An investigation into the Wood Collective UKonline information and communication technology project

Abstract

Adult education and ICT (information and communication technology) are intrinsically linked and ICT infiltrates every part of our lives. As those who have grown up and been educated in the ICT age become more prominent in society those who were not find themselves with the distinct possibility of becoming second‐class citizens if not so already. There is a large service industry in the United Kingdom which has been encouraged and grown especially over the last 10 years to combat this situation and to reverse the process. Much of this work is community based with national government playing an active role in supporting this sector. Working within this culture in the heart of one of the target areas for these initiatives, the author's study focused on local basic ICT in a national context—the UKonline ICT project. The author's study and its findings would hopefully help future local initiatives; his aim being to discover effective methods, roles and working plans and to give reason for any failings in order to improve his own work in adult education. He found many areas of interest where the adult client base were suitably catered for but equally found much that could be improved upon.