Seven Bangladeshi women in the Bronx learned basic Zoom functions during a beginner class taught in Bengali and English. Sapna NYC offers three levels of computer classes teaching Zoom, Gmail setup, attaching documents, calendar reminders, and spreadsheet formulas. Students use skills for family communication, organizing catering businesses, and applying for benefits like low-cost Metro Cards. Advocates say digital literacy helps immigrants find higher-paid, safer work, communicate with employers using translation apps and ChatGPT, and use GPS to accept jobs with confidence. Program demand is high, with 40 students on a wait list for the next level.
"We should always stay mute until our turn to talk," instructor Sakib Shikder told the class.
"It's a vital tool that can transform and improve their lives and help them negotiate better wages," said Ligia Guallpa, executive director of the Worker's Justice Project, which is training domestic workers on tech skills.
"We have been teaching how to use chatGPT to respond to their employers in a professional way," Guallpa said. She said others "feel comfortable accepting certain jobs because now they have a GPS and they know how to use GPS to get there easily without getting lost."
"Sapna NYC, a nonprofit aimed at empowering South Asian immigrant women, offers classes on how to use Zoom, set up a Gmail account, attach a document to an email and use calendar reminders."
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