Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Grayshott
Grayshott Village Website
www.grayshott.com
Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Grayshott
Grayshott Village Website
www.grayshott.com
Introduction
Since the millennium celebrations Grayshott has continued to thrive and has achieved outstanding recognition in being awarded the Calor Village or the Year award for Hampshire in 2002 and also in the same year the first national award for Business in the Community for England and Wales.
Not resting on their laurels the business and residential communities working in partnership have continued to make further improvements and Grayshott has again been rewarded by being chosen Hampshire Village of the Year 2005.
Much of its success has been due to a strong community spirit and outstanding contributions from so many individuals. One of the benefits this has provided for Grayshott has been to equip it with the best that information technology can provide. At the core has been the development of the village website now in its fifth year but additionally the benefits of Broadband internet which came to Grayshott early as a reward for an effective village campaign to have the local telephone exchange digitally enabled.
The website facilities and broadband have helped drive the enthusiasm for ICT in the village and seminars have been held in the local primary school to help the community access ICT facilities and learn how to use them to their full potential.
Many villagers benefit from having personal computers but public access to computer facilities in the village is crucial for those without. As the popularity of ICT grows the limited resources available at the library and school have become overstretched and this has ultimately led to the need for provision of more and better facilities. This has culminated in the provision of a new community learning room as part of the redevelopment of the local primary school which will include 30 wireless laptops. These additional ICT facilities, which will soon be available for both the community and school children to use are being funded largely by donation from local families, businesses and through the fundraising efforts of local organisations and events.
Grayshott Village Website
Grayshott.com was born five years ago to provide the village with a free and easy to use website, to help promote local events, and to provide all local businesses and organisations with a free website presence.
It has evolved since then in response to users who have suggested new ways of how it may best serve the village and it has become an effective communicator of local information and a means of engaging the villagers in the development of their village.
The website is completely bespoke and provides a number of features:
A welcoming homepage page with a now familiar artists impression of Grayshott that changes with the seasons acting as a backdrop for graphics and photos linked to topical items of interest
Comprehensive side menu and additional top bar of hot links to main features
What's New guide to the latest website additions as a shortcut for regular users
Messageboard for the discussion of topics of local interest
News page illustrating newsworthy items of local interest
Directories of local businesses and organisations currently 345 listed and classified
Each businesses or organisations given their own webpage, advert or logo and website link
Events listings for village venues and organisations and a weekly diary
A full range of online entry forms for all the informational pages
Councils Parish, District and County information and six weekly newsletter
Publication of the Parish Councils six monthly "Parish Scene" newsletter
Buy in Grayshott (BIG) campaign information and village trade guide and map
Party in Grayshott (PIG) annual village events Street Party, Pyrotechnics and Pantomime linking to event photos
Picture Galleries to display additional photos of village news items and events
Village Information and links to other sites of interest
Village Design draft statement published for feedback
Jobs and Property available & wanted section
Contact the webmaster and forms to give feedback and suggestions for the website
Search facility for the website or the world wide web with keywords
User Guide to the website and all the main menu options
Villagers may also subscribe online to the website email list and receive regular updates on news and events, currently circulated to 420 people.
Grayshott.com now receives around 200 visitors a week and has clocked up 19,000 visits so far, which visitors can monitor by a hit counter and graph.
Because of its prominence and comprehensive listings and linkage to other Grayshott organisations and websites Grayshott.com proudly ranks No.1 on a Google search for "Grayshott"
The website has been provided entirely by voluntary effort throughout. Any revenue received from sponsorship and advertising have been donated to local worthy causes. In continuing to provide a free resource for the village the website in turn has benefited from free promotion and continues to expand the service it provides and extend it to a larger audience.
Inspired by their early presence on the village website many village businesses and organisations have since developed their own websites and now benefit from the additional exposure from their listing on Grayshott.com and subsequent search engines.
There are always plans for future development of the village website to further enhance the interactivity and involve the community to an even greater extent and further support and funding is being actively sought for this.
The website is like a growing organism and requires constant care and nourishment - since it should continue to have the benefit of fabulous community support from the village that it serves it has a promising future.
Conclusion
Grayshott has already proved itself to be an outstanding village in so many ways. In the last five years the Grayshott community has embraced information technology in providing and utilising an effective village website and ensuring it has access for all to the very best communication facilities.
The website has helped in promoting Grayshott to the wider world and the provision of a "state of the art" community ICT suite will ensure that the exciting world of ICT continues to reach out to as many people, young or old, as possible.
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