Brett Cole (right), a Midcoast Adult & Community Education instructor, helps a community member with a laptop issue at the RSU 40 Community Tech Night in November 2023. (Courtesy photo)
Community members are encouraged to bring their digital questions, concerns, and even devices to the next Community Tech Night, hosted by Midcoast Adult & Community Education.
Adult education staff will be available to solve tech issues, help set up new devices, and answer questions and concerns from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, at Medomak Valley High School in Waldoboro.
A Community Tech Night is also planned from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, March 21, at Chelsea Elementary School.
Tech night invites community members to bring their devices and questions for on-the-spot help from staff and student “experts.” Support will be offered for Apple and Android smartphones, laptops, tablets, Macs and PCs, common hardware and software, Zoom and other online meeting platforms, Google Workspace and Microsoft Office products, accessibility features, and other bells and whistles.
Feedback from the first Community Tech Night in November 2023 was positive, even though turnout was low, according to Midcoast Adult & Community Education Director Raye Leonard.
“Two folks showed up for help and both remarked that it was wonderful to sit with patient people who could help them deal with their digital issues,” Leonard said. “We hope for a greater turn out at our next event.”
Participants are asked to sign up in advance by visiting mace.maineadulted.org. Upon registering, participants will be asked to sum up their tech trouble so the team can be prepared.
At the event, participants will be greeted by a tech night concierge, and directed to a tech station, where a staff or student host will offer their support. Hosts are experts only to the extent of their own knowledge and experience, so some issues may be beyond their scope of understanding. Light refreshments will be served and additional resources offered.
Two additional tech classes are planned for the winter and spring. Betty Cheff, program assistant for Midcoast Adult & Community Education will teach Staying Safe on Social Media from 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, and Web Browser Safety & Security from 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 13.
“We hope the RSU 40 community will take advantage of tech nights and other classes to further develop their IT knowledge,” said Brandon Look, a digital planner with Coastal Maine Regional Broadband.
A regional broadband partner of the Maine Connectivity Authority, Coastal Maine Regional Broadband is working to expand public access and digital equity and inclusion to the Midcoast area. Funding for Boothbay Region Adult & Community Education to expand its offerings in information technology education and training is one of the organization’s first steps toward accomplishing this goal. For more information, visit cmrb.me.
Midcoast Adult & Community Education offers high school completion, career and college advising, workforce preparation, and enrichment courses to adults in the RSU 40 and RSU 12 school districts, including Alna, Chelsea, Friendship, Palermo, Somerville, Union, Waldoboro, Warren, Washington, Westport Island, Whitefield, and Windsor. For more information, go to mace.maineadulted.org, or email program assistant Betty Cheff at betty_cheff@rsu40.org.
