Northstar Digital Literacy
Our online, instructor-guided Northstar training is designed to help adults learn computer skills or refresh their existing skills. We supplement Northstar’s online resources with live classes led by our experienced instructors. Learners can earn resume-ready certificates on key skills with free online testing.
Digital Literacy
Our Digital Literacy course focuses on teaching practical, basic skills that help students use their PC for daily school and home tasks. These computer classes include four 2-hour sessions for beginners:
- Computer Basics (Windows 10)
- Office Programs and Productivity (LibreOffice)
- Internet Basics
- Social Media
We offer these classes for free on Monday evenings at our office for ages 18+. We also welcome groups from community organizations. Participants who attend all four classes will receive a free, refurbished desktop computer system.
See our upcoming classes.
Looking for computer classes for your organization or group? Contact Marshall Burkes for information.
Digital Literacy in the Community
Our Community Education & Access program is based on Kramden Institute’s unique ability to provide both computers and proven digital literacy education. This comprehensive program provides participants from underserved communities with several sessions of digital literacy training and free laptop computers.
We partner with funders, municipalities, and community groups to identify participants and host classes. Our partners include: Coastal Credit Union, Durham Housing Authority, Raleigh Housing Authority, Town of Chapel Hill Public Housing, StepUp Ministry of Raleigh, East Durham Children’s Initiative, Boys and Girls Clubs of Wake County, Boys and Girls Club of Durham and Orange Counties, Ahoskie Housing Authority, Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club in Durham, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle, Town of Navassa, and Communities in Schools of Wake County.
Camps
We offer immersive, hands-on creative technology spring and summer camps. Our camps include Game Design, Build a PC, Digital Creativity, Electronics, Coding Basics, and more.
See our upcoming camps.
Afterschool Programs
We offer two unique and exciting afterschool programs for middle and high school students.
Tech Trailblazers is an afterschool computer technology education program. It’s designed for students in grades 6 – 9 who want to learn more about computers and explore careers in technology but don’t have access to a computer of their own. Students receive both classroom and hands-on training on computer hardware, software, and networking and the Internet. During the program, students build their own desktop computer to take home. This program is free. We run this program in conjunction with local schools and community groups.
Game Design Lab is an afterschool program for grades 6-8 that teaches programming concepts and teamwork as students design and code games. The program teaches computational thinking, introduces programming terminology and methods, and lets students explore how their creative ideas can be coded into enjoyable, sharable games. Guest speakers talk about entry points into the software development and gaming industry and a game release party lets participants how off their games to friends and family. Game Design Lab is held in the spring and fall either at Kramden or in cooperation with local schools.
Tech Topics
Special online and in-person classes led by our instructors or expert volunteers on technology topics.
Past workshops have included Internet safety for families, Google Drive and Docs, digital creativity workshops (Photo Editing, Art and Animation, Sound Mixing and Editing, and Video Editing Basics), Internet security and privacy, introductions to free apps and services, Home Networking and Security, and a series on learning advanced Windows 10 features.
See our upcoming Tech Topics classes.
