The Highland County Community Action Organization Inc. is presenting a free digital literacy training program specially designed for seniors 65 and older who want to feel more comfortable using technology to connect with loved ones, access services and information that is available online.
The grant to fund the training comes from the state’s Ohio Healthy Aging Grant through the Highland County Board of Commissioners.
The training will be facilitated by Highland County Health Commissioner Jared Warner, who has an LLC to perform grant management support.
“As we talk to seniors, and if you talk to anybody in the senior services world, isolation and loneliness is a real concern and a real issue with some seniors, so we’re trying to make sure everyone has access to these resources and training to use social media and other communication tools to fight that sense of isolation,” said Warner.
“Most services that seniors may want to access, whether it’s going to the doctor or ordering groceries, have some sort of electronic online component, so we’re trying to give seniors a comfort level and confidence to interact with those different services and just improve their quality of life and their ability to get those resources that sometimes only exist online,” he said.
Training topics include: Basics of computer navigation and usage, Internet browsing and search skills, Introduction to smartphones and tablets, Email communication, Common social media applications, Online safety and privacy tips, and question and answer sessions to address specific concerns.
This training will include information on using computers and smartphones, creating email accounts, using social media applications, taking and sending pictures, using media applications for entertainment, and other areas of technology use.
Training will be offered at the following times and locations:
● March 4 — 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. — Hillsboro Senior Center;
● March 7 — 5-6 p.m. — Greenfield Library;
● March 18 — 10:30-11:30 a.m. — Greenfield Senior Nutrition Center;
● March 30, 1-2 p.m. — Hillsboro Library;
● April 6, 1-2 p.m. — Leesburg Library;
● April 15, 5-6 p.m. — Lynchburg Library;
● May 4, 1-2 p.m. — Hillsboro Library.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own devices to these training sessions. There will be drawings for prizes at the end of the training events.
No registration is needed and all training events are free.
“These sessions will be just covering the basics of how computers work and how a laptop may be a little different from a smartphone and some ins and outs of how to navigate through those different devices,” said Warner. “There will be a little bit of digital online safety, but we’re going to be following up in a couple of months with some classes that are specific to online safety.”
Reach John Hackley at 937-402-2571.
