Computer Training for Senior Citizens

Society Business and Career
1

So in my bid to give back to the community and make a buck while at it, i have been toying with this idea for a bit and i need some educated minds’ opinions on this.

I want to train senior citizens on how to become comfortable using computers with basic things such as, but not limited to:

  • Make an email address, learn how to send and recieve emails and keep in touch with loved ones.
  • Learn to distinguish spam from legit emails.
  • Use MS Office (Word, Excel to create / edit documents)
  • Browse the internet effectively and find information they’re looking for.
  • Become part of forums, online communities.
  • Search effectively via Google, etc.
  • [Insert your idea here]

The idea is to teach those people who have computer / internet access to be able to use these tools effectively without feeling like a klutz. I can see the possible drawbacks of dealing with seniors, for example a classroom full of wheelchairs and oxygen tanks etc and other similar stuff. For most people i know the biggest challenge would be to gather the patience to deal with old people. I can safely say that isnt a problem for me as i have mounds of patience teaching people computers.

Anything else that comes to mind, such as pros/cons about getting your hands dirty in this business?

2

Re: Computer Training for Senior Citizens

Cheegs,

If you're interested, you might want to contact an organization like Ontario March of Dimes. I did some consulting work for them back in the day where I went around various old age homes and other community centers to train seniors in the use of the Internet. The advantege of going through an organization like them is that you'll at least have the basic resources that you'll need when you volunteer.

I also have a colleague who's doing her Ph.D. exploring issues that affect Internet use by seniors etc. and she might have some valuable advice based on empirical evidence. I can ask her for some info or put you in touch with her if you want.

For me, the greatest difficulty initially was to get a handle on how to best explain the basic things to seniors. A lot of times, terms and language that we use in our everyday lives don't make any sense to them, so you have to keep "dumbing it down" so to say - for them to be able to make sense of something very simple on the outset. It does require a lot of patience, but the intrinsic rewards are well worth it. I still fondly remember many specific incidents from my engagement with seniors.