There are many customisation options in Beacon, but with flexibility can come complexity.

In this session we’ll take you through the key aspects of Beacon that site administrators need to understand. From how it’s set up, the controls you have over specific settings, to making sure you are following data protection requirements. We’ll also cover the kind of maintenance tasks and troubleshooting so you can keep your membership data safe, secure and up to date.

Groups, interest groups, convenors, leaders, coordinators - there are many names you may go by if you organise a group in your u3a. But not everyone is confident using technology and using Beacon may be something you're a bit unsure about.

Going at an extra slow pace, this session will get you started with the basic tools in Beacon for group leaders.

Responsible for overseeing all of the groups and supporting leaders of the individual ones, Groups Coordinators can use many helpful tools in Beacon.

In this session we'll cover setting up, managing and deleting groups. We'll also look at how to send emails, adding members with and without a waiting list and also using the schedule and group ledger.

This session is not suitable for group leaders (sometimes called interest group coordinators). Separate sessions are provided or being developed to support group leaders.

Beacon is a membership management system, built by u3as for u3as, so it's no surprise that membership secretaries are usually the main user of Beacon in their u3a.

In this session, after a quick overview, we'll look at the tools you have to manage your membership before looking at the communication tools and how you access all of the data held in Beacon, including extracting data. We'll also take a look at how your role and that of the treasurer work together.

Groups, interest groups, convenors, leaders, coordinators - there are many names you may go by if you organise a group in your u3a. But not everyone is confident using technology and using Beacon may be something you're a bit unsure about.

Going at an extra slow pace, this session will get you started just with the basic tools in Beacon for group leaders.

This session is not for people who are confident using websites or the internet. Please register for Group leaders: the essentials and more if you're happy going online.

There are quite a few tools in Beacon to help group leaders. In this session we'll take you through the essentials of logging in and managing your group's members as well as sending emails.

We'll then look at the adding events to the calendar, how to use the waiting list before going through the basics of the group ledger.

This session is suitable for new and existing group leaders who are comfortable using websites and online systems. If you would prefer a simpler course at a slower pace, please take a look at the session "Beacon for the terrified: group leaders"