Zoom Training Helps Group Meet for the First Time Since Lockdown

Deirdre Bradley, Granaghan and District Women’s Group

Deirdre Bradley is the chairperson of the Granaghan and District Women’s Group, based in the small village of Swatragh. Her group’s members have done both individual and group sessions with Supporting Communities to learn digital skills during the lockdown, particularly getting to grips with Zoom video calling.

Deirdre saw the notice about digital skills support in our Ezine. She recognised Martin Quinn’s name - she had actually taught Martin at school years ago (we’ll not say how many!) She got in touch and they took it from there!

“The zoom handout Martin sent me was very good, very useful. I’m of the generation that likes to print things out and have it to hand,” Deirdre said.

After successfully ‘zooming’ with Martin, Deirdre asked the other group members if they’d like to learn as well, and 10 people took her up on it. They hadn’t been able to have a proper meeting since lockdown, but now that they have done the training, they successfully held their first online committee meeting at the start of July.

Feedback from the group on the training has been very positive. Deirdre passed on some comments from the women including:

“I find Martin very helpful and patient. He’s easy to follow.”

“I had very little knowledge of Zoom until the pandemic hit, and then it was a case of trying to get on board to keep in touch. We are very fortunate to have a great tutor like Martin to give us one to one tuition.”

“Zoom training was most beneficial. I learned lots of useful tips, including changing the background setting, which gives you more privacy, especially in your own home.”

Deirdre says the group will go back to meeting in person as soon as possible, but they will continue to use Zoom for other things. She says she has been using it for ‘umpteen’ different things, including connecting with other groups and activities. She does Tai Chi, mindfulness & well-being, cooking classes, and more - all online.

Becoming more confident using the internet has allowed Deirdre and other group members to get involved in activities and make connections anywhere and everywhere - including Belfast, Dublin and London.

“It’s a ripple effect,” said Deirdre. “I was saying to a woman in her 70’s about our Facebook page and the live stream activities we are doing, but she wasn’t on Facebook. So I passed on Martin’s details and he helped her get online, and now she is taking part as well! We couldn’t be more appreciative and thankful to Supporting Communities and Martin for training us up!”