Now the challenge is to spot what the following two pictures have to do with Jump!
Here’s a hint. She works in a library. She is famous for many things, not least of all is her creativity. She has exhibited at Te Papa! She features regularly in local and international media. She has the enviable position of Digital Inclusion Coordinator | Kaikōtuitui, Mātau Matihiko in her North Island Library. Now, wouldn’t just every library love to have one of those!
She says: I just wanted to share that I love Skinny JUMP modem time because I love reusing the boxes and the packaging! Our last delivery was in September and I used the boxes and the packing paper to help fill a brand-new garden bed that I was creating on my driveway. I am now eagerly considering a new garden box to stuff my latest round of Skinny JUMP boxes and packing paper into!
She is the one and only Leala Faleseuga!!
Watch out sustainable awards – here she comes – reduce, reuse , recycle!!
Jylesza is one of our fabulous new Digi-Coaches who are emerging in many of our Jump partner organisations. She is based at Elma Turner Nelson Public Library.
All our Digi-Coaches are trained to become Jump Specialists, so they can hit the ground running when they start their work placements. On her first day, Jylesza got a hug from a customer, as an expression of appreciation for the help she had provided. Maybe our long-term Jump partners have just got so used to getting hugs from their Jump customers that they don’t see it as ‘news’ any more!
Jylesza as well as some other partners have also asked for clarification about the ‘rules’ around Jump partners issuing modems to customers who live outside the partner’s area or region. For example, it could be someone who has tried to sign up for Jump at their local partner, but discovered they have no modems, so they ‘shop around’ to find a partner with stock, or they could simply be moving to a new area.
It goes without saying that they must satisfy the Jump coverage check for the location where they intend to use the modem, but there are no rules that restrict where they can sign up. A bit like McDonalds, you can get a Big Mac from any outlet, not just the one in your own community.
Where the uncertainty sometime arises is for library partners, who have territorial rules about who can sign up for a library card and borrow books.
Jump, however is different. While we often use the library analogy for Jump, where you get something for free and when you don’t need it anymore, you return it, but we don’t restrict where people can sign up.
One thing we do discourage is for partners who have run out of stock to direct customers to other Jump partners unless they know the other partner has stock and is happy to accept referrals. We prefer that you use your waiting list (below the blue line in your GSheet). This also helps us boost the number of modems in your next shipment.
So, thank you Jylesza for asking the question and congratulations on your first customer hug!
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is seeking candidates interested in serving as a member of the Library and Information Advisory Commission (LIAC). LIAC’s role is to advise the Minister on: library and information issues, including mātauranga Māori, and access to library and information services the role of library and information services, including mātauranga Māori, in the cultural and economic life of New Zealand, and any other matters requested by the Minister.
DIA is also seeking applicants for the Applicants for Guardians Kaitiaki of the Alexander Turnbull Library. Further information on this role can also be found on the above Appointments to Statutory Bodies website.
Some changes are coming for a major email service provider in New Zealand. We have invited this organisation to provide a special preview for our Stepping UP partners at 2pm on Monday 4 March, as we know this will impact many users who may need help in setting up a new email address. This session will brief you on the details of the change being implemented.
We would like you to have the opportunity to understand the scope of this change so that you are ready to provide any support needed by your community.
We will provide further details after the briefing for any partners unable to join the preview session.
You can sign up for the Zoom briefing through Partner Webinars on our Stepping UP website.
I learnt about a great initiative by Te Takere’s digital inclusion librarian, Leala Faleseuga, earlier this week. She explained that whenever she signs up a customer for Jump she asks them if they have a library card, and if not she is quick to sign them up. And then she can introduce them to the free eLibrary resources offered by Horowhenua Libraries, including Libby, Hoopla and Cloud Library.
I know that most, if not all library partners, are providing eLibrary services for their communities, but what impressed me about Leala’s approach is how she and her team at Te Takere are making the connection between digital connectivity and content.
I have mentioned this to a few other library partners during the week and they were quick to respond with “what a good idea!”
Our (DIAA) vision for Jump was that this would provide a pathway for communities to increase their digital skills and engagement with the digital world.
Having access to a digital device and an affordable internet device is just the beginning. Thank you to all our partners who are continuing to help their communities enjoy the benefits of the digital world.
I met with a senior government official during the week and she was so excited about being introduced to Libby by a librarian at Newtown Library in Wellington. She has now reached book number 200, thanks to Libby!
When the My Vaccine Pass was released a few weeks ago it was inspiring to hear how libraries had responded so quickly to help their communities get access to their passes – after all, how many people have the digital confidence to:
(1) Have a unique email address (not one shared with a partner);
(2) Set up a My Health account;
(3) Access emails on their smartphones;
(4) Add their Vaccine Pass to Apple Wallet or Google Pay;
(5) Own a printer and laminator to print a copy.
For our part, Sue Kini pulled out the stops and produced a new Stepping UP module for My Health & My Vaccine Pass.
It was quickly evident that the Government’s backup plan to use the special 0800 number for people without digital access to request a Vaccine Pass was not going to work, with 70,000 requests backlogged. I was so disappointed with the negative stories emerging that I sent a letter to the editor of the Dominion Post on 26 November pointing out how public libraries (as the biggest ‘helpdesk’ in the country) could help.
And then the bombshell on 2 December to learn that some Councils had ruled that only people who could show their Vaccine Passes were permitted access to their libraries and other public facilities. A sort of catch-22; how could libraries help people get their passes if they had to have one to enter? Well done Clutha District Council, Waitaki District Council, Timaru District Council, Waimate District Council, Marlborough District Council, Upper Hutt City Council, South Taranaki District Council and Whanganui District Council, to name just a few who ruled in favour of remaining open to everyone, so that people could get the help they needed to get their passes.
