Cafe members were greeted this week with our new Computer Lab! Three new Acer Chromebase 24 computers are now available for member use during the days when we are open. Members can sign up for 30 minute sessions to work on the machines.

With these stations up and running, members are now able to find current information on resources, such as housing, health care, and employment, as well as check their email and messages, and work on other web-based applications.

Staff and volunteers can help those without email accounts set one up using gmail, or other free services. We’re recommending that members do all their work using Google Drive, to keep their documents stored in the cloud, and be able to access them from any computer, anywhere.

Star volunteer, Frank San Miguel, was invaluable in helping us select the Acer Chromebases, and getting the computer lab set up properly. Frank is now helping us move on to Phase II, which will be a set of laptop computers to be used as a “mobile classroom.”

The mobile classroom will be able to be set up in any of our rooms for instruction in computer basics, or to be used in other classes as needed. One Circle facilitator has already come up with an idea for a journaling class using the laptops.

The cost of both the Computer Lab and the Mobile Classroom will each be reimbursed to RCSJ through a technology grant we received from the County of Santa Clara.