AILEEN Morton, Liberal Democrat representative for Helensburgh Central, kicks off our first Councillor Column of 2021...
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WE are nearly all creatures of habit, and it can be disconcerting to be forced to try new things.
During this pandemic, technology has been promoted as the “saviour” of nearly everything we have lost. From fitness classes to picking up a chippy, from submitting homework to Sunday lunch with family, the suggestion is that you can use a computer program or phone app to replicate that experience.
It’s not necessarily quite as straightforward as that though...
My husband and I met while doing a postgraduate qualification in IT, but even so, it can be challenging to adapt to the many new systems that are appearing.
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What I find even more challenging, though, is enjoying the technology-driven alternative. There is a level of convenience to it all, and in many instances it’s cheaper than the real-life alternative, but I so miss real, live human beings – even the ones I would never have expected to miss!
I know that many people like to use video calling as a way of seeing loved ones, but I just can’t get away from that feeling of it being like a work conference call... and I really miss the nuances of body language that can so easily be missed on screen, especially if there are lots of different people involved.
But technology is what is needed right now as we all try to stay at home as much as possible.
For businesses that are being forced to adapt to a new way of working, the council’s Business Gateway team offers a range of online courses to cover topics such as Instagram and e-commerce. These can be accessed at bgateway.com/events – and there are nationally run events available as well.
READ MORE: Free webinars for Helensburgh and Lomond businesses to help mitigate Covid impact
For any parents struggling to support pupils with their home learning, please do get in touch with the school for help.
Each school will be taking a slightly different approach, but there are no guarantees that this will just be for a few weeks, so don’t delay asking for help if it’s needed.
And remember that you don’t need to be a teacher. The most important role you have is as a parent, so my advice is just to try and avoid too many arguments!
We all need to try and survive the next few weeks or months the best way we can – be kind to yourself and others.
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