Celebrating Digital Literacy

Experiences of Reina Bocchichio

and Kristin Caskey
East Charlotte Coalition of Neighborhoods
● First and foremost -- A tight-knit group of fun
and incredibly kind people eager to learn
● Very involved and active in their community
● Working to better themselves and their
neighbors
How We Helped:
● Set-up
○ Taking care of the computers and other equipment
○ Making sure everything was ready and connected when
members arrived
○ Keeping track of and organizing snacks/drinks
○ Cleaning up and locking up equipment after every class
● Teacher’s Assistants
○ Making sure everyone in the group was on-task
○ One-on-one assistance
○ Tech support
● New perspectives
○ Offering advice and information on certain things we have
personal experience with
■ Social media, phone apps, google docs tips
Reina’s Takeaway:
● Being the “expert” was a new experience
○ I’ve never been in an established teaching role
before
○ I had to learn how to explain myself
● Like learning a new language
○ Technology and media has always been second
nature for me because I grew up with it
○ Enlightening to see how everyone learned
● Overcoming personal inhibitions
○ I was fearful some bad habits of mine would
negatively impact my ability to help
■ Talking too fast
■ Round-about explanations
● Rewarding
Kristin’s Takeaway:
● Teaching others was challenging and
rewarding
○ Using the computer and technology is
something I do on a daily basis without much
thought, so it was challenging to explain the
process verbally to someone else
○ Extremely rewarding when they learn to do
new things and are so excited
● Enjoyed how involved in their
community they all were
○ Volunteering
○ Members of gardening clubs, etc.
○ Government petitions, hearings, etc.
The Bigger Picture
● Queens ideals: “Non ministrari sed
ministrare” -- “Yes. And…”
○ Putting our education and resources back into
society
○ I’m bettering ourselves, AND I’m helping others
● The importance of digital literacy
○ 4 years learning about the dependency society
has on the media
○ Now we get to apply that knowledge and make
an impact
The Bigger Picture
● Interpersonal communication
○ Working with people towards a common goal
○ Stepping out of my comfort zone with new
people
● Community relations
○ Big part of the communications field is
creating a good relationship with your
surrounding communities
○ Developing a strong and friendly brand
Suggestions for the Future
● Test WiFi and internet accessibility at locations in advance to avoid
issues at specific locations
○ The hotspot did not work well at the Hickory Grove Recreation Center
○ WiFi and network problems largely slowed down the class and frustrated both
instructors and participants
● Make sure the instructor and students have the same computer or
operating system
○ Participants had difficulty following along as the instructor was doing certain things
because the screens and/or menus were different
Thank you for an amazing experience, ladies!