The TechEdConnect Difference
Introduction
We are a registered, non-profit, 501(c)(3) technology organization located in Westchester County, New York. Our goal is to increase the technology knowledge of our members and our community.
Our activities include monthly General Meetings and over a dozen workshops each month. One of these workshops is Westchester PC-Renew where our members refurbish donated computers and provide them free of charge to the community via other non-profit organizations.
Our Mission
Over the last decade, computers have become thoroughly accepted as a fact of life. Today, people know that all vocational skills will inevitably be intertwined with the computer. In the current environment, TechEdConnect® has become an oasis for increasing numbers of adults seeking to improve their computer literacy, often from scratch. Even though every child is now expected to learn these skills early on, many adults and seniors, are still entering the computer environment, anxious and confused.
Although they are increasingly necessary, computers are very complex systems and can be most daunting. They can be very difficult to learn, operate and maintain. In fact, it's important to understand that no single person can possibly know everything about computers. There are hardware specialists, software specialists, applications specialists, programmers, software engineers, system architects, and networking specialists -- just to name a few of the many specialization categories in the personal computer environment.
Enter a typical "Barnes & Noble" bookstore and look for the "Computer" section. You'll find that the assortment of books written to aid in the learning of computer related subjects consumes upward of 500 linear feet of bookshelf space., a tenth of a mile in length. A profound resource for the vast technology resident in today's personal computer.
In brief, TechEdConnect's mission is to raise the public's level of literacy about computers, smart devices, and other technologies. Critical, is the concept that we learn best when we're among others committed to learning the same subject. Members help one another. The sharing of knowledge and insights creates a synergy, reinforcing, and accelerating the learning process.
Our Meetings
The hybrid General Meetings are held at the Scarsdale (NY) Public Library and on Zoom. General Meetings start at 7:00 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month. These meetings start with a Q&A session on any topic that attendees may have, our experts reply to these questions, followed by general announcements of interest to our organization. The second hour is our featured presentation scheduled for that evening, usually with a guest speaker.
WE HAVE EARNED THE TRUST
We are proud to have been the recipient of multiple awards from APCUG (the Association of Personal Computer User Groups), a worldwide organization, of which we are a member.
Our Benefits
Our History
The Westchester PC Users Group began in early 1981, at the dawn of personal computer age, as an informal gathering of experienced and novice users eager to keep up with the rapidly expanding microcomputer industry. Regularly scheduled monthly meetings began in 1982; the first officers were elected in 1983; and the first newsletter issued in 1984. The Group incorporated as a not-for-profit educational organization in 1985.
In the beginning, computers were large, costly, systems available only to the very largest companies who could afford to purchase, maintain, and operate them. Most applications had to be programmed individually to meet the needs of each firm. By the late '70's, IBM, Kaypro, Commodore, and Tandy, were developing the first personal computers for the consumer market place. Soon, people across the country, who believed that the PC could improve their productivity and the quality of their lives, were becoming attracted to this emerging technology.
Westchester County was especially significant, because it was the location of the T. J. Watson Research Center, IBM's premier research facility in Yorktown Heights. And, so it was that, during the early '80's, a small group of PC enthusiasts, aware of the potential inherent in this new medium, joined to form the Westchester PC Users Group. By 1986, WPCUG had 40 members, and held monthly meetings at the Scarsdale Public Library. Membership has grown since then.
Originally, WPCUG membership consisted largely of advanced users who met with fellow aficionados, programmers, and consultants, at monthly meetings where they kept up-to date with advancing technology and exchanged information. Since then our goals changed considerably, and the organization did more outreach to non-techies.
In 2022, WPCUG adopted the new name TechEdConnect, to better reflect its evolving mission.
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