Meaningful Use of Applications 

Beyond basic digital skills, thriving in the digital age depends a lot on proficiency with various things that are covered by the versatile word “application.”
 
Software amplifications enormously amplify what a person can do with a computer and an internet connection, and increase the range of opportunities to which it can be the gateway. And moving up in the 21st-century economy and society often starts with filling out an application for something, such as a job, admission to a school, membership of an association or government benefits.
 
Applications in both senses are a barrier to many people. Software applications usually look inscrutable when you first open them, and applications for jobs, schools, and government benefits ask questions and sometimes require verification in ways that even tech-savvy people, let alone those with low technological aptitude, can find opaque, frustrating and discouraging.
 
Any public access computer might suddenly find itself meeting someone’s urgent need to apply for a job or a benefit, or struggle with an unfamiliar software to do taxes or prepare for a job interview. At such moments, the human touch matters a lot. A mentor can help bridge the gulf between computer interfaces and human intuition. There is, moreover, a wealth of online assistance for mastering applications, but people might need help finding it. For example:

• YouTube is a rich source of how-to and DIY videos
• Microsoft, Adobe, Atlassian and other software makers publish online learning materials
• Khan Academy offers a lot of free instructional materials, including computer coding
• edX, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, Udacity and many other edtech companies offer a rich array of instructional content to build digital skills, of which some is free, while some is paid but with financial aid options