Joann is a participant in our Digital Dividends program at East Boston Senior Center. Born and raised in Lawrence, MA, she was the second youngest of nine. Her father worked in the mills, while her mom stayed home to raise the children. Joann attended an all-French high school in Lawrence before becoming a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and working at the Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea. Following her mother’s footsteps, she chose to stay home and raise her four children. Today she is a proud grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of seven.
I first met Joann in the summer, she would stop in and say hi to her friends participating in the summer Digital Dividends program. When we began our fall program, I was incredibly happy to walk into the classroom and see that Joann was one of the students. It was nice to see a familiar face. Joann is an eager student, always coming to class ready to learn. She even told me that her granddaughter helped her find a website to help improve her typing skills and that she was working on that outside of class. Joann was such an asset to our class this past semester, she is a social butterfly which made the class feel welcoming, and often helped those around her with the material.
I asked her what specific topics she enjoyed learning, and she mentioned AI (artificial intelligence) and Zoom. Joann told me she likes AI because it gives you information back in seconds. She discussed how AI is interesting, and she is eager to see how it will evolve. Joann agrees there are many pros to AI, but also mentions cons and concerns for its use. In the classroom setting, she shared how students may rely on AI to complete papers and discussed issues like AI -generated photos and voice impersonation.
Joann also mentioned how learning about Zoom was beneficial to her because she attends many town hall meetings online. These meetings discuss things like giving teachers and schools more money, and building a new fire station, and Zoom allows Joann to receive the information firsthand.
When I asked her how her experience has been with LBFE her response was nothing but positive. She said that she has been recommending this class to all her friends. Joann shared how she never thought she would take this class at her age and that older people should not be afraid to try different things. She thinks that the Digital Dividends program is such a fantastic opportunity and appreciates the patience and support she received from everyone involved.
Written by Mackenzie Shoniker, LBFE Boston Program Coordinator and Co-Op from Northeastern University