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Benefits of membership

Members will be freel to join any of our groups which are as near as possible to the traditional U3A group of the participative learning type. Each group will have a group leader who will help the participants to get best from the experience.
Each member will receive a copy of each U3A News - the national U3A newspaper - by post and will be able to buy things at a discount where National Office have arranged this. This includes most software including Microsoft Office.

The subscription will be £12 per annum. At present subscriptions must be paid using a credit or debit card online. vU3A operates entirely online, so we are unable to accept cheques but payment by bank transfer would still be possible.

The answer to this question falls into two parts (A) Equipment and (B) Computer Skills. You may like to consult with a knowledgeable friend or family member to help you make a decision about certain of these items.
Remember that it is possible to enjoy membership of the vU3A at different levels and a bit of help or guidance from the knowledgeable friend, in person or over the phone, may be all it needs to boost your confidence.

1. A computer running a reasonably up-to-date operating system such as Microsoft Windows 2000, XP or Vista, Mac OS X or later or perhaps Linux.
   
   
2. The computer should be capable of connecting to the Internet (with a browser such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Safari) and should also be able to send and receive emails.
   
   
3. A broadband account for connection of the computer to the Internet is recommended.
   
   
4. Though not essential, there is equipment that would be useful for the purpose of communications. Also, an account with the Internet telephony provider, Skype, could be useful. There is more information on all of this in our Group Pages.

1. Experience in using a mouse and keyboard.

2. Experience at an elementary level in receiving and sending or replying to emails (and occasionally handling attachments), in finding one’s way around the Internet and in word processing at some sort of practical level such as writing letters, keeping a diary, etc.

3. Experience in saving and retrieving files, eg word processing files.

4. Additional skills, not considered essential, but rather handy, include: taking part in ‘chat’ exchanges or ‘forum’ discussions on the Internet.

The idea behind these requirements is to allow members of the vU3A to communicate effectively with one another and to work in groups on projects of shared interests.

Help is available

1. General computer support can be had at the well established Support list run by Tom Holloway where all questions (however seemingly simple) are answered by other members of the list. Join by emailing tom@worldu3a.org and put vu3a in the subject line.

2. Available in the side bar of our Group Pages there is a link to a computer assistance forum where you can ask questions in the hope that someone can give you the answer.

How to become a member

All you need do is fill up an online membership application form and click on the "Submit application form" button at the foot of the form.

After completing the application form, you will be sent to the payment page where you can use a debit or credit card or a Paypal account.

Once your payment has been accepted, you will receive welcome information for new members including how to get to the Group Pages.

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