Teaching Tech Skills with Hamilton Families

Hamilton Families case manager and digital literacy participant handing off laptop as part of the Community Tech Network classes.

Community Tech Network • October 7, 2021 • By Anna Beth Lane

Back in April, CTN began a partnership with Hamilton Families to provide digital literacy training to over 200 adult clients. We started with virtual classes, teaching 16 participants in English and Spanish. While these initial sessions were a great success, we were excited to train our learners face-to-masked-face in small in-person groups over the summer.

CTN instructors Carlos and Jannette tackled the Spanish-speaking cohort at Hamilton’s Tenderloin location, Shelter, while Josie and Paolo worked with the English-speaking group at Hamilton’s Transitional Housing location. This round of classes was conducted for intermediate-level learners in small cohorts of six. Moving beyond the basics, instructors covered Chromebook navigation, internet safety, job searching, resume writing, Google Docs, and Google Drive. Classes took place twice a week in the evenings, allowing the group to quickly work through the curriculum.

Shifting from in-person to remote training over the pandemic was certainly a challenge. We had to rethink how to conduct group classes, adjust our curriculums, and ensure that every participant could join the initial classes before training began. Though we will continue to offer remote training, the in-person classes were a welcome and refreshing change. Instructors could better engage with learners, quickly answer questions, and provide one-on-one help to those who needed it. The Hamilton Families site staff was a great help in setting up the classroom, providing Spanish translation as needed, and keeping a few students’ children busy during class.

“While some students were new to using a laptop, others were more experienced but eager to improve specific skills like job search and resume writing,” reflects CTN program manager Josie Boyle. “In-person instruction makes it much easier to provide support to a mixed-level group, and it was such a pleasure to be back in the classroom!”

Many thanks to everyone who made these in-person classes possible — we are excited for more to come!