Teaching Technology to

SeniorsTips for preparing and Presenting computer

classes for older adultsRoseAleta Laurell

What Kinds of training are you

currently providing?

Essential skills for training seniors

•Patience•Patience•Patience•Respect

Getting Mentally Ready

Rules for Classes

Three Rules

1. Ask stupid questions

2. Cheat 3. Make Mistakes

“If in an educational situation, an adult’s

experience is ignored, not valued, not made use

of, it is not just the experience that is being

rejected, it is the person.”

~Malcolm Knowles~

Learning Styles and Needs

• Auditory

• Visual

• Tactile or Kinesthetic

What are the Fruits of Your Learning/Personality Style? Inventory

Developed by Dr. Linda Karges-Bone

Physical Issues facing seniors

• Vision• Hearing• Mobility especially arthritic

hands• Mental acuity• Resistance to learning new

things

• Maybe Most important thing to remember is:

• this really is hard stuff

Why Bother?Because Seniors are:

•Smart•Motivated

•Committed •Excited

•Tenacious•GRATEFUL

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=117174371637369

Preparation and Planning•Set Schedule

•Develop Curriculum•Prepare Handouts

•Equipment •Evaluations

•Publicity•Rewards and Recognitions

Set ScheduleConsiderations:

•Time of day•What day or days•Length of class•Number of students•Class room set up

Develop Curriculum

Considerations:•What to teach•Developing exercises and practice•Effective demonstrations•Hands on practice

•Prepare Handouts Considerations:

Type Size Format for Handouts Writing InstructionsCover only one topic

Type the address of the person to send message to

in this box.Type the subject of the email in this

box.Type any message you want to send in

this large area.

A really bad handout

Click here to go to

mail.

Type Your User Name Here. This

Must be correct!

•Equipment Considerations:

•What you need•Student needs•Classroom setup•Assistive software

What Open Source Software to use

• OpenOffice• AVG anti-virus• SpyBot• Skype• Facebook• Gmail• Yahoo mail

Assistive Hardware

Computers built for seniors

http://www.aplusseniorcomputer.com/

http://www.thegocomputer.com/

Evaluations

Considerations:A test (Oh NO!)Student progressEffectiveness of training methodsReporting

WebJunction.org Public Access Computing Technology Competencies The WebJunction Competency Index

California Library Assn. Tech Core Competencies for CA Library WorkersWestern Council Core CompetenciesThe Pioneer Library System competencies

Online survey tools: http://zoomerang.com http://surveymonkey.com TechAtlas by WebJunction.org

Judging the competencies of your group

Publicity

Considerations:

• Who is your audience?• Where to reach your audience

• Outlets

Rewards and Recognitions

Considerations:Celebrate successCertificatesPartiesOfficial recognitions

It’s Show Time! Now What?Presenting the class

Thank you to Stephanie Gerding, author of “The Accidental Technology Trainer. “

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