Digital Resources

FREE ONLINE CLASSES

• The National Digital Equity Center, located in Wiscasset, offers free, online digital literacy classes to Maine residents. Here is a link to a list of classes ranging from Introduction to Microsoft Work, iPhone Basics, or Understanding Cloud Systems. Some libraries and other locations offer NDEC classes on-site. Contact your local library for more information. 

• OATS/Senior Planet, associated with AARP, offers free online classes of all kinds from digital literacy to yoga to drumming

GENERAL INFO

Want to know the difference between HTTP and HTTPS? Confused about what is a URL or an IP Address?:  Check out 20 Internet Terms for Beginners

Broadband 101 is a one-pager on broadband terminology. 

Internet Speeds to Meet Your Needs is a one-pager from Education Superhighway that provides a guide to speeds needed for various sizes of households and uses.

FRAUD AND SCAM PREVENTION RESOURCES 

• The Kennebec Broadband Partnership offers free, in-person workshops on avoiding fraud and scams. The presentation is from an AARP-trained Fraud Fighter. Presentations are for community groups, libraries, age-friendly groups, and others who want to learn how to avoid being scammed. Contact hlipson@growsmartmaine.org for more information and to schedule your group’s presentation.  

• AARP Fraud Watch Network has free resources to help you avoid fraud including signing up for alerts, a reporting phone number, and networking opportunities.  

• Looking for resources in Spanish? Go to www.aarp.org/fraude

• The Maine Attorney General’s Office also has a page listing helpful fraud prevention tips and scam tactics to watch out for online.

• VASAFE.gov is a new website and call center to protect veterans, service members, and their families from fraud and scams. You can also call 833-388-7233 for more information.

• The Federal Trade Commission has tips and advice on online privacy and security, ranging from how to safely dispose of a computer and purge its contents, to mobile payments, malware, and more. 

• Fraud and Scam Basics from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

• StopThinkConnect.org has a multilingual checklist for online internet safety and security.

• “Banks never ask that” Take a bank scam quiz and see if each situation is legit or a scam:  https://www.banksneveraskthat.com/scam-quiz/

• How to Avoid an Online Scam from the National Council on Aging. 

• What is a Scam? And many other resources from Legal Services for Maine Elders. 

LOW-COST COMPUTERS

• Give IT Get IT in Waterville is a nonprofit electronics recycling company that provides affordable, reconditioned laptops and desktops. Individuals, nonprofits, and libraries can apply for reduced-cost devices.  

• Kennebec Broadband Partnership Free Device Program offers income-eligible applicants the opportunity to receive a free refurbished laptop or desktop computer. 

LIFELINE: DISCOUNTED INTERNET, PHONE

Though the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is no longer available, those seeking cost savings on Internet access and/or phone bills can apply for Lifeline, which could save you up to $120 a year. You may qualify if you participate in SNAP, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, Federal Public Housing Assistance, Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit, and/or have an income at 135% of the federal poverty level.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

• For anyone seeking support technology, tools, and resources to enable independent living for those living with a disability, Maine CITE has resources available. 

• The Iris Network has resources available for those with vision impairment or blindness.

TEST YOUR SPEED

Curious about your internet speed? Take this simple test to help define and advance broadband infrastructure improvement throughout Maine.

Organizational Partners

GrowSmart Maine works in partnership with other organizations to achieve our goal of expanding broadband access and increasing digital equity. 

Maine Broadband Coalition  Maine Broadband Coalition (MBC) is a network of public policy wonks, educational advocates, businesses, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and individuals who care deeply about Maine’s digital future. MBC believes in the power of community-driven broadband planning, evidence-based policymaking, and multi-organizational collaboration to enable reliable, accessible, and affordable high-speed internet for everyone. GrowSmart Maine is a member of MBC and serves as the organization’s fiscal sponsor. Join their mailing list and join in the weekly “Let’s Talk Broadband.” 

Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) Established in 2021, MCA is a quasi-governmental agency charged with achieving universal access to affordable high-speed broadband in Maine. MCA focuses on projects, places, and people, to expand access to reliable, high-speed, and affordable internet service statewide to advance digital opportunity for all people in Maine. MCA supports GrowSmart Maine’s Regional and Wabanaki Broadband Partner.  

National Digital Inclusion Alliance advances digital equity at the national level by supporting community programs and equipping policymakers to act. 

National Telecommunications and Information Administration, located within the Department of Commerce, is the Executive Branch agency that is responsible by law for advising the President on telecommunications and information policy issues. NTIA’s programs and policymaking focus on expanding broadband Internet access and adoption in America.

Institute for Local Self Reliance: Community Broadband Networks, promotes locally rooted and democratically accountable broadband networks that provide fast, affordable, and reliable internet for all Americans. This site has links to many articles, recordings, charts, graphs, and fact sheets relating to broadband.

For Further Reading: Broadband and Digital Equity Articles

“More Broadband, Less Sprawl” GrowSmart Maine Webinar:

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb-Y2R3aue0&t=2s

Broadband is Good, Spawl is Not, but GrowSmart Maine CEO Nancy Smith: (April 2021)

https://www.pressherald.com/2021/04/22/commentary-broadband-is-good-sprawl-is-not-how-can-maine-have-one-without-the-other/?auth0Authentication=true

A profile of Peggy Schaffer in The Daily Yonder. She is the retired director of ConnectMaine Authority.  (September 2023) https://dailyyonder.com/a-rural-calling-peggy-schaffer/2023/10/25/

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is winding down. An article by Sean Gonsalves of the Institute for Local Self Reliance and what it means to consumers and the effort to find sustainable funding for this program.  (January 2024) https://communitynets.org/content/fcc-and-broadband-providers-prepare-acp-wind-down

Maine Broadband Action Plan and Digital Equity Plan https://www.maineconnectivity.org/digital-equity  (scroll down for links to both plans)

America Has a Digital Skills Gap. Libraries Can Help Fix It. A still timely story from 2019 in The Atlantic about how libraries are uniquely positioned to help close the digital divide. https://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/grow-google-2019/america-has-digital-skills-gap-libraries-can-help/3091/

Learn more about broadband initiatives and programs: