We're Growing Our Team!

The University of Maryland Extension is seeking more great people to join our team. Bilingual and statewide positions are available. Please email for additional information.

The Marylanders Online team is also seeking a postdoctoral researcher starting in January 2024, focused broadly on issues of digital equity and digital literacy. This position will work on a state-funded project, Marylanders Online, a collaborative project between the University of Maryland Extension and the College of Information Studies. The postdoctoral researcher will design studies, collect and analyze data, and implement research-based solutions to sustainably educate Marylanders in digital literacy skills for work, learning, and essential everyday needs.  Best consideration date: Nov 30, 2023. Learn more.

October Call Volume

The Marylanders Online helpline received 1,290 calls in the month of October. The team also supported eleven digital skills trainings, eight ACP events, and four device distribution events throughout the state.

Busy in Baltimore City

Throughout the fall, Baltimore City Tech Educator Blaise Brennan has been offering a series of computer basics through job searching online training sessions for women at the Marian House. October saw an outreach event at the Digital Equity Resource Fair hosted by Baltimore City IT (BCIT) and Enoch Pratt Free Library at the Southeast Anchor Branch. Read the press release.

Marylanders Online has also partnered with the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) at Pleasant View Gardens by providing tech support to residents at the community center's computer lab, and leading interactive computer basics workshops.

An ACP informational session and technical assistance workshop was supported by UME and NPower at St. Mary's Outreach Center, a walk-in resource center for seniors, which answered attendees' questions about their smartphone or tablet devices. Additional sessions will be held throughout November and December.

A Snapshot of Southern Maryland

St. Mary’s Department of IT wrapped up a busy month of hosting 17 local events at which 4,500 HP Chromebooks were distributed to county residents. UME Tech Educator Maria Barga supported St. Mary’s County Public Library and St. Mary’s Department of Aging and Human Services by providing additional workshops and educational assistance to county residents in lieu of the device distributions. Each event offered not only a device, but support with device setup, information about Marylanders Online, service providers, and the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

Charles County Department of Community Services distributed 500 HP Chromebooks through 23 events to county residents with the help of Charles County Office of Aging, Charles County Public Library, and UME Marylanders Online. Each event went above and beyond what was expected by distributing laptop cases and information about the ACP, in addition to offering workshops and technical support in English and Spanish.

UME extends a special thanks to our Southern Maryland partners:

• Bob Kelly and the St. Mary’s Department of IT
• St. Mary's Public Library staff: Michael Blackwell, Amy Dickenson, Amy Ford, Denise Varela, AM Dillon
• Ashley Teagle of Southern Maryland Regional Library Association
• St. Mary’s Office Of Aging and Human Services staff: Brandy Tulley, Candice Nelson, and Kathleen Creswell
• Charles County Department of Community Services staff Dina M. Barclay, Sapreen Khalaifeh, Laura Gustafson, and Doria Fleisher
• Charles County Department of Aging and Human Services staff: Debbie Butler-Penny, Ruth S. Anderson-Cole, Julie Hammonds, Fredina James, Elizabeth Phipps
• Charles County Public Library staff: Ariana Shanks, Kenneth Wayne Thompson, Lloyd Jansen, Ivette Marcucci, DauVeen Walker, Julianna Hieb, Daniel Rheingrover, Cecelia Thomas, and Sara Margiotta

The UME INFO Marylanders Online research and curriculum team presented in the breakout session, “Learner-Centered and Community-Driven Digital Skills Training: What’s Next in Designing Digital Skills Education," at the 2023 Maryland Statewide Digital Equity Summit on November 9. Ph.D. candidates Alison Harding and Jane Behre shared results from their statewide stakeholder digital needs assessment and Marylanders needs interview study, with Dr. Mega Subramaniam moderating.

Session panelists included Regina Paige, Manager of Internal IT Training, and Candice Zhu, Chief of Digital Transformation with Enoch Pratt Free Library and Maryland State Library Resource Center, as well as Jane Hager, Maryland Accessible Telecommunications (MAT) Specialist with Telecommunications Access of Maryland of the Maryland Department of Disabilities. The panelists reflected on how their respective organizations interpreted the study's results within the context of the communities they work with and discuss how these results may influence how they serve their communities. View the session slide deck.

The UME Marylanders Online curriculum team from the College of Information Studies has been hard at work developing a repository for digital literacy resources, programming ideas, and lesson plans to support digital literacy providers throughout the state. The team is working under the supervision of Dr. Mega Subramaniam, Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty at INFO.

“By including the voice of digital literacy providers and Marylanders obtained through survey, interviews, and design sessions, our team has worked on curating digital literacy resources and curriculum and developing customized resources from scratch that best meets Marylanders needs," shares Dr. Subramaniam. Read more.

Uhjin Sim

Instructional Designer

Uhjin is an instructional designer with the University of Maryland Extension who has years of experience designing learner-centered, innovative learning experiences. Uniquely adept at bridging the gap between theory and practice, Uhjin creates research-informed, evidence-based learning activities and course content that are engaging for all learners in forms of online, hybrid, and in-person. Uhjin works collaboratively with subject matter experts and a variety of external stakeholders to conceptualize and storyboard effective learning design solutions for digital literacy and digital navigation skills.

Uhjin holds a Master's degree in Learning Engineering from Boston College Lynch School, as well as a Bachelor's in Education and English Education from Korea University. In her free time, she likes to read classic books, cook Korean fusion food, and explore cute local cafes with her friends.

We are thankful to have Unjin's expertise and positivity on the team!

Talk Text Train Sessions

Tuesdays and Thursdays

October through December

Join Marylanders Online and Maryland Accessible Telecommunications (MAT) for the interactive Talk, Text, Train virtual training series, designed to bring people together and foster meaningful conversations and skill building around accessible technology.

ACP Event

Event details: Click here

Date: Saturday, December 2nd

Time: 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Location: Olney Library

3500 Olney Laytonsville Road, Olney

All Maryland residents are invited to read the State’s draft Digital Equity Plan​ to share their feedback and recommendations. Maryland’s Digital Equity Plan will serve as the state roadmap to achieve digital equity over the next five years. Comments should be submitted via email to OSB.DE@maryland.gov by 11:59 p.m. on December 2, 2023. Read it here.

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Public Notice Posting of State and Territory BEAD and Digital Equity Plans/Proposals | BroadbandUSA.

Maryland governor announces $69 million in federal funds for affordable internet access. (October 16, 2023). DC News Now | Washington, DC.

FACT SHEET: President Biden Issues Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. (October 30, 2023). The White House.

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Weibe, A. University of New Hampshire Partners with Extension Foundation for USDA-NIFA’s $3.4M New Technologies for Ag Extension Award. (October 26, 2023). Connect.