Free Online Classes For Montgomery County Seniors: Feb. 1-5

GERMANTOWN, MD — Montgomery County seniors can take free online classes to learn how to better navigate life at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Senior Planet Montgomery, the county's technology training program for residents 60 and older, typically offers lectures, hands-on workshops, and multi-week courses at libraries and senior centers. But during this public health crisis, Senior Planet Montgomery is moving all its programming online.

Many of the online sessions will focus on online user-friendly tools and resources for seniors.

"More Montgomery County seniors are online than ever before," said Montgomery County Chief Information Officer Gail M. Roper. "The Senior Planet Montgomery programs provide a means for them to get more out of their internet availability, and we hope, more out of life overall. We have programs that are geared specifically to support the way seniors learn best — which makes so many things easier to understand."

Classes change on a weekly basis. From Feb. 1 to 5, participants will learn how to initiate a Zoom video conferencing call, lower their energy usage and costs, and more.

Courses are also offered in Spanish.

Take a look:

Make Energy Cents

• When: Tuesday, Feb. 2, 3-4 p.m.
• Description: This lecture will introduce the new County website, www.MontgomeryEnergyConnection.org. It brings together trusted information and helpful solutions for managing and lowering your energy usage and costs. Learn how to use the site for finding energy-saving programs, exploring energy-efficient technology, and getting help understanding a utility bill.

IoT Healthcare

• When: Thursday, Feb. 4, 4-5 p.m.
• Description: Learn how the medical industry is embracing the Internet of Things (IoT) technology to treat patients remotely. This lecture explores cutting-edge devices from smart hearing aids to ingestible sensors, as well as popular telehealth apps.

Voice Assistants

• When: Friday, 5, 11 a.m.-noon.
• Description: Amazon's Alexa and the Google Home can do everything from playing music to ordering your Uber, from giving news briefs to turning on the lights. Learn about the many devices, current uses, and future implications of this exciting technology.

Introduction to Hosting on Zoom

• When: Friday, Feb. 5, 2-3 p.m.
• Description: In this introductory lecture, learn how to start your first meeting, as well as some hosting tips to make it a success. Learn about special features for hosts, including ways Zoom keeps your meetings secure. After this overview lecture, you'll be ready for our hands-on workshops "Getting Started with Zoom" and "Hosting a Zoom Meeting," which include step-by-step instructions.

Clases en Español:

Youtube

• Cuando: Lunes 1 de febrero. 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
• Descripción: Puede ser que usted asocie Youtube con videos graciosos de gatos pero es mucho más que eso. Cada día personas alrededor del mundo ven más de 1 billón en horas de videos, incluyendo películas clásicas, cómo hacer videos, clips de noticias y más. Esta presentación le dará un resumen de todo el contenido gratis disponible en YouTube y le enseñará cómo navegar el sitio con facilidad. Usted también obtendrá consejos para ver y compartir videos de otras personas y aprender a descargar su propio video.

Todo Sobre Youtube

• Cuando: Miércoles, 3 de febrero. 11 a.m. -12 p.m.
• Descripción: ¿Tienes curiosidad por saber más sobre "Youtube?" Youtube es el servicio mas popular para video en todo el mundo. ¡Únase a este programa para obtener respuestas a todas sus preguntas!

Click here to learn more about Senior Planet Montgomery and its virtual program offerings. You can also call and email the group at 240-753-0676 and mocoinfo@seniorplanet.org.