After a 1.5-year pause, on Thursday 7/22 we finally held our first in-person tech clinic at the Talbot County Free Library. This time, instead of the cozy Frederick Douglass meeting room, we had the big main meeting room. The side of the room we were at had a full wall of computer-generated art work done by Easton High School students, and one of the students was introducing his work to a gentleman. “A rising star” is what I heard.
While we only made two new friends this time, an old friend of ours came by to say hi and be our moral support. How nice is that! Just like before, people came with an anxious face and a tech problem (or multiple tech problems), and would leave with a big smile and gratitude. Most of the time we can help people solve their problems with a little bit of help from Google. But sometimes, we just couldn’t figure out how certain things work. Even then, we had a lot of fun trying and digging together. When you brainstorm together in a relaxing environment, it is stimulating and inspiring. And we all realized that solving technology problems over video chat can be very difficult, if not impossible sometimes. How are we going to find out that an app a lady is looking for is tucked away in a folder on her iPhone? We also tested a USB cable connection on three different laptops. These were just a couple of the things we did on Thursday.
Although everyone was still wearing a mask out of an abundance of precaution - the laughs, the physical touch on devices, and eye contact cannot be replaced by a screen. The value of what we do increases by the interactions that we have with one another. As a bonus for us, we always learn something new from talking to different people. Mita and I ended up learning about Ada Lovelace, and the various adults’ and children’s programs at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
We thank everyone that has showed up this time and in our previous sessions. People thank us for helping them, but we want them to know that it is them that make us happy. The honors are truly ours. Because of them, we had yet another wonderful time. Now we look forward to meeting YOU next time.
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