Digital Skills Instruction

Introduction to Technology Series – Each course will be held twice for increased availability. This series was funded by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute at the MassTech Collaborative under the Municipal Digital Equity Implementation Program. Funding was provided by Massachusetts ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Funds.

Drop-in Tech Help – Teen Space – No registration required

Tuesdays, August 4 and 11  from 3:30-6:00 pm

Thursdays, August 6 and 13 from 2:00-4:00 pm

Do you have a few quick questions about technology? Would you like to learn how to use apps like Libby or Kanopy? Drop in and speak with Charlton Library’s Digital Skills Instructor and get the specific support you need. If you will need more than 15 minutes of tech help, please make a one-on-one appointment. 

One-on-One Tech Help – Local History Room – Registration required

Wednesday, August 5 or 12 at 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 3:00 pm or 4:00 pm
Thursday, August 6 or 13 at 4:00 or 5:00 pm

Do you have a more complicated question than we can cover during Drop-in Tech Help? Would you like to learn some basic email or internet skills? Make a one-on-one appointment with the Charlton Library’s Digital Skills Instructor for up to 60 minutes of dedicated support. 

*We cannot assist with setting up a new device; fixing/restoring/repairing a broken or infected device, app, or email account; entering sensitive information for you (e.g., credit card information, social security number, online banking, etc.); keyboarding, typing, or proofreading documents. We cannot provide medical, legal, or business advice or opinions.

AI Image Generators
Monday, August 3 at 12:30—2:00 PM– Local History Room- Registration required
Do you envision something in your mind’s eye but struggle to bring it to life? There’s an AI tool for that! This lecture will explain how artificial intelligence can turn your words into stunning realistic and imaginative images in seconds. We’ll demonstrate an AI image generator and the wide range of visual and artistic styles it can produce. You’ll also learn tips for getting the most out of this new and exciting technology so you can get started! This is for people ages 60 and up. This Senior Planet from AARP class is being offered through the Senior Planet licensing program.

Staying on Schedule Using Calendar and Reminders
Tuesday, August 4 at 12:30-1:30 pm– Community Meeting Room – Registration required
Discover how to use the Calendar and Reminders apps to keep track of appointments, tasks, and daily routines. You’ll learn how to add events, set reminders, create lists, and even use Siri to help you stay on schedule with ease.

Tidying Up Your Google Drive
Tuesday, August 4 at 2:30-3:30 pm OR Thursday, August 6 from 6:00-7:00 pm
Local History Room – Registration required
Feeling overwhelmed by files in your Google Drive? This beginner-friendly class will show you how to bring order to your digital storage. Learn how to create and organize folders, move files into the right places, and use color-coding to quickly identify important folders. By the end of the session, you’ll have practical strategies to keep your Google Drive neat, easy to navigate, and simple to maintain. Perfect for anyone who wants to save time and find their files faster.

Tidying up your Gmail
Tuesday, August 4 at 6:00-7:00 pm OR Wednesday, August 5 at 10:30-11:30 am
Local History Room – Registration required
Is your inbox overflowing with unread messages, promotions, and clutter? Join us for this beginner-friendly workshop on tidying up your Gmail! You’ll learn simple, practical tools to organize your inbox, delete unwanted emails in bulk, unsubscribe from mailing lists, create folders and filters, and take control of your email once and for all. Whether you’re aiming for “Inbox Zero” or just want to find important messages faster, this session will help you feel more confident and organized online.

Organize Your Photos Without Feeling Overwhelmed
Tuesday, August 4 at 6:00-7:30 pm– Community Meeting Room – Registration appreciated
Most people have thousands of photos stored in boxes, albums, computers, and phones. While these images capture meaningful memories, the sheer quantity can make organizing them feel daunting. ​​In this presentation, Susan McCarthy shares a practical approach to sorting and organizing both printed and digital photographs. Participants learn how to focus on preserving the photos that best tell their story while letting go of duplicates and unnecessary images. Simple organizing strategies make it easier to store, find, and enjoy photographs again. Attendees receive a downloadable handout with additional ideas for continuing the process at home.

