Lauren R., a 65-year-old from San Francisco, had some basic online skills prior to learning more with Community Tech Network. However, she has begun to stay at home most of the time in recent years and wanted to improve her digital literacy so she could begin taking online writing classes while still protecting herself online.
Below is an excerpt of an interview with Lauren and her instructor, CTN’s Giang (Jen) Tran.
Why did you want to learn technology?
Everything is going online nowadays. The old way of things is going away, and the new way is becoming more popular. So it’s important that we learn digital skills to keep up with the world. Personally, I want to eventually start taking online classes, especially writing courses online.
What were your favorite parts of the digital literacy classes?
My favorite parts were chatting with you [Jen], messing up, and trying again. I had a lot of fun and gained a lot of self-confidence after the training.
Has being online helped you feel more self-reliant? Why?
Yes, absolutely. I have four children, so before the training, I would call them to ask how to do this and how to do that all the time. But after the training, I can now do many things on the tablet by myself. In fact, I even showed my son how to make a holiday card [online] and teased him that I could now teach him something new too!
Do you use the internet for health purposes?
Yes, I use different apps and tools to manage my doctor appointments and health insurance.
How has learning digital skills brought joy to your life?
It brought me a lot of joy because I got to learn new skills and tools such as using Google Translate to translate texts and pictures. I stay at home with my cats all day, so learning new things keeps me more active and updated with what’s going around the world.
What would you say to someone who has never been online before and might be nervous?
I would tell them to give it a try and that the training is very helpful. At first, I felt really intimidated because I thought the training would be much more difficult. But having an instructor like you [Jen] who was very patient helped a lot. You made it clear to me what to do and what not to do online to protect myself. I have gained a lot of confidence in using technology and going online after the training.
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