Maybe my clients are actually becoming more computer literate or I’m getting behind the power curve myself. One of them recently bragged to me that she had finally got over her fears and actually bought something on eBay! She even signed up for PayPal and got verified. This might not be worth mentioning if she had done it as part of an assignment or program. In this case, however, she did it on her own as an intrepid explorer leaving the safe shores of email to risk fraud, identity theft, and getting on a hundred more spam lists. It took her a couple of false starts (her report – I wasn’t there) but she did it and was pleased with both the price and interaction with the seller. This is a success story. A small success by many standards, but you take the wins where you find them.
Another client has taken the bigger step and actually listed a couple of outgrown things for sale on eBay. I made a house call to help with her husband’s computer (they have a wireless LAN – very advanced for typical clients getting into things, or maybe I’m getting behind the power curve again). She was staring intently at her screen and turned to me with a little girlish smile. “There are twenty-four people watching my listing! I’ve already got one bid that exceeds my minimum. It’s exciting.”
She’s right. It is exciting. That’s why people do it. Watching these two examples of being turned on by the possibilities of Internet commerce, I realized that in my general approach I have been missing a bet. Normally I try to emphasize the fun aspects of computer literacy so that it won’t seem like all work and no play. Many of us took a big step forward in our relationship to computing when we learned how to play “Adventure” and “Space War” eons ago. To this day I suggest that Bridge players install and learn to play Bridge on their PC as a way of getting over the stage fright and simultaneously improving their mouse skills. Action-packed shoot-em-up games are not attractive to the seniors I work with. They don’t seem to care much for fantasy roleplaying games either, but chess and various card games do seem to be enjoyable. I’ve had clients dismiss my suggestions with a breezy “I don’t have time for that nonsense.” But this is balanced by clients who call me because their Bridge game froze up.
But I have only suggested that I frequently buy things on eBay and that craigslist is a good source of stuff. I have not emphasized getting involved as a way to increase computer literacy. For instance, when I give lessons on effective searching, the emphasis has been on Google et al. However, I bet that I could help seniors get up to speed on the various tricks and shortcuts of effective searching by using eBay and showing them how to home in on things they want with special requests like looking only at items within a fifty mile radius.
Then there are other lessons that can be learned from engaging in ecommerce. One of the items my client offered for sale was a used wetsuit. She said that she gets all sort of peculiar questions. While I was there, she got one from a potential buyer who asked if the wetsuit could be used in a lake or if it only worked in the ocean. That’s an example of working with the public. At the least, it is amusing, gives practice in letter writing, and can bring in some extra money.
Of course, I have clients who refuse to even consider buying thing over the Internet. They have their reasons, and I’m not being paid to argue with them. This is just another case of being flexible and modifying the tutoring program to meet the needs and desires of your clients.
I’m attempting to incorporate these suggestions and solutions in my updated tutorial on Senior Computing. You might have different ideas. If so, please let me know. If you have different techniques that work, I will try to include them in the update. For instance, in addition to problems with the keyboards, several readers have mentioned the problems seniors have using a mouse when they are hampered with arthritis. I’ve expanded that section to accommodate.
The new version will probably by 3-5 times longer than the first version and contain many more hints and anecdotal stories from the trenches. I solicit input from seniors who have recently become computer literate so that they can express in their own words what worked and what didn’t. Ideally I would also have input from computer dropouts, but that is more difficult to come by.
In the meantime, for more in-depth tips on tutoring seniors, see the complete tutorial. I also have posted a tutorial on elementary decision theory for those who might question a physician’s diagnosis (important for seniors) or anti-terrorist activities (important for everyone) but haven’t had the mental framework to analyze the data.
[tags]senior learning,computer education,sherman e. deforest,senior tutorial,power curve[/tags]