techboomers georgia libraries
TRANSCRIPT
Teaching Digital Literacy with Techboomers.com
Steve BlackFounder, Techboomers.com
What we’ll be covering in this webinar1. The importance of digital literacy2. What is Techboomers.com? And who can use it?3. Techboomers Site tour4. How Libraries can use Techboomers to help teach digital literacy5. Poll to decide an upcoming course on Techboomers6. Questions, ideas, and feedback
Digital Literacy can Improve Life in Many Ways Social websites and services- Stay connected with friends and family- Free and inexpensive communication tools- Meet new people with similar interests- Real-time news and information
Save money on just about everything
- Free and less expensive entertainment- Classified sites to buy used goods- Discount and coupon websites- Travel booking and other vacation websites
Learn anything online for free
- University level courses- Search for answers to any and all questions- Discover new interests and passions- Stay up-to-date with the world of tech and science
Technology can simply make life easier!
- Shop from the comfort of your own home- File storage and other cloud-based apps- Family monitoring apps - Google Maps for directions- Yelp to find a great place to eat out
Most importantly… Digital literacy will protect you online
Everything is going online whether you like it or not. So you need to:- Understand the dangers of the Internet: safety and privacy- Use proper protection: antivirus software, password managers, etc.- Use best practices when it comes to online safety and privacy- Stay up-to-date about new Internet threats and risks
Introducing Techboomers.com• Over 50 free courses• Create an account to track your
course progress.
• Our mission is to improve the quality of lives of older adults by empowering them to learn how to use technology
Why Build Techboomers.com?- Idea came from teaching my parents how to use websites
- Most educational videos and articles are:- Out of date- Not detailed enough- Not written with an audience like my parents in mind: relevant and non-tech language
- Not presented in a structured learning environment
Who was Techboomers.com built for?
50+ Adult FocusBut is useful for
anyone with limited computer skills
Tech TeachersAnyone who
teaches friends and family how to use
technology
Tech Training Organizations
Libraries, retirement centers, non-profits,
and many more.
Teaching Technology All Over the World• Last month, we taught over 65,000
people across 100 countries how to use technology• Forecasting that number to grow to
750,000 monthly students a year from now
Top 10 Countries That Use Techboomers
TrafficChannel
Breakdown
SEO
Direct
Referral
Social
How does Techboomers make money?- Courses will always be free for both users and our partners- Started publishing ads in early August – mostly for our partners
- In 2016, we will look to establish sponsorship partners with different types of online sites and services
- We are not and have no plans of selling usage data. Online privacy is important to us, our partners, and our users
How Techboomers Helps Librarians1. Free resource to direct patrons towards2. Save the time and effort of preparing training
materials for websites that are constantly changing3. No need to pay for software to create training videos4. Training resource for staff at your library
Recommend and Share with Patrons•Word of mouth •Share in Newsletters and Social Media•Techboomers flyers, postcards, and bookmarks are coming soon!•“What’s New and Popular on Techboomers” weekly newsletter• Email [email protected] if you’d like to receive it
Add Links to Techboomers on Your Website•Homepage: easiest way for visitors to find our site• Footer link•Course listings page•Resource pages• Computer Classes, Technology Training, Online Resources, eLearning, Research / Databases, Do It Yourself• Seniors Resources, Adult Programs
•Blog posts•We do a lot of guest blogging for library + non-profit partners
Supplement Existing Programs with our Tutorials•Print our article tutorials for handouts•Share tutorial videos with your students•Use Techboomers course functionality for students to track their progress•Assign tutorials for homework to encourage continued learning at home
Create New Classes using our Courses• Choose from the 40+ website courses we offer:• Social sites: Pinterest, Instagram, Skype• Educational sites: Ancestry, WebMD, Wikipedia• Entertainment sites: Overdrive, Netflix, Spotify• Shopping sites: Groupon, Amazon, Etsy• Let us know what other websites you’d like us to teach!
• Print handouts, share videos, use progress trackers and assign homework
Drop-In Self-Learning Sessions•Run regular sessions where students are encouraged to come in with their devices (or use the library’s)•Students choose a topic on Techboomers, work their way through our tutorials, and ask questions as they come up.•Benefits of this type of class• Encourages self-learning• Teach more students at a time• No ongoing preparation for teachers
What’s in it for us?•We see libraries as great long term partners that can be early adopters and help us reach our audience.• Links to our website help us improve our rankings in Google.•We’re all in this together. And with over 13,000 libraries in North America creating most of their own technology training materials… Why wouldn’t we make their lives easier!
Guest Blog Posts•We’ve written 30+ guest posts for libraries, nonprofits, and other websites• Topics have included:• Introductions to different websites and apps: Airbnb, Groupon, Netflix, etc.• X tips to get the most out of LinkedIn / WebMD / Twitter• Important Internet Safety and Privacy Tips• General posts about TechBoomers.com teaching digital literacy
• Email [email protected] if you are interested in us writing free guest posts for your library’s blog
Questions?Ideas?
Suggestions? [email protected]
Slide deck: www.slideshare.net/SteveBlack327/techboomers-georgia-libraries
Email Me If You’d Like To
1. Learn more about guest blogging
2. Join our partner mailing list
3. Learn more about Techboomers