“Tech Tuesday,” a program where Franklin County Tech Programming and Web Design students assist senior citizens who have issues with their laptops, smartphones and other devices recently celebrated its one-year anniversary.
FCTS students, along with Programming and Web Design instructors Marcus McLaurin and Cynthia Bussey, gathered to celebrate with senior citizens who have benefited from the program at the Gill-Montague Senior Center on January 7. The drop-in program is a partnership between the school, Gill Montague Council on Aging, Franklin Regional Council of Governments, and the Massachusetts Office of Elder Affairs.
The students and the seniors found the program to be rewarding in a number of ways. Seniors who attended the program got help with their devices and gained further technical knowledge, while the students honed their technical skills which helped build confidence.
Belinda Lyons-Zucker said the program helped her tremendously with ironing out computer issues.
“I live in a senior housing project,” she told the crowd. “I’ve spread the word and I hope people will come to see you. You guys rock it.”
Eileen Dowd’s husband was having trouble with his smart phone but the students found it was clogged with dust. Giving it a good cleaning out remedied the situation.
“The phone came alive and so did we,” she joked. “It probably saved our marriage.”
FCTS senior Dakota Santos said participating in the program “was an eye-opening experience” because of the wide range of technical issues he and the rest of the students grappled with. One time he solved an issue with a laptop that a local computer store was unable to.
“A lot of things came through here that I had never seen before,” Santos said. “It’s nice to know that we can provide something that the best of the best can’t do.”
Other senior citizens described Tech Tuesday as “non-judgmental” and a “trustworthy place.”
Thinking it was too complicated, Helen Ostrowski was intimidated at the thought of using her iPad. Going to Tech Tuesday changed all that.
“These students really helped me out and I appreciate that,” she said. “I don’t have a fear of touching my computer now. I’m still learning.”
Montague Mass in Motion Coordinator Colleen Doherty approached McLaurin and Bussey last year to help launch the program. She said having Franklin County Technical is a great resource “right in our backyard.”
“Thank you, Franklin County Technical School for making it easy for us,” Doherty added.
Bussey said she hesitated to join the program when she was first approached because a number of her students are introverted and wondered if they had the requisite expertise.
“I didn’t know how the kids would interact with the seniors and if they had the technical knowledge,” she said. “From day one, they just took off.”
FCTS senior Danielle Walker said it was very fulfilling to be able to offer such a valuable service.
“It’s good to know that you went out and said ‘I’m going to help somebody today.”’