The Digital Literacy pilot program is a new initiative in the state of Kentucky hoping to demonstrate need across its initial northern KY footprint so that it can eventually spread across the central region and the entire state.

Early in the planning phases of the Digital Literacy Program plans were made to speak to the State Homemakers at KEHA and some time after that a connection was made with leadership at UK focused on gerontology which led to an opportunity to speak at the Next Best Years Conference in Fayette County.

In 3 educational sessions at the 2 events the Digital Literacy Agent was able to reach 155 individuals, all largely retirement age individuals. The KEHA events in particular gave the agent an opportunity to reach individuals from across the state.

The KEHA classes covered topics of computer hardware "need to knows" to help individuals make purchases with confidence and safely buying and selling online, and the Next Best Years conference covered the basics of Artificial Intelligence. All classes were intended to address a wide variety of topics, casting a wide net to build awareness of and demonstrate the utility of the Digital Literacy program to a wide audience.

As a result of these classes, not only did the program reach 155 individuals directly as well as indirect contacts who they hopefully tell about the program, but the results were widely positive.

Of 33 survey respondents 94% indicated that "participating in this class improved my personal skills (e.g., professionalism, communication, networking, and time management skills)" and 97% indicated that "participating in this class improved my skills in using my computer, tablet, or phone." These positive results indicate that the programs currently constructed is able to accomplish its goals of upskilling and raising the confidence level of older adults in relation to technology use.