Technology   

You might remember that Apple announced impressive new A.I. features to their operating systems two years ago, and then, in a rare slip, failed to deliver what they had promised. This spring, Apple is finally releasing significant upgrades to “Apple Intelligence,” including much-anticipated improvements to Siri.

This class will cover these features, the new Siri, and— importantly—how to get the most from them. There is no reason to be afraid of this kind of A.I. These capabilities are game changers that will fundamentally improve (and make easier) the way in which you interact with your phone, iPad, and Mac.

Find out how easy it is to build your own website, blog, chat or webinar. Make your own site or watch how it is done. We will explore popular website builders, including use of AI tools with WIX. Learn strategies to reach your intended audience, attract visitors to your site, enhance communications through social media channels, build loyalty, and maintain your website, blog or chat. All devices are welcome, but know how to use your device well. Enjoy learning about the most important tools for Internet communications.

Want to film your life and the lives of your family and friends? You can use the camera on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or an action camera like a GoPro. Learn how to shoot, edit, and enhance videos on each device, when it is best to use which one, filming techniques, smartphone video apps, useful accessories, plus creating scripts, background music, voice narration, editing tools, and AI as a tool to do and edit videos. Discover how to connect your work to other devices, achieve the best video quality, frame rates.

Bring your charged device to each class.

Prerequisite: Experience using your devices.

don’t know how to get started using it? Join this class and choose from popular free apps like; WhatsApp, LinkedIn, YouTube, Uber, Google Maps, Eventbrite, or AI apps like Canva, IoT, Invideo AI, Bluesky, Gemini, Llama, Copilot. Many are part of the social media environment. Or you could learn about gifs, memes, or how to navigate the huge selection on Amazon, the App Store, or Google Play Store. This hands-on class helps you practice using the apps you choose. You can learn on all devices and platforms, including computers or mobile devices. Bring a charged mobile device to class.

What to buy, when should you buy new devices, and basic usage of devices like iPhones and iPads. This class is for beginning users or students who may be interested in purchasing Apple devices.

iPads are available for classroom use

Class will be for beginners who want to learn how to use this Artificial Intelligence technology in everyday life. Focus will be on Apple devices. Bring your iPhone or iPad. iPads are available for classroom use.

Learn all about e mail and how to use Apple mail. New features allow you to look at multiple e mail addresses in one app. Bring your questions and sample tasks. iPads are available for classroom use.

CSULB, HS&D, rm 101 / Hyflex
It’s one thing to conjecture how AI may affect humanity at some future time, but it’s another to see how AI is being used right now. Louise Soe, who has taught several OLLI classes about what AI may do, has invited speakers who are dealing with the challenges of AI at work right now. In this class, you will learn how the City of Long Beach’s Smart City Initiative is managing the trade-offs between digital technologies that provide services and improve efficiency and public safety, with individual data privacy, when those technologies collect images and other individual data. A CSULB professor will describe her experience leading citizen “data walks” during which she discussed these smart technologies and gathered citizen reactions--and her current efforts to resolve these trade-offs. You’ll hear about the challenges faced by a high school teacher of AP history courses with heavy writing components. The CSULB librarian in charge of digital literacy and ethics will talk about preparing students to deal with digital privacy and the ethical use of chatbots. Two CSULB professors who received CSU grants to develop AI tools for classroom and teaching will describe and demonstrate their projects. Should be a lively class, so be prepared to listen and ask questions.

It happens every year; our iPhones get a new operating system.

Now it's iOS 26, and here are some of its features. It has a new look called Liquid Glass that makes apps and menus look translucent, animates wallpaper, and a has 3-D effect on some photos. Functional changes include call screening on the phone app to foil those pesky unknown callers, live language translation in phone calls, Messages and FaceTime, having boarding passes in Wallet, being able to change the background in Messages, and the new Visited Places feature in the Maps app that help you remember favorite locations. And much more, of course.

It's an exciting time to have a smartphone. But every year there are more features, and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all the changes. Learn about many iPhone features and services ranging from phone care to the current Apple AI, how to manage your email, messages, and contacts, and the different ways you can personalize your iPhone.

We’ll cover how to stay safe or private when you are using your phone, how to edit and organize all the photos you’ve taken, how to take advantage of the iPhone’s health features and much more.

OPEN TECH LAB - FREE

Come to the Tech Lab and check out the computers and software. (Windows 11, Mac iOS, Chrome OS / ChromeBook and Linux) Talk technology with Wes Peck who can help with explaining the functions of a Mac or PC. We're also looking for volunteers to assist others with devices / phones or Pads.

Come visit and take advantage of using the Lab computers for any project you might have.

Send an email with your questions to olli@ csulb.edu

It’s easy to visit web sites and use apps in ways that jeopardize your privacy and security. By default, most web sites and social media accounts scatter your digital data in ways that you may not even realize and that will certainly come to haunt you later. “They already have all of my information; there’s nothing I can do” is not the answer!

This short class will introduce you to some internet fundamentals and will teach you how to turn off those trackers. You’ll learn how to discover what web site owners already know about you and how you can purge the data that they have collected.

Struggling with your passwords? Modern computing devices offer builtin, free, secure, and private password management tools that eliminate the hassle of manually managing them.

Using those tools protects your data from malware attacks and prevents you from accidentally providing your passwords to fraudulent websites. This class will walk you through getting your passwords in order, including making them impossibleto- guess and making them meaningfully unique on every account you have. We’ll also spend time on passkeys—what they are, how they differ from passwords, and how to create and use them (and if you should) when they’re offered by an online account provider.