YOU'LL BE THE WINNER WHEN YOU JOIN BSOL!
As well as the wealth of entertainment your computer can bring to your life, these days we all have to use computers to communicate with our families, to handle our photographs, to plan our travel, to deal with businesses on the internet, and to access the abundance of information there. So whether you join us as a learner, a mentor, or a staff member, BSOL will help you stay abreast of ever-changing technology and expand your computing horizons – and help you to enjoy the electronic world we live in.
- If you are over 50, and would like to learn to use a computer, you can join BSOL as a Learner
- If you have some computer experience, and would like to help to train others, you can join BSOL as a Mentor
- We are always looking for people to help us in other ways such as data entry, assisting with training sessions or general office work. You can join BSOL as an Administration Volunteer.
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Learners
You can apply to join BSOL in one of three ways:- By completing our Online Learner Application Form. (You may need help with this from a friend or family member with a little bit of computer experience). The cost is $60 (which comprises your $40 membership plus a one-off non-refundable $20 joining fee) and you will need to pay by Visa, Mastercard or PayPal via a secure web page.
- By downloading a Learner Application Form. (PDF document - 308KB). If you wish, you can type your details directly into the form before you print it off. Alternatively, you can print the blank form and complete the details by hand. Mail your completed form (visit our Contact page for address details). Payment can be by cheque, credit card or money order.
- By requesting a form by mail.
Membership is free for mentors and volunteer staff.
Become a Mentor
Our mentors get immense satisfaction from their role (imagine being told you’re an angel!). You don’t need to be an expert, just a competent, experienced computer user with good interpersonal skills. We run regular induction sessions for new mentors and provide a CD containing tutorials, teaching aids, and other useful information and programs. We reward mentors with free attendance at all sessions in the City Training Centre – a great way to keep up-to-date. And remember - mentors are not expected to set up new computers, provide technical advice, install programs or to make recommendations about computers, services or suppliers. Teaching is mostly one on one in people’s own homes. We also provide one on one teaching in our City Training Centre and at other selected locations such as public libraries. So, whatever your teaching preferences, if you have good English language skills, we’d like to hear from you. Generally, we find that our learners relate best to mentors who are of a similar age to themselves. Preference will be given therefore to applicants aged over 50 who are interested in a reasonably long-term commitment to our teaching program. You can apply to join BSOL as a mentor in any one of the following ways:
- By completing our Online Mentor Application Form.
- By downloading a Mentor Application Form (PDF document - 268KB). If you wish, you can type your details directly into the form before you print it off. Alternatively, you can print the blank form and complete the details by hand. Mail your completed form (visit our Contact page for address details).
- By requesting a form by mail.
Administration Volunteers
As a busy and growing organisation BSOL needs people to help behind the scenes. Your skills could be invaluable to us – in our office, in management and admin roles, supporting our training, or perhaps arranging social events for our members. BSOL rewards our staff members with free attendance at all the sessions in the City Training Centre. You will require reasonable English language skills. You can apply to join BSOL as an administration volunteer in any one of the following ways:
- By completing our Online Volunteer Application Form.
- By downloading a Volunteer Application Form (PDF format - 200KB). If you wish, you can type your details directly into the form before you print it off. Alternatively, you can print the blank form and complete the details by hand. Mail your completed form (visit our Contact page for address details).
- By requesting a form by mail.