When digital education starts with connection

Tom Clements walked into Porter County Aging and Community Services looking for a tutor to help him with his phone and computer. The 81-year-old walked out with information about an upcoming Purdue Extension Digital Skills Lessons class only three blocks from his home. 

Curious, he showed up for his first class on May 21, Using a Smart Phone or Tablet, which was led by community development educator Gina Avila. 

"Gina impressed me as a good teacher, and I benefited huge amounts from the class,” Clements said. “I hadn’t used my computer for many years after I retired from business, and I was afraid of it.” 

Now Tom has taken as many classes with Avila as he can and has encouraged his friends to attend as well. 

Extension’s Digital Skills Lessons fill in the digital education gaps in Indiana communities, where everything from medical patient portals to grocery store coupons now relies on technology. 

Offering individualized support 

Digital Skill Lessons, which are part of Purdue Extension’s digital education initiative, offer programs on 13 topics, ranging from computer basics to internet safety to navigating Zoom.  

“Anyone can teach these skills, but what sets this program apart is the Extension educators who have the patience to walk people through their questions and the flexibility to adapt to individual needs,” said community development educator Cheyanne Geideman. 

She explained that many participants don’t have family or friends who are willing to teach them, or people may not have any close connections to a tech-savvy person. Extension creates an environment where anyone can ask their questions and gain greater digital confidence. 

Avila has noticed an increasing need for these classes in her community and others across the state. 

“We live in a very digital society, and it's accelerating. People are having a hard time keeping up,” she said.  

Improving lives one class at a time 

Avila and Geideman agree that participants leave the classes with tools to overcome obstacles and connect with the world around them. 

One woman in Geideman’s class wanted help connecting her hearing aids to her smartphone. In just a few minutes, Geideman showed her how she could connect them and control the settings without taking them off. The woman was excited for the new skill but even more excited for how much easier it would be to travel with family. 

In another class focused on computer basics, Geideman recalls one participant who wanted to learn digital skills to explore a different career path. 

“She was prepared and even brought her own laptop. She had recently had a back injury and recognized that the best way for her to work moving forward would be an office job that's not going to put strain on her back,” Geideman said. 

Gaining a seat at the table through collaboration 

Avila got involved in the Digital Transformation Team two years ago. When she joined the team, Purdue Extension was still building the foundations of programming for digital skills education. 

In 2024, Avila and a handful of other Purdue Extension educators went to an Advancing Digital Access training hosted by the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) and learned about the digital skills curriculum they had developed. After conversations with extension educators in other states and with the Purdue Center for Regional Development, Purdue Extension stepped in to continue developing SRDC’s curriculum and bring it to Indiana residents.  

Geideman, who was working for the Purdue Center for Regional Development at the time, was “the missing puzzle piece,” according to Avila, for the Digital Transformation Team. With experience working on Indiana’s Digital Equity Plan, Geideman joined the Digital Transformation Team and accepted a role as an Extension educator in early 2025. It wasn’t long before Avila and Geideman were co-leading the team and creating a plan to expand programming across the state. 

Today, the Digital Transformation Team has 11 members that represent all four Extension program areas, and more than 50 Purdue Extension educators have been trained to lead digital education programs. 

“We’re getting to a place where people are calling us asking about opportunities,” Avila said. “We're making connections in communities, at conferences, and with educators from other land grant institutions that are working in digital skills. We’re at the table now.” 

Expanding to meet new needs 

With increasing interest across the state, the Digital Transformation Team partnering to deliver new content. The most recent partnership is with AARP and Older Adults Technology Services to offer Senior Planet, a curriculum with over 100 topics designed for people over 65. The team also plans to adapt materials from Purdue AI Bytes and MESA to offer more education about AI and online risks for youth.

“Technology moves so fast, we have a hard time keeping pace while also meeting all of our responsibilities as Extension educators,” Avila explained. Partnering with other organizations allows educators to share new information quicker and spend more time working directly with community members. “Being in the land-grant university network, we're able to leverage each other's resources and continue to scale and grow.” 

A full list of digital education offerings and upcoming events can be found here.