \u2018can you get me onto the NHS app\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people just need that hook to get into the digital world and once they are in, then they are willing to look at other things like health apps.\u201d<\/p>\n

The one thing that\u2019s guaranteed with digital, is that it is forever changing \u2013 often at a very fast pace.<\/p>\n

Even since 2016 Mike has witnessed the revolution of apps.<\/p>\n

Mike said: \u201cToday there are millions of apps that you can get to do just one small thing and it\u2019s so worth getting them, like the car park app. The apps are so personally useful.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the biggest barriers to people getting online is security fears.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a lady in Weymouth and it was about her third visit and I said why don\u2019t we give online shopping a go,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was very reluctant, so I suggested she open another bank account in which she had a card where the limit was just \u00a3100.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe came in next week with a different bank card and was prepared to give it a go. She had a health condition that meant her hands would stiffen up and she was desperate to buy some gloves that cost \u00a310. I said, let\u2019s make that the first purchase.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen she arrived at our next appointment with her new gloves, ready to do some more damage online with her bank card! There are ways of limiting the risk and we can help people to protect themselves online.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike is far from surprised that the volunteer digital champion service is still going strong after 10 years.<\/p>\n

He says the focus will have to move to workplace digital skills.<\/p>\n

The Lloyds Consumer Index<\/a> \u2013 the nation\u2019s most comprehensive study of digital skills \u2013 said there are 17.1 million people in employment with inadequate digital skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is getting in amongst working people?,\u201d Mike said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be able to go into local companies at lunchtime and run sessions. We can do something to get among these 17.1 million people because if we don\u2019t start addressing them, this is going to go on and not just in my lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Mike helped Patrick get online<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Volunteer<\/a>
Volunteer digital champion with Patrick, one of his regular visitors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Patrick first went to Mike for help before Covid and he\u2019s been going ever since.<\/p>\n

His first visit was prompted by him by wanting to search online so he could get more info on the tv characters from Foyles War and the history surrounding it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMike\u2019s been very good and very patient I have to say,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cBecause I\u2019m not very au fait with computers my son gave up ever having to teach me anything to do with them! I saw in the Dorset Council newsletter about digital champions, so I rang up and made an appointment.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs time has gone by, I\u2019ve begun to find things a bit easier. I\u2019ve also started doing a bit of invigilating and to an extent I need to know a little about computers even though I find it difficult. I\u2019m not from that generation. I was in PR for 8 years in Littlewood\u2019s HO in Liverpool and we never saw a computer. This was in the 1970s. We were on the 11th<\/sup> floor and the computer section was down on the 2nd<\/sup> floor. We considered them as absolute geeks!<\/p>\n

\u201cI am using digital more after seeing Mike but I do forget how to do things, that\u2019s why I need to keep coming back.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I do feel that it\u2019s important to know a little bit and that\u2019s what Mike is helping me to learn. He\u2019s a patient gentleman and I\u2019d certainly recommend him.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you, or anyone you know, could benefit from help from one of our volunteer digital champions – click here to find out where your nearest session is: Digital Champion sessions – Dorset Council<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our volunteer digital champion service and over the next few months we\u2019ll be shining a light on the difference this is making to people\u2019s lives. We start with a feature on one of our longest serving champions, Mike Watson. It was a just normal day of the… Read more When volunteer digital champion Mike answered the call for help, he never looked back<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1907,"featured_media":1215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[48,49,57],"tags":[43,53,52,117,114],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/files\/2023\/06\/digi-champs-are-10-02-1-of-1rs-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1907"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1212"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1217,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212\/revisions\/1217"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/digital-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}