Free Online Classes For Montgomery County Seniors: Dec. 7-11

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 Dec. 7 to 11, participants will learn how to contact lawmakers online and initiate a Zoom video conferencing call.

Courses are also offered in Spanish.

Take a look:

Advanced Care Planning

• When: Monday, Dec. 7, 2:30-3:30 p.m.
• Description: Join a special discussion group on Advanced Care Planning. Learn from academics and practitioners on new digital tools. Regional Director Shivali Haribhakti will moderate a panel using frequently asked questions on Advanced Care Planning.

Contacting Your Lawmakers

• When: Friday, Dec. 11, 11 a.m.-noon
• Description: Causes (formerly Countable) is a non-partisan website and app devoted to making the government more understandable. This lecture will introduce Causes and demonstrate how to use it to identify Congressional representatives and senators and send them messages about issues that matter.

All Things Zoom

• When: Friday, Dec. 11, 2-3 p.m.
• Description: Lecture will go over how to use Zoom to chat with friends and family, and how to take virtual classes with Senior Planet. Learn useful Zoom features on an iOS, Android or Windows devices and important security considerations.

Clases en Español:

Iluminación y bombillas inteligentes (Smart Bulbs)

• Cuando: Lunes, 7 de Diciembre, 11 a.m.-noon
• Descripción: ¿Abrumada sobre las opciones de bombillas disponibles? Esta presentación le dará una revisión de términos frecuentes de la iluminación como vatios y lúmenes watts y explicará las diferencias entre los muchos tipos de bombillas que están en el mercado. Usted aprenderá cuál bombilla ofrece lo más en términos de eficacia de energía que le ayudará a reducir su factura de utilidad. Adicionalmente, exploramos los beneficios de las bombillas inteligentes e iluminación inteligente y cómo pueden ser controlados con aplicaciones y centros de hogar inteligente como Alexa y Google Home.

Tech Talk: Cómo Usar el Zoom

• Cuando: Miércoles, 9 de Diciembre, 11 a.m.- noon
• Descripción: Únase a este programa para una orientación, preguntas y respuestas sobre el uso del software de videoconferencia Zoom como participante. ¡Aprenda las funciones disponibles para chatear por video con amigos y familiares, y tome clases virtuales con Senior Planet! Zoom funciona con los sistemas operativos iOS, Android y Windows. Puede utilizar Zoom en su navegador o puede descargar la aplicación en sus dispositivos. No necesita una cuenta de Zoom para unirse a una llamada o chatear. Este programa está diseñado para usuarios principiantes de Zoom.

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.