A student gets instruction recently at The Living Well Network Computer Lounge in Cambridge’s Agassiz area.

People over 50 who find themselves on the wrong side of the “digital divide” are invited to The Living Well Network Computer Lounge on Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. for alternating “open lounges” and free labs and classes — starting next week with a class on online banking and shopping, followed by a May 18 course on successful PowerPoint presentations.

Past classes have covered social media, Microsoft Excel, an introduction to Apple iTunes and the history of computers.

“There isn’t a place in Cambridge where older community members can get this type of casual computer-related attention,” said Colin Barr, Computer Lounge coordinator for The Living Well Network, part of the Agassiz Baldwin Community. “This is a unique space and a real gem for our community.”

Adults 65 and over saw the steepest rise in Internet use between 2000 and 2009, to 38 percent of people in that age group going online from around 14 percent, according to the Pew Research Center. U.S. adults ages 50 to 64 saw a slightly less dramatic increase, to 70 percent from just below 50 percent.

The lounge offers a space for community members to share resources and information, socialize and participate in computer and Internet-related activities, Barr said. It encourages participants to learn in a relaxed environment, complete with refreshments, in the company of their peers.

The lounge is in the Agassiz Baldwin Community’s North Hall Community Room, 1651 Massachusetts Ave. Participants can bring their own laptops or make use of the lounge’s Macintosh and PC computers, printer, scanner and other devices.

For information, go to agassiz.org.

This post was written mainly from a press release.