Online course helps adults get web wise

The BBC has teamed up with colleges in the United Kingdom and six awarding bodies in a bid to help adult learners get "web wise" and gain a nationally recognised vocational accreditation.

Becoming Web Wise aims to give students a grounding in the way the internet works in an easy-to-follow format, covering everything from search engines and viruses to Wap phones.

Barbara McGowan, head of education for the Careers Research Advisory Centre, said: "For the first time outside of the Open University, all the major communications players are getting together, and it's the collaboration of the BBC and education institutions which is the backbone of this venture. They are meeting a market need. Without IT skills, people are seriously disadvantaged. By entering the learning environment they are knocking down the barriers that being computer illiterate put up."

Michael Stevenson, joint director of BBC Factual and Learning, said: "The partnership is an opportunity for anyone who wants to get to grips with the internet to prove to employers and themselves that they have done so."

The ten-hour interactive course has inbuilt, online assessment and students can choose the best time and place to develop their skills. Pub companies, cybercafes and shopping centres are also involved in the campaign.

Nick Agarwal, spokesman for supermarket chain Asda, was part of the team that introduced the pilot scheme last year. He said: "Staff with little or no internet literacy felt hindered by their lack of knowledge, and used this course in the safety of a familiar environment."

Sue Pocock, ILT "champion" at Ealing Tertiary College, said: "The aim is to offer (the course) as part of our ILT programme to staff and students who want to 'drop in' to learn online."

Patricia Mitchinson, BBC project manager for Becoming Web Wise, said: "The pilot programme reached a whole cross-section of the population with positive results across the board. It's an immediate skill with immediate results and once people have taken that first step, the ten-hour online course is the natural step."

Becoming Web Wise is available at www.bbc.co.uk/becomingwebwise