Web Learning 2.0 – Onteca
An exciting new course is being launched in the Wirral that provides training in the very latest techniques in website and New Media production.
During 2004 media commentators started talking about something called ‘Web 2.0′: a new, different Internet that is already here, already evolving in front of our eyes. Taking advantage of the fact that Broadband Internet connections allow video, images and built in games as standard for websites, a whole new generation of exciting web-sites have conquered the online world. This course gives Wirral residents the skills to take advantage of this new wave of Internet expansion.
Onteca, a professional New Media Company based in Liverpool, has been given some European Social Fund support to deliver top-of-the-range training for people in areas of the Wirral. This training is for the Pathways Areas of Wirral, which includes a large proportion of the Wirral’s residents. Check with Onteca to confirm you are eligible. Onteca are interested in all sorts of people for the course. Obviously this would suit people with an interest in computers, New Media and games, but those with an ability in art, photography or writing will also be provided with a practical outlet for their talent.
The course is free, doesn’t effect benefits and there will be a solid qualification at the end. Even those who have to leave early (for instance, for work reasons) will get credits for elements of the course taken. Some financial support for travel and childcare is also available. It will be two days a week at venues across the area and Discovery Community Learning Centre, a state-of-the-art facility on the Wirral.
As well as teaching people how to make their own websites, this course will give a condensed guide to the new ‘Rich Media’ sites, and how to achieve the same results. Elements of the course will outfit people on how to make basic video games, animations and films for the Internet, with room for further specialisation later. Onteca has a breadth of knowledge of the local media and New Media scene and can guide people towards appropriate career choices based on what they have most enjoyed in the Web Learning 2.0 course.
At time of writing (June 2007), the first intake are just approaching the end of their course. It seems likely all will get a level 3 NVQ, and some already have been offered paid work in a relevant area. We are proud of what they have achieved, and look forward to following their careers as they go from strength to stength. We are recruiting now for the next run, to be delivered both in Noctorum and Birkenhead. Contact max@onteca.com for more details.