Technology and the Internet fill our daily lives in so many ways that it's hard to imagine our world without it. But did you know that in 2022, 26% of low-income families had no at-home Internet subscription at all? Libraries and community centers around the country have worked hard to fill these gaps in access, but there's no way to overstate the advantages of Internet at home.
That's why the National Digital Inclusion Alliance started Digital Inclusion Week. This year, from Oct 7-11, the NDIA and its partners are working to raise awareness and make digital skills more equitable across the country.
At Association House, we offer tech training classes throughout the year. In our beginner course, Digital Skills 4 Life, we give participants an in-depth course on how to navigate their personal smartphones, Google Suite, and how to safely browse the web. Beyond the basics, we offer a Microsoft Office Specialist course to certify participants as experts in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more.
Providing this service to the public in Chicago creates a huge impact, and when we asked our past students if they'd be interested in sharing their stories from the class, so many were excited to tell us about how it transformed their lives.
One of those students was Marlene Taylor, who joined our Digital Skills 4 Life course after her retirement, suddenly finding herself as the trusted family matriarch.
"When you retire, they think you're supposed to do everything for them! You know how that goes," she told us with a laugh.
After seeing our Tech#Ready classes advertised on Facebook, she felt motivated to boost her knowledge to help herself and her loved ones-- especially after younger people in her life were caught in online scams.
"A former secretary of mine in her early fifties had a friend ask her for money online, but it turned out that it wasn't her friend! She only called her friend to double check after she'd talked to me, and I told her that she needed to make sure. After that, she shut down all her social media," says Marlene. "Seniors need this class, because so many of them are so afraid."
Since completing the course, Marlene says she's protected herself and her family against plenty of phishing emails from scammers pretending to be reputable companies or trusted friends. Now that she's so comfortable with the basics, she's excited about trying new things. Her niece has since introduced her to AI writing tools that she says she would not have had the confidence to try before.
Another student, Shweta Jain, came to Association House with a Master's Degree in English from her home country of India, but found herself needing to start over with new skills in the States. After seeing information about our Tech#Ready courses at our Back 2 School Fair, she enrolled in the intermediate Microsoft Office course.
However, balancing the class with raising her young son proved to be harder than she expected.
"Our instructor, Hind, was extremely kind and supportive. I went to her and told her, 'I'm so sorry. I can't do this.' I started to cry, because it's very hard for me to say no," she told us. "But she encouraged me and gave me a lot of strength. In my mind, Excel was very tough, and I didn't believe I could do it. But with her help, it was very easy. She's one of the best teachers I've had in my life. My thanks are not enough."
Before she knew it, the Excel class was over, and Shweta passed her Microsoft Office Specialist certification exam with a 100% score. Now, as she works to complete her new degree in Administration, she hopes to bring her skills and confidence to ESL and Early Childhood Education.
"I use my new skills in so many of my classes, and even in my current workplace. I'm so happy that I met Hind and found a path for my future."
Hearing these stories among countless others from our Tech#Ready program make us proud to be a leader for digital inclusion. During Digital Inclusion Week, the Association House of Chicago would like to recognize Comcast and UnidosUS for its longtime support of our Tech#Ready Program, which provides bilingual digital skill-building and workforce development training.
Advancing digital equity is always on our minds as we work to encourage each person’s full participation in our increasingly connected world.
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Want to learn more about our technology programs? Visit associationhouse.org/tech-ready.
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