Knowledge Centre blogs

Is age really the issue in later life?

By: Annika Small
On: 30th October 2012

As part of its ongoing open consultation, Nominet Trust brought together a group of experts this past week to think about how technology might be used to realise new opportunities - and address the persistent challenges such as social isolation, access to adequate care and pensioner poverty – facing people in later life. We weren’t looking at how adding digital might make existing services more cost-effective or efficient; nor were we seeking specific solutions. Instead we were hoping to define some areas that would benefit from social innovation with technology.

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Assisting in accessing the internet

By: Simon Knight
On: 25th June 2012

Accessing the internet

Back when I started these blogs I wanted to think about how we could use technology to support learning in a variety of settings. A recent thread on the ALT discussion list regarded Assistive Technologies, and how specific access needs are addressed. Ideally, all websites would follow ‘Universal Design’ principles – they’d be designed for easy access by everyone – and there are tools to assist designers in doing this. But for whatever reason, sometimes that doesn’t happen, sometimes users n more >

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Edu-browse – a browser for education?

By: Simon Knight
On: 20th February 2012

This fortnight I want to talk about two things – firstly carrying on from my discussion of BETT and LWF; secondly I thought I’d share some of the education blogs which I find inspiration from, and often share great tools.

Edu-browse

One of the most depressing statistics from a couple of years ago indicated that a large number of schools had not updated from Internet Explorer 6. This left their security vulnerable, but it also meant that many resources couldn’t be accessed and – an idea that fills my constant 100+ tab self with horror – they were bereft of many of the updates that modern browsers ushered in, tabbed browsing and in-browser search bars included. more >

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£250k Challenge for Digital Entrepreneurs Over 55

By: Dan Sutch
On: 4th November 2011

There are about 9.7 million people, 16% of the entire UK population, aged 65 and over. This figure is set to rise by 2033 to about 16.4 million people, or 23% of the population. And for those interested in longer term predictions, it is projected that by 2083, one in three people in the UK will be over the age of 60.

These descriptions represent a significant number of people and although it is useful to use terms like 'ageing population' or even 'older people' to represent the shift in the demographic make-up of the UK (and indeed the wider world), it belies an incredibly diverse group. The over-55 population can describe a difference of up to 50 years' life experience between those in early older age and those in late old age; it can describe people in good health and poor health; those who are physically or socially isolated or those living with, or supported by families; those who are digitally connected, and those who are digitally excluded. more >