Digital Literacy

Program Overview

Digital Literacy is a program of Literacy Rochester that teaches adults basic computer skills.

Trained volunteers assist individuals with operating devices, navigating the internet, and using software. The customer decides what he or she needs help with.

The program is provided for free on a drop-in basis at several locations in and around Western New York.

Digital Literacy (n):

The ability to find, create, and share information using a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

Program Highlights
Services
Customers
Digital Divide

2,911

Interactions between volunteers and customers

88%

Customers achieved their objective (e.g., learned new computer skills or became more marketable for employment)

601

Job applications submitted

New sites; more than doubling our presence in the community in the past two years

Customers created an email account to be better accessible to prospective employers, family and friends, and community groups

$153,556

The value of time donated by volunteers

Value of Volunteer Time of $30.18 Per Hour
Source: https://independentsector.org/resource/vovt_details

Customers get help with many different tasks, commonly including how to:

Operate Devices:

Use a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone
Upload a document to email or a USB drive

Use Software:

Work on Google Docs, Microsoft Word
Create a resume or cover letter

Navigate the Internet:

Search for jobs / complete job applications
Access online resources
Find a bus route
Locate community agencies or services
Set up a profile / complete online forms
Connect to friends and family
Create and access an email account
Open a savings or checking account
Submit healthcare forms / access a patient portal
Obtain school information / apply for student loans
Recover a password
And more!

Our program is intended for adults; however, we will work with individuals who are at least 16 years old.

To receive help, simply stop into a location when a Digital Literacy volunteer is scheduled to be there, head to the computer lab, and ask for what you need help with.

Digital Divide (n): the economic, educational, and social inequalities between those who have computers and online access and those who do not.

33.1% of Rochester Families and People with Income Under the Poverty Level

15.1% of Rochester households with no computing device

24% of Rochester households without a broadband Internet subscription

While smartphones are prevalent, they cannot perform all of the tasks that desktops or laptops can.

Lack of computers in homes or easy access to the internet has serious economic and social consequences. Without a computer and internet access, computer skills become much harder to acquire, and access to invaluable information, jobs and services is severely constricted.

Our Purpose

In 2013, Literacy Rochester created the Digital Literacy program.

We envision a community where everyone can readily acquire digital skills, and easily access technology and the internet.

Our mission is to narrow the digital divide by providing individuals with access to free computer help.