Montgomery County has announced that Senior Planet Montgomery is expanding its class offerings for adults aged 50+ to include social media and digital storytelling. Local classes are offered through a partnership between the County’s Department of Technology Services’ ultraMontgomery program, the County’s Department of Recreation, Montgomery County Public Libraries, and the nonprofit OATS (Older Adults Technology Services), an affiliate of AARP. The Senior Planet website articulates the purpose of the organization:

Senior Planet from AARP harnesses technology to change the way we age. Our courses, programs, and activities help seniors learn new skills, save money, get in shape, and make new friends.

According to the County’s press release:

Sessions concentrate on user-friendly tools and resources and are

designed to enable older adults to learn to utilize technologies to improve their daily lives. Senior Planet Montgomery utilizes curricula created by OATS, which also provides training staff and works with numerous County departments to identify topics of interest for Montgomery residents. OATS sponsors similar Senior Planet programming in six states. The County’s Department of Environmental Protection contributes to the program’s course offerings by producing sessions on how to lower energy costs.

During its winter and spring sessions, Senior Planet Montgomery served more than 3,000 participants in142 virtual programs. In addition to classes offered in English, select classes are offered in Mandarin.

Senior Planet Montgomery is one of six Senior Planet locations nationwide. The organization also hosts online courses that are available to seniors throughout the United States.