FREE Technology Classes.
Friends Village has partnered with Senior Planet from AARP to help older adults use technology to learn new skills, save money, get in shape, and make new friends. Classes are intended for adults age 60 and over. Register below to join the Friends Village community in person and learn how you can stay connected!
Friends Village Styer Campus | 331 Lower Dolington Road, Newtown, PA 18940 | (215)968-3346
All classes are scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays 11am to 12:15pm
Though not required, participants are encouraged to sign up for all classes to receive a well rounded review of some of today’s most commonly used technology
NEED HELP SETTING UP A GMAIL ADDRESS?
Contact the Senior Planet Hotline at 888-713-3495.
Cloud Storage, Monday, February 2nd
In this lecture, you’ll learn the basics of cloud storage — a technology that lets you store documents, images, and other media files remotely while giving you greater accessibility, reliability, and protection for your important data. We’ll discuss what it is, why it’s the future of data storage, and demonstrate a few of the most popular services currently available to consumers. Goodbye floppy discs and USB drives! Learn about cloud storage options that save your files remotely.
Google Workspace, Wednesday, February 4th
Curious about the free tools from Google? Learn about some of Google's most popular productivity tools that are for personal use, as well as work-related ones. This lecture will introduce Docs, Sheets, Slides, Photos, and Drive. We'll explore some practical and creative uses and demonstrate how to make the most out of Google's many free templates.
Introduction to Smartphone Photography, Monday, February 9th
Interested in learning more about your smartphone camera? In this lecture, we'll discuss common camera icons on Android and iPhone devices, simple editing tools, managing and sharing your photos, and editing date and location details on your phone. We'll also go over how to check your camera settings so that it can scan QR codes.
Google Photos, Wednesday, February 11th
Google Photos is one of the most popular photo sharing and cloud storage platforms. This hands-on workshop explores some of the basic features of the Google Photos app and will walk you through the steps of backing up your photos on your smartphone or mobile device to Google Photos. You'll also learn how to create an album and share it.
Prerequisites: You must have a Gmail address. Bring your Gmail username and password and be ready to sign in during the workshop.
Introduction to Photo Editing Tools, Monday, February 16th
Blurry vacation photos? Random people in the background? Come learn about photo editing tools and how they can enhance your photos! In this lecture, you’ll get an overview of what photo editing tools can do as well as an introduction to easy-to-use photo editing apps. You’ll be on your way to "photoshopping" with these popular free apps!
Sharing Photos with a Smartphone, Wednesday, February 18th
In this hands-on workshop you will practice several ways to share photos with a smartphone. Learn how to share photos via text messages and email directly from your phone. The workshop will also go over how to share photos on social media apps like Facebook and X.
Prerequisites: To participate in this workshop, you must bring your own smartphone. Workshop materials will include step-by-step instructions for iPhones and Samsung phones.
Exploring and Downloading Apps, Monday, February 23rd
During this hands-on workshop, you'll learn how to search for and download apps to your smartphone. Whether you have an iPhone or an Android phone, we'll explore both app stores and cover some helpful considerations for choosing apps. You'll also learn how to uninstall apps and how to adjust some important app settings.
Pre-requisites: Participants should bring their smartphone to class. Please note that this workshop focuses on downloading apps on your smartphone and will not cover every smartphone question.
YouTube, Wednesday, February 25th
You may associate YouTube with silly videos of cats, but it’s much more than that. Every day, people around the world watch more than 1 billion hours of video, including classic movies, how-to videos, news clips, and more. This presentation will give an overview of the free content available on YouTube and show you how to navigate the site with ease. You’ll also get tips for viewing and sharing others’ videos and learn about uploading your own.
Watching Videos on YouTube (Web Browser), Monday, March 2nd
During this hands-on workshop, we'll explore YouTube, the popular video-sharing site. You'll learn how to search for videos that you like, use the video controls, subscribe to channels, and more! We will also cover some important account settings.
Emoji’s, GIF’s, and more! Wednesday, March 4th
In this lecture we’ll review what some of the most common emojis mean, where to find them on your smartphone keyboard, and when to use them. We’ll also cover how to create an avatar using Bitmoji and Memoji. GIFs and Memes are additional ways to add some color to your communications, so we’ll demonstrate where to find and create those as well!
Gmail Tips and Tricks, Monday, March 9th
Go beyond sending and receiving with this hands-on workshop about Gmail features! This workshop will cover important features like spellcheck, formatting emails, searching your inbox, adding a signature, and attaching files. The session will combine demonstration and hands on practice, so that you’ll have plenty of opportunities to ask questions and try out these features. Please note that this session will not go over how to sign up for a Gmail address.
Prerequisites: You must have a Gmail address and should be comfortable sending and receiving emails. Bring your Gmail username and password and be ready to sign in during the workshop.
Using Google Drive, Wednesday, March 11th
If you have a Gmail address, you have access to free cloud storage through Google Drive! With this cloud storage service, you can store many types of files and access them from any device with an internet connection. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll create and upload folders to Drive and organize your files within folders. We’ll also go over sharing folders with others.
Prerequisites: You must have a Gmail address and be somewhat comfortable navigating the internet. Bring your Gmail username and password and be ready to sign in during the workshop.
Registration is required. Class size is limited.