But we still have a lot of work to do; at the time the new traffic light system came into effect on 3 December over 800,000 people who were fully vaccinated had not downloaded their Vaccine Passes.
We strongly encourage all our Stepping UP partners to provide ongoing support to help everyone in their communities get access to their Vaccine Pass and be able to enjoy the new freedoms that come with the Covid traffic light system.
Many of us (including me) have been under the misapprehension that the 1m social distancing rule for Covid-19 means that we need to maintain at least 1 metre distancing between participants in small group sessions, and this has prevented many partners from resuming their Stepping UP classes. It certainly contributed to our decision to put DORA out to pasture for 3 months. However, our good friend, Pete Gray, Manager – Libraries & Community at Whanganui District Council, pointed out the error of our thinking today to Alistair Fraser on our DIAA team by directing us to the official Government Covid-19 Protection Framework (traffic lights) on what an orange traffic light means for public facilities such as libraries.
To quote from the official word: “some capacity limits are based on 1 metre distancing. This means the maximum number of people who could occupy the space if each person was 1 metre apart. People do not need to stand 1 metre apart.” In other words, the 1 metre rule is about capacity limits in defined spaces, not actual social distancing.
DORA is a 7 metre bus; we assess the social distancing capacity would be 7 people (based on above rule), and this excludes ‘workers’, who in our case would be the tutors. So this means it would be pretty much ‘business as usual’ for attendees with Vaccine Passes. We can only assume the same would be true for library partners.
But what about masks? The Government accepts that there are situations when face coverings can temporarily be removed, and in particular “to eat or drink” or “to talk with someone who needs to see others’ mouths to communicate, due to being deaf or hard of hearing”.
So with nearly all regions moving to Orange on 31 December 2021, now is the time to plan your 2022 Stepping UP classes. Thanks Pete and Alistair for helping us to get this clear.
We have had numerous reports this week from our Stepping UP partners about how they have sprung into action to help their communities download their vaccine passes. Some are providing a printing service, creating a laminated copy of the Pass. Others are helping customers with smartphones navigate the maze of apps to ensure the Pass can be swiftly recovered when it is needed to verify their vaccination status to gain access to a hairdresser or restaurant.
We (mainly Sue Kini) have also swung into action and produced a new Stepping UP Digital Step – DS41: My Health & My Vaccine Pass. This provides a step by step guide for partners to guide your customers in creating a My Health account and downloading their Vaccine Passes.
As shout out to Irene Wilson at Dunedin Public Library, who has produced an amazing set of video tutorials for getting a Vaccine Pass. Irene has created six videos in total and is happy for this resource to be shared with anyone who needs it.
How to create your My Health Account
With an email address
With a RealMe login
How to request your vaccine certificate
How to access the certificate with an android device
How to access the certificate with an Apple device
I am getting frequent questions about whether the home delivery self-service option is still available for Skinny Jump. The short answer is “yes”, but please read on so that I can explain the ‘but‘.
All Jump inquiries are directed to a delivery partner organisation and our preference (from both a support and financial perspective) is for people to front up to a local partner. There are now 196 publicly listed locations where people can go to get a Skinny Jump modem and new locations are being added every week.
The advantages are manifold:
(1) Partners are able more easily to assess the eligibility of the applicants;
(2) Partners are able to assist applicants set up their Skinny accounts, making sure they have a working email (and one they can remember the password for!);
(3) Partners are able to explain what customers can do with 30GB data and how they are limited to five plan renewals (total of 150GB) a month;
(4) Partners are able to explain the top up/ plan renewal process, so that customers feel confident about doing this when their first month’s internet expires;
(5) Partners are welcome to engage interpreters for customers who have English as a second language, and claim back costs from DIAA;
(6) Partners are able to offer opportunities for new internet users to participate in scheduled Stepping UP or Better Digital Futures digital literacy classes;
(7) Partners are able to develop a relationship with the customer, so that they are encouraged to return for other library services.
BUT, if for any reason the customer finds it difficult to get to a Jump partner, e.g. they could live a long way away or may have physical disabilities that prevent them from travelling, partners are welcome to use the online application form. Note that the Application Form has been amended to require the name of the person making the referral and their organisation. Applicants must also give a reason why they can’t visit a Jump partner.
I think this is a pretty universal position that it is too early for libraries and other public facilities to start issuing Jump modems. Since my last post on the Level 2 restrictions for Jump, our library partners seem to agree that while their facilities are officially open, social distancing, cleaning requirements and in some cases, limitations on the length of time people can stay in the facility, make it simply too difficult for group activities. However, the good news is that everyone seems very happy to keep operating in the same way as the have been for the last 8 weeks, i.e. accepting Jump inquiries from their community and where necessary, assisting with the completion of the online application form. Modems are then couriered directly to applicants’ homes, with a user guide explaining how to set up the Jump modem and open a Skinny account.
So our proposal is that from next week most Jump partner sites listed on the Skinny Jump map will be updated to read:
Contact us during normal business hours to sign up for Jump.
A contact name and normal business telephone number will then replace the personal mobile number of the staff member working from home.
Our proposal is that this will become the default information, but individual partners may choose slight variations to this wording if required. For example, some library staff have approval to continue working from home and managing Jump inquiries by phone. The Partner map information will then read:
Jump classes suspended until further notice. Phone us to sign up for Jump.
We ask all public Jump delivery partners to review the information on the Skinny map and advise us of any changes required (jump@diaa.nz).
In Auckland, 31 libraries are opening on 20 May and the other 24 immediately after Queen’s Birthday weekend (2 June).
We expect these updates to be made by Wednesday 20 May.
Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa 