Love the convenience of Alexa, Siri, and Google, but not the oversharing? Learn the good uses of smart speakers and the simple settings that help keep your conversations private.
Smart speakers and voice assistants can be genuinely useful: setting reminders, calling family hands-free, controlling lights, playing music, getting weather alerts, and more. But they also come with privacy settings that most people never check.
In this practical, senior-friendly workshop, we’ll cover:
What “wake words” really do and when audio may go to the cloud
How to use the physical mic-mute (your real privacy power switch)
How to audit microphone permissions on smartphones
Helpful routines you can use safely (timers, reminders, emergency calling, smart home basics)
A simple quarterly “privacy check-up” routine so settings don’t drift after updates
You’ll leave with a printed checklist and a clear “do-this-first” protocol you can use at home.
Professor Emeritus Donald (Don) Grossman is a University of Florida pioneer in adaptive technology who helped develop early computer access tools for students with disabilities, including speech output and large-print solutions. Trained in architectural engineering, he later earned a PhD in Education and focused his career on accessible computing.
| Mon, Mar 30 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Tue, Mar 31 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Wed, Apr 01 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Thu, Apr 02 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Fri, Apr 03 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Sat, Apr 04 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Sun, Apr 05 | Closed |
