Accessing and effectively using online tools to accomplish a variety of important tasks is becoming more and more of a necessity. Whether it’s keeping in touch with family and friends via phone, email, chat or video conferencing; contacting and making appointments with medical providers; depositing checks with an online banking app, paying bills, ordering groceries, watching a movie or many other important activities, being able to use our digital devices to log onto the internet, search for what we need, while interacting effectively and safely online has become essential to daily life.

As the largest and one of the most rural New England states, Mainers face many challenges when it comes to accessing reliable high-speed internet. Long distances between signal sources, the absence or prohibitively high cost of cables, trees blocking satellite signals and living on remote islands are all possible obstacles. Additionally, knowing what to do online and going about engaging safely can be a daunting experience for many who may be unfamiliar with today’s smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops. Fortunately there are several local and statewide organizations working together to help make this process more accessible and manageable for everyone.

BoomerTECH Adventures and Coastal Maine Regional Broadband recently held their first round of free workshops providing digital literacy training and education with the goal of helping Midcoast libraries and organizations support their clients to access and utilize high-speed internet effectively. The purpose of these “Helping The Helper” sessions was to provide library staff, volunteers, and other community support groups with resources, strategies and personal connections to better assist their clientele in understanding and making the most of their digital devices when accessing high-speed internet in their homes, libraries and communities.

The interactive hands-on workshops took place in September and October at the Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission office in Wiscasset. Topics, resources and presentations included strategies for helping clients with their technology issues and questions, advice on how to develop an effective library volunteer program, the process of wireless printing from personal and public devices, an introduction to artificial intelligence, internet safety and security, and so much more. Moreover, all of the shared resources used during the workshops can be accessed and downloaded for free at boomertechadventures.com/cmrb/.

Coastal Maine Regional Broadband is one of several regional partners of the Maine Connectivity Authority, which plays a central role in managing and funding broadband expansion projects across the state. To ensure local input and effective implementation, the MCA collaborates with local organizations, community groups and municipalities in coastal areas to identify needs and develop targeted solutions. Coastal Maine Regional Broadband is the regional partner serving Knox, Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties. It focuses on expanding high-speed internet access and education to these coastal communities.

CMRB’s mission is to promote digital equity by ensuring affordable and reliable internet access for all residents in the three-county area, regardless of socioeconomic status. Coastal Maine faces unique challenges in delivering broadband due to geography, including sparsely populated areas, rugged terrain and the presence of islands.

Their goals include making digital access a reality for people in coastal Maine by ensuring full broadband connectivity and affordability to homes and businesses, uniting people with the devices needed to connect, and encouraging training to build skills for all ages. They want a digital landscape that is sustainable and resilient so residents and visitors can conduct business, unlock educational opportunities, consult with health professionals, and communicate with each other in an equitable and impartial manner.

BoomerTECH Adventures is partnering with CMRB to help participants develop their digital expertise while modeling and encouraging compassion, honesty, fairness, respect for diversity and adherence to ethical behavior. We offer online classes through Maine Adult Education as well as workshops in collaboration with community groups looking to help Mainers thrive on and off line.

The collaboration between BoomerTECH Adventures and CRMB works to bridge Maine’s digital divide by partnering with local communities and organizations to bring reliable internet access to coastal communities by providing the support, knowledge and skills to residents, enabling them to make use of the increased capacity provided by high-speed internet service.

BoomerTECH Adventures (boomertechadventures.com) helps boomers and older adults navigate the digital world with confidence and competence. Active boomers themselves, they use their backgrounds as Maine teachers to support individuals and groups with online courses through Maine Adult Education (tinyurl.com/BTAclasses) articles, videos and presentations to organizations upon request.