At BridgingApps, we place high value on keeping our clients and followers updated. As summer moves toward autumn and the second half of 2024 picks up speed, our August blog posts will highlight “Program Update” reports from BridgingApps team members.
Today’s post is written by Walter Prescher, our Digital Navigator in the Brazos Valley area. Walter is an Army Veteran, pastor, and specialist in getting rural areas connected.
Promoting Affordable Connectivity: The Latest Developments
This year our Digital Navigator program went through some unexpected changes with the end of the government’s Affordable Connectivity Program. Without that benefit as part of our assistance package, we have had to focus more on training and device distribution. Our primary goal remains the same: assist as many people as possible in gaining access to affordable internet and in understanding broadband consumer labels, while also learning skills to get the most from digital access.
We continue working regularly with clients: through one-on-one meetings, and through weekly events at the VA Clinic in College Station and the American Legion Post in Bryan. (We have plans to further expand the weekly programs in September.) A Digital Navigator who regularly interacts with the public has the most opportunities to share digital skills and other assistance. Even brief encounters at an event are often enough to help clients get past fears of accessing technology.
The most common assistance requests I get are related to concerns about internet safety, especially passwords:
- “How do I create a secure password?”
- “How do I change my password?”
- “I changed my password, and now I can’t remember it!”
Changed and lost passwords are a regular challenge: many people have difficulty finding a password that is secure enough to be hacker-resistant (and hard for other humans to guess on their own), but still easy to remember. I usually advise forgetting about complicated random-character passwords, and creating something from a string of words that have personal meaning to you, with a few numbers and symbols interspersed. [See Walter’s comments in “Cybersecurity 101: Special Disability Concerns.”]
Do You Really Know What Your Device Can Do?
The second major area we focus on is explaining the nature of personal devices, and how to make them work better for us. Every device now has accessibility settings that customize to the user’s needs: the problem is that most people don’t understand where these settings are, or how to use them. We regularly walk clients through, demonstrating how to make each device a helpful tool rather than a source of frustration.
Finally, we emphasize continued education for the general public—and for policymakers. I have been interviewed by a variety of nonprofits, and also national media, about the need for increased digital equity in rural, low-income, and disabled populations. It’s always a welcome opportunity to share personal experiences and client stories, reaching out to digital-equity leaders and lawmakers, explaining the impact of legislation and how it relates to universal-access needs.
For additional information on digital literacy training, see BridgingApps’ Digital Navigator Services page.