Marylanders Online 2024 Year in Review
2024 Program Highlights
Tech Support Helpline
Marylanders Online’s team of dedicated digital navigators handled 18,159 calls in 2024 - a 198% increase in call volume from the previous year. 9% of callers requested bilingual assistance. In response to an influx of calls citing issues with Chromebook devices, Marylanders Online digital navigators started offering Chromebook support appointments and developed a four-part instructional Chromebook OS recovery video series to enhance to help users troubleshoot this error independently.
Digital Navigator Training
To support digital literacy at a localized level, Marylanders Online partnered to offer 33 Digital Navigator trainings to develop community-based digital navigation programs. In partnership with the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), the program facilitated 4 free, virtual digital navigation trainings that had 341 attendees throughout the four sessions.
Added to the 30 digital navigation training hours from the Talk, Text, and Train series and the 60 training hours from the Pratt Adventure & Beyond cohort, Marylanders Online facilitated the training of 211 digital navigators through a total of 1,113 training hours in 2024.
Tech Education
Leaning into strategic partnerships developed with community-based anchor institutions, Marylanders Online has developed a robust network of 181 partners at county, statewide, and national levels. The result of these strategic collaborations is the growing and continued success of culturally and regionally relevant digital programming that meets the needs of traditionally harder-to-reach communities. In 2024, Tech Educators supported 14,134 individuals through 224 digital skills classes and 177 community events.
Training & Conferences
The second annual Maryland Statewide Digital Equity Summit at the National Federation of the Blind attracted 160 digital inclusion advocates from Maryland and beyond to address best practices and collaborative strategies in digital equity.
The 2024 Cultivating Innovation in Maryland's Agriculture and Technology Conference in Annapolis received 74 attendees and had 13 presenters, and 11 sponsors. 17 attendees applied for Nutrient Management CEUs and/or Pesticide Application CEUs.
The Digital Equity Webinar Series was attended by 492 individuals, averaging 50 participants per session. Webinar topics explored anchor institutions, AI, and digital inclusion for individuals with disabilities. The recordings are available on YouTube.
Resource Development
The Marylanders Online curriculum team in partnership with the UMD College of Information has curated 636 resources, including 499 self-guided Get Help Resources to connect learners with free training and tutorials and 137 Give Help Resources for anyone interested in helping others build their digital literacy.
eGovernment Resources
Collaborative efforts between UME Marylanders Online and INFO produced a collection of learner-centric eGovernment resources, which received publicity from MarylandToday, INFO, and UME. The eGov website pages had nearly 15,000 views in 2024 and may serve as a replicable model for other states aiming to advance digital equity
Asset Mapping Maryland
Marylanders Online is leading a comprehensive asset mapping initiative to promote digital inclusion across the state by leveraging the sharing of community resources. 314 resources have been aggregated into the map.
Post ACP Broadband Support
When the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) concluded in 2024, Marylanders Online published resources and information for finding alternative internet service provider options. Partnering with Penn State Extension, Marylanders Online developed the Maryland Broadband Navigator tool. UME is the first institution outside of Penn State to implement this tool, which is available to the public at no cost and funded by The Rockefeller Foundation.
Print & Digital Communications
In 2024, the Marylanders Online website had 30,907 users and a 165% increase in page views. The website had a total of 95,841 page views and 43,158 sessions. 14% of all website page views were for the Schedule an Appointment at the Department of Motor Vehicles resource, demonstrating that Marylanders Online has become a trusted source for finding information about eGovernment services.
Marylanders Online was also credited in the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development report, Insights from the 2023 Northeast Digital Equity Summit: A Report on the Role of Extension Programs. This report explores the capacities and opportunities that land-grant universities have in the advancement of digital equity.
To support the findings and research presented at the 2024 Cultivating Innovation in Maryland’s Agriculture and Technology Conference, UME partnered with the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) Precision Agriculture Lab to produce a fact sheet addressing the importance of digital privacy and security in farming operations.
2024 Reflections
Marylanders Online extends gratitude to program staff, community members, partners, funders, and all contributors for their pivotal roles in the numerous accomplishments achieved in 2024. These digital literacy initiatives and partnerships have laid a strong foundation for Maryland's digital future, empowering present and future generations to thrive in an increasingly connected world. Read the full report.