Visual Identity & Accessibility
Tuesday, August 4 at 6:00-7:30 pm– Dexter Hall – Registration appreciated
This is the fourth part of a six part beginner-friendly workshop series designed to help small business owners and entrepreneurs build a professional, safe, and effective digital presence. Participants will learn practical digital skills including branding, websites, AI tools, online visibility, cybersecurity awareness, and social media integration.
Learn the fundamentals of creating a cohesive and accessible visual brand. Topics Include: Purpose of a visual identity, Common DIY branding mistakes, Logos versus full visual identity systems, Introduction to accessibility best practices, Choosing fonts & colors and Visual consistency.

Digital Art for Beginners: Exploring the Procreate App for ages 8-12
Wednesday, August 5 at 10:30-11:30 am -Community Meeting Room – Registration required
In this class, we cover the basics of creating art in Procreate, the most popular digital art app for the iPad. We cover various features in the app, such as using different brushes, blending colors, and importing photos to work from. This class is for youth ages 8-12.

Digital Art for Beginners: Exploring the Procreate App for ages 13-19
Wednesday, August 5 at 12:30-1:30 pm -Community Meeting Room – Registration required
In this class, we cover the basics of creating art in Procreate, the most popular digital art app for the iPad. We cover various features in the app, such as using different brushes, blending colors, and importing photos to work from. This class is for youth ages 13-19

Wait, is That Real?: Exploring Truth, Trust, and Safety in the AI Era

Open to ages 13 and up
Friday, August 7 at 2:00-4:00 pm – Community Meeting Room- registration required
Think you can spot what’s real and what’s AI-made? Put your sleuthing skills to the test in this interactive and family-friendly workshop presented by Joint Family! Through hands-on activities, we’ll see how easy it is to create AI-generated images, voices, and videos and how hard it’s becoming to tell the difference. Together we’ll explore emerging trends in deepfakes and AI-generated content, real-world case studies of scams and misinformation, and practical strategies for protecting ourselves, our families, and our communities. No prior experience with AI necessary. Bring someone you trust – a friend, a grandparent, a neighbor!

AI Voice & Video Generators
Monday, August 10 at 12:30-2:00 pm – Local History Room – Registration required
Have you heard about voice-cloning, digital avatars, or text-to-video? This lecture will explain how artificial intelligence programs can turn scripts and even just ideas/a few sentences into realistic voices and videos in a matter of minutes. We’ll explore AI voice and video generators, their common features, and the wide range of content they can produce. You’ll also learn tips and considerations for using these tools so you can get started! This is for people ages 60 and up. This Senior Planet from AARP class is being offered through the Senior Planet licensing program.

Staying in Touch Using Phone, Messages, and FaceTime
Tuesday, August 11 at 12:30-1:30 pm – Community Meeting Room – Registration required
This class focuses on using the iPhone and iPad to stay in touch with friends and loved ones. We learn about sending texts in Messages, managing contacts in Phone, and setting up video calls in FaceTime. We also learn to use Siri to make calls and send messages.

Creating a Budget Tracker through Google Sheets
Tuesday, August 11 at 2:30-3:30 pm OR Thursday, August 13 at 6:00-7:00 pm
Local History Room – Registration required
Take control of your finances with this beginner-friendly workshop designed to help you build a fully functional budget tracker using Google Sheets. Whether you’re new to spreadsheets or just starting your personal finance journey, this workshop will guide you step-by-step through creating a simple, organized, and customizable budgeting system. You’ll learn how to set up income and expense categories, use basic formulas to automate calculations, and design a clean, easy-to-use layout. By the end of the course, you’ll have your own personalized budget tracker that helps you monitor spending, identify savings opportunities, and make more informed financial decisions. No prior experience with spreadsheets is required—just a willingness to learn and a desire to better manage your money.

Email Features
Tuesday, August 11 at 6:00-7:00 pm OR Wednesday, August 12 at 10:30-11:30 am
Local History Room – Registration required
Learn the essential skills to use email confidently and safely in this beginner-friendly workshop. Participants will explore common features found across all email platforms, including sending messages, adding attachments, creating signatures, and setting up away messages. The session will also cover how to recognize and avoid spam and phishing emails, helping you protect your personal information online. Perfect for beginners or anyone looking to build stronger digital communication skills, this workshop includes guided instruction and hands-on practice in a supportive environment.

