The interview itself was really enjoyable – Katie had an easy manner and we chatted easily about the different facets of work involved in the training and coaching that I do. It was pretty fun seeing my picture in both the print version and the online version of the newspaper, and even cuter having friends email me excitedly having spotted it!

In case you missed it, the entire article is here.

that’s me on the live stream!

Listening to the transcript has been super helpful. I say the word “absolutely” ALL too much in an effort to be DEE-LIGHTFUL on air – Elysia has threatened to start playing a drinking game if I don’t curb my enthusiasm for it! that’s the stream from the ABC website!

Today we’ll be talking about Facebook – what it is, how it’s useful, how to get on it, and why you may want to be on it. If you’d like to play Elysia’s drinking game OR find out more about Facebook and its ease for those who are less technologically inclined, simply tune in to 774 around 2.10pm, or stream it live from the ABC website (complete with rather confronting webcam!)

The first segment was yesterday, where we talked about technology for seniors or people who are not super tech-savvy, and we kicked off the week of features talking about tablets, and their role in our digital lives as we know it today.

If you missed it, I’ll be uploading the segments at the end of the week!

Today we’ll be covering Skype, tomorrow Facebook, and Twitter on Friday.

It’s been such a cool experience – I’ve only been on radio a handful of times, and Libbi is super easy to chat to. The ABC 774 crew have also made me feel so welcome and at ease!

If you would like to listen, I’m on just after 2pm each day and you can listen a variety of ways!

• Simply tune your radio in to 774AM
• If you have a tablet or smartphone, get an app called TuneIn Radio and you can stream it live
• You can stream using the TuneIn Radio site as well (click link above)
• You can listen live from the ABC website and even stalk us on the webcam!

The segments are geared towards the older population OR just those of you who are not feeling entirely confident on technology, so if you know anyone who’d be interested, tell them about it!

And for those of you who now want my autograph – GET IN LINE!

It’s called the Barefoot World Atlas, and is basically an interactive way to view all the different countries and areas in the world.

When the app starts, you see a globe that zooms in and out with the usual simple pinch gestures you’re already used to in your iPad and iPhone.

It’s a gorgeous visual rendition of terrain, land size, but also has cute little graphics of what the particular country you’re looking at is famous for.

Tapping on a country’s name will bring up a list of its vital stats for your perusal.

You can also tap on the cute pictures – tapping on the African elephant told me all about elephants native to Africa and their endangerment species status. Tapping on the rugby player told me that rugby is Africa’s national spot! Things I never knew!

You can also view a straight up list of countries, and tap on its name to be taken straight there on the map.

OR you can also view a list of featured items (or what I call the list of cute pictures).

All in all, I think it’s a basic app that does what it says well. It provides good information such as demographics, flags, land size and capital cities, is a fun and colorful way to view what can otherwise be pretty dry information, and is a good educational tool for kids or geographically challenged adults like me to have a bit of fun whilst learning more about the world we live in.

Cost – $8.49

IPAD REVISION SESSION (1 of 3)

Suitable for those of you who have completed iPad for Seniors OR iPad General with me, and would like a session to revise everything you learnt.

IPAD FOR RECREATION (2 of 3)

Suitable for those of you who have completed any iPad introductory sessions with me or are pretty confident and comfortable with your basic iPad use, and would like to take your iPad use to the next level.

IPAD FOR BUSINESS

Suitable for those of you who have completed both of the above sessions, and would like to take your iPad use to the next level.

I caught sight of these a couple of days ago, though, and if you’re willing to spend a little bit more, they seem like a great product too! With an extra wide-grip, this is great for Seniors, who may have arthritis or conditions that make slim pen-styluses a little bit more arduous to hold easily.

perfect for iPad Seniors!

If you are interested in this lovely stylus, simply head on over to the Studio Neat website where you can purchase it for just US$25 + $7 for shipping!

We think our styluses here are just great, but for those of you that were looking for a super comfortable and luxurious option, we think this is the best one we’ve seen!

Email, photos, videos, internet surfing, games and books are all at your fingertips in this essential course to understanding your iPad!

This FULL DAY workshop will include tutorials, instruction, and plenty of time to fully master your iPad.

Ipad for Seniors – full day workshop

THURSDAY 19TH JANUARY 2012

Course Overview

Where to Start
Using the iPad
Touchscreen Basics
Understanding your Settings
How to set up your iPad
Getting on the Internet
Using email
Using Maps
Notes & Reminders
The Calendar
Photos & Camera
Ebooks, magazines & newspapers
Music & Moves
The AppStore & iTunes
Recommended Apps
Tips & Tricks
Question & Answer session

Enjoy a dynamic, fun class
This class gets rave reviews from those who have attended – it is fun, provides a lot of laughs, whilst teaching you the latest technology & how to use it. Have fun, learn more!

Ongoing learning
Sharon will provide course materials, and also allow you to take notes so that you can revise and practice after the class. Tailored further sessions to advance your knowledge can also be arranged.

