Amidst the increasing use of technology and changing educational delivery methods, Shelley Meyer (FCS), Jessica Sayre (HORT), Jessica Barnes (ANR), and Shannon Farrell (4-H) joined forces to offer a Technology Tuesday series for clientele of Harrison County. University specialists, agents, and extension staff are becoming more dependent on electronic means of disseminating information. Email, Facebook, and Zoom are the more widely used virtual formats. While many clientele are tech savvy and very capable of utilizing these platforms, there are portions of the population where electronic literacy is limited and could therefore be a hinderance in participation of programs offered. To combat that challenge, the 3 series “Technology Tuesday” was offered in the month of March 2022 for three consecutive Tuesdays. Each Tuesday was focused on a separate virtual platform and was offered at 2 separate times that day.

There were a total of 8 participants; 3 of which attended all three weeks. At the conclusion of the first two meetings, participants learned to utilize a QR code that would access a Qualtrics survey link. During the 3^rd session, the Qualtrics link was posted in the Zoom chat for participants to access and answer.

In all three sessions of the Technology Tuesday series, survey results indicated an increased knowledge and increased comfort level with all topics that were covered.  In the Email session we discussed email account set-up, “how to” functions within the email platform, how to use email on a mobile phone as well as a laptop/desktop computer, and how to attach documents.  One participant indicated that her favorite part about the class was “learning about emails by actually doing it”.  

The second session’s focus was on Facebook.  Everyone that attended the session already had a Facebook account, so we focused on the following topics: setting up a Facebook profile, how to make a Facebook post, how to change your password, privacy settings, and how to navigate the different functions within the app.  Of those surveyed, 88% indicated they learned a lot or a great deal from the session.  

The final session of the series was how to use Zoom.  Participants had very little to no experience using Zoom.  The topics covered included: connection to Zoom on the computer or phone, using the chat box, using Zoom features during a session, muting yourself, and using the camera.  Survey results showed that 75% of individuals had an increase in knowledge level.   Comparing comfort level of using Zoom before the class and after the class, most participants moved from extremely uncomfortable to somewhat comfortable/extremely comfortable in all topics.  When asked what their favorite part of the class was, survey participants said: “changing background”, “learning new stuff”, “I had never used zoom, so I learned a lot”.

Additional wrap up questions were asked at the start of the following meeting such as, “Those who attended last week, did you practice anything you learned this past week?” Responses that were collected included:

“I learned how to get rid of my old email, and I have been getting rid of those junk emails!”

“My husband and I are starting a business, so I am trying to sharpen my technology skills. Thanks for offering these helpful classes.”

“I had a Facebook account set up, but I did not remember how to access it or get it added to my cell phone or laptop. Thank you all for connecting my devices and for showing me how to navigate Facebook. Now I can follow Cooperative Extension programs through Facebook notifications.”