Websites and Online Presence
Tuesday, August 11 at 6:00-7:30 pm – Dexter Hall – Registration appreciated
This is the fifth part of a six part beginner-friendly workshop series designed to help small business owners and entrepreneurs build a professional, safe, and effective digital presence. Participants will learn practical digital skills including branding, websites, AI tools, online visibility, cybersecurity awareness, and social media integration. Learn how to plan an effective and user-friendly business website. Topics Include: What makes a successful small business website, Website build options, Mobile-first design practices, Sitemaps and wireframing, Effective calls to action, Beginner SEO and AEO and search visibility basics, Contact forms, FAQs and booking integrations and Domain ownership and website hosting

You, Me and AI: Exploring Mental Health, Connections, and Boundaries
Wednesday, August 12, 2:00-4:00 pm – Community Meeting Room – registration required
What happens when AI becomes a friend, a tutor, a therapist, a co-worker? Come find out in this hands-on workshop led by Joint Family. In this session, we’ll test the limitations and capabilities of popular AI tools and how they’re quietly reshaping the way we connect with technology and each other. We’ll explore the support gaps they’re filling, where we need to draw boundaries and why real world human connections matter more than ever. No prior experience with AI necessary. Open to ages 18 and up.

Using the Google Gemini App
Monday, August 17 at 12:30-2:00 pm -Local History Room- Registration required
In this hands-on workshop, we’ll practice chatting with Google Gemini using the mobile app. We’ll go over tips for writing effective questions, or prompts, as well as different use cases, from drafting emails to travel planning. We’ll also practice using the app’s voice features, including Gemini Live. Finally, we’ll explore the privacy settings and discuss best practices to ensure you can use the app safely and confidently. This is for people ages 60 and up. This Senior Planet from AARP class is being offered through the Senior Planet licensing program.

Using the iPhone for Health and Emergencies
Tuesday, August 18 at 12:30—1:30 pm -Community Meeting Room – Registration required
In this class, we explore how the iPhone can help in different emergency situations and offer insight into our health. We learn how to set up emergency contacts, use the SOS feature, turn on voice activation, and use the Health app to find patterns and changes in our physical health.

Organize Your Digital Files So You Can Find Things Again
Tuesday, August 18 at 6:00-7:30 pm -Community Meeting Room – Registration appreciated
Computers, phones, and tablets make it easy to store information—but without a clear system, digital files can quickly become difficult to find. Documents, downloads, photos, and email messages accumulate until searching for something becomes frustrating. ​This non-technical presentation focuses on simple ways to organize digital information so it’s easier to locate when needed. Susan McCarthy shares practical strategies for managing files, organizing folders, handling email, and saving useful information online. Participants learn techniques that can be applied to almost any device or operating system. A downloadable handout provides additional ideas for organizing digital information at home.

Connecting Your Digital Ecosystem
Tuesday, August 18 at 6:00-7:30 pm– Dexter Hall – Registration required
This is the last part of a six part beginner-friendly workshop series designed to help small business owners and entrepreneurs build a professional, safe, and effective digital presence. Participants will learn practical digital skills including branding, websites, AI tools, online visibility, cybersecurity awareness, and social media integration. Learn how to connect your website, Google presence, and social media platforms into a cohesive digital strategy. Topics Include: Setting up and optimizing Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram best practices, town pages, Interlinking, and connecting websites and social media accounts, Basic content planning strategies, Understanding analytics and meaningful metrics, Identifying fake engagement and social media scams and Maintaining consistency across digital platforms.

Creating an AI Agent with Gemini
Monday, August 24, 12:30-2:00 pm – Local History Room – registration required
In this hands-on workshop, we’ll introduce Google Gemini’s version of a custom AI agent, known as a gem. We’ll explore Gemini’s premade gems that can help with writing, learning, brainstorming, and more. Then, you’ll learn how to create a new gem from scratch for your specialized requests. We’ll also cover tips and best practices for testing, refining, and using gems. Please note that you must have your Google (Gmail) username and password to sign in to Gemini. This session is designed for people who are already somewhat familiar with AI chatbots. This is for people ages 60 and up. This Senior Planet from AARP class is being offered through the Senior Planet licensing program.

iPhone Essentials: Control Center and Files
Tuesday, August 25 at 12:30—1:30 pm -Community Meeting Room – Registration required
This class covers essential features included in the iPhone and iPad. We learn to use tools such as a flashlight, timer, calculator, and alarm. We also explore the Files app, where we can scan documents and organize files.

This project was funded by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute at the MassTech Collaborative under the Municipal Digital Equity Implementation Program. Funding was provided by Massachusetts ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Funds.