Students should bring:
Their iPad 1 or 2 (fully charged & recently updated)
Pen & Notebook

THURSDAY 19TH JANUARY 2012 – 9.30AM – 3.30PM

Course fee:

$220

If 2 people book together, it is $400 for 2 people ($40 savings!)

This includes:
Course Materials (course notes, outline, and manual)

**************************************************
YOUR TRAINER – SHARON PAKIR

Sharon is an experienced technology trainer – with over 8 years experience in training adults, her style is relaxed and will put any students at ease immediately.

Charismatic, approachable and with a sense of humor, Sharon is able to transform students and help them not only use but understand the technology challenges they may face.

Passionate about using technology to simplify and enhance people’s lives, Sharon is able to distill the knowledge required for you to use various applications, gadgets and software, whilst keeping it simple and tailored to your own usage.

With her clear language and real life examples, Sharon will explain all the concepts you need before you start hands on training on the iPad.
Once you feel comfortable, she will then take you through all the basics, from using the ipad’s touchscreen, to downloading for your own personal entertainment, and then using it as a tool for connecting with the world via email and more.

By the end of this course, you will feel empowered using your new gadget, and certainly have had a great time in learning to master it!

**************************************************

REGISTER NOW:

THE CAPABILITY PROJECT
Enhancing capability in teams and people
facilitation | coaching | training

Phone: 0404 285 808
Email: consult@thecapabilityproject.com
Website: www.thecapabilityproject.com

Featured in Herald Sun Wednesday 30 Nov 2011

I asked one particularly energetic older lady about this once, and her answer was simple. She said, “you see, we have been there and done that, and we know that without effort, there is no learning, and we also know that without learning, there is no magic formula to success in life.”

So simple, so true, and something to remember.

Because your iOS5 update will be done by connecting and syncing your iPad/iPhone to your computer with iTunes, it’s important to make sure your iTunes is ready to go too. The iTunes update is super easy, and will take only a few minutes.

Note: The following tutorial is on a MAC laptop but it shouldn’t be too different on a PC.

1. This morning, when I woke up and opened iTunes, this message came up on my screen:

Click on DOWNLOAD, of course!

2. If you don’t see this message, you can also manually get it by clicking on iTunes, and Check for Updates as shown below.

(On a PC, you’d click on File and Check for Updates).

And you’d get the same message as before:

3. Click on Download iTunes. On a MAC, the following window appears:

here you can see the software update details

Click on install.

4. You then watch the update download – which shouldn’t take very long at all (mine took 2 minutes.)

watch the update happen!

The window where the update happens changed to this because I still had iTunes open:

I simply clicked on Close Applications and Install.

And the update kept going.

I kept watching until it changed to this:

SUCCESS IS SWEET!

SUCCESS, as you can see above!

The next time you open iTunes, you’ll see this message:

Simply click AGREE.

Congratulations, your iTunes has now been updated, and you can now go on to get iOS5 as soon as it becomes available!

(PS, if you missed the tutorial on updating your apps on your iPad/iPhone, please check it out too!)

Well I woke up in a flurry of excitement this morning because it is iOS5 day, meaning tonight or tomorrow, you’ll be updating your iPads/iPhones to have the latest software update by Apple, also giving you access to a bunch of cool, new features.

In preparation and anticipation, I’m updating all my apps today because many app developers are adding on iOS5 functionality to keep up with Apple’s software update. Many of my students aren’t aware of how to do this, so I’ve outlined this quickly here.

(Just a note – this App Update process is a useful thing to do every few weeks with or without Apple software updates happening – so your apps can continue to function well and make sure you have the latest version. App updates are free and easy to do – and take all of 5 minutes!)

1. Make sure you are connected to WI-FI (so your app updates download smoothly and faster).

2. Tap on your App store icon on your home screen. You can see from the picture of my App store icon below, that there are 19 updates available (by the red number in the corner).

3. Once the App Store opens, in the bottom right hand corner, tap on Updates.

4. A list of available updates will show. You can see what the updates are for – you’ll see in this case many of them are to provide iOS5 compatibility but they can also be for bug fixes, upgrades, or more.

Tap on UPDATES in the bottom right hand corner, then UPDATE ALL in the top right hand corner.

5. Tap on Update All in the top right hand corner of the screen.

6. Enter your iTunes password.

enter your password, and tap OK.

7. My iPad then asked me to accept the new iTunes store terms and conditions, so I went ahead and did that. (You may not have to do it, but I find it’s pretty consistent with most people’s iPads from time to time).

Press OK!

scroll down...

Tap on AGREE

Tap on AGREE again

Tap on DONE

8. Then I had to tap on Update All again, and enter my iTunes password again.

9. Watch as your apps update.

AND YOU’RE DONE! Now all your apps are ready for your iOS5 update tomorrow.

Don’t forget to also update your iTunes – my next post is about just that.

Yours in learning and laughter,

Sharon