iPad Teaching the iPad to Seniors

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I thought that was my point!

I guess the point I'm making (or rather, the question I'm asking) is how likely is it that someone who is a "technophobe" is going to want to use an iPad?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I guess the point I'm making (or rather, the question I'm asking) is how likely is it that someone who is a "technophobe" is going to want to use an iPad?

Well, there are different levels of technophobes. I doubt my father will ever use one, but plenty of people who just aren't good with technology and in fact may be a little scared of it, will still appreciate using an iPad/technology in general.

My father's mother has a computer and is "slightly" terrified of it, but still manages to get stuff done -- even if she does call me for help in sending attachments in an email and other things.

[MeSue]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I guess the point I'm making (or rather, the question I'm asking) is how likely is it that someone who is a "technophobe" is going to want to use an iPad?

Well my MIL is a technophobe. She can deal with technology, but she is not adventurous and needs to be shown things. She loves to read, and so we gave her my old iPad when I upgraded. I gave her some lessons in Marvin, how to play her music, do crossword puzzles, and a few other things. I guarantee you that when I see her again, she will not have gone beyond any of those things I showed her. I loaded an iTunes gift card on her account to buy apps, but I know she will not have bought anything besides what I put on for her. So a class like the OP is teaching would be great for someone like her.

My neighbor who I help with techie stuff is the same way. Show her and she is okay, but she is afraid to try anything new on her own.

My mom is a little bit more adventurous, but then she gets herself into trouble sometimes and I have to bail her out. More with her computer than her iPad. It's a blessing and a curse. :-)

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by MeSue

Well my MIL is a technophobe. She can deal with technology, but she is not adventurous and needs to be shown things. She loves to read, and so we gave her my old iPad when I upgraded. I gave her some lessons in Marvin, how to play her music, do crossword puzzles, and a few other things. I guarantee you that when I see her again, she will not have gone beyond any of those things I showed her. I loaded an iTunes gift card on her account to buy apps, but I know she will not have bought anything besides what I put on for her. So a class like the OP is teaching would be great for someone like her.

My neighbor who I help with techie stuff is the same way. Show her and she is okay, but she is afraid to try anything new on her own.

My mom is a little bit more adventurous, but then she gets herself into trouble sometimes and I have to bail her out. More with her computer than her iPad. It's a blessing and a curse. :-)

When I gave my mother here iPad and my father his iPhone, I also set them up with a one on one training class at the Apple store. It helped my father tremendously.

[mXb]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

When I gave my mother here iPad and my father his iPhone, I also set them up with a one on one training class at the Apple store. It helped my father tremendously.

That's an idea, why not speak to someone at your local Apple store to see how they teach Seniors ?

[athlonkmf]

I've managed to teach my parents of 70 how to use their iPad. They got the hang of it in 5 minutes and these were the people who couldn't figure out how to play a VCR for decades (eventually had to use stickers to guide them, but that's a different story).

I've started with the golden rules (as the #1 fear of elderly is that they get lost or break the thing)
1) the round button on the screen takes you back to the tiles. No matter where you are. Even when the device is "off"
2) the arrow on the lefthandcorner (of an app) takes you back to the previous page.
3) you open a "book/video/message" with the tiles on the screen. (they pretty soon figured out which app does what)

In the beginning I've configured the ipad to be easy to use of course.
They only have 1 screen with apps. I've hidden the settings and such in a folder on a different screen.
I've disabled the passcode.
Made the "lock" appears after 4 hours.
I've changed the side witch to lock rotation and put it in portrait.

Later they've figured out the volume, lock rotation and such. They've learnt how to use facebook, imessage and facetime themselves within a week.

Once they understood that "they can't break things", they aren't afraid to experiment themselves.

They still can't install apps, or use advanced features. But then again, they only read the news, watch videos, show off the latest pics of their granddaughter, do some chatting and check on facebook. Just like 90% of the elderly population.

And they understand that if they can't connect, it's the "black box" that is broken again, because "the iPad never fails." And I have to tell them to pull the plug on their modem and reconnect it (now that excuse of a modem is on a timer and resets every night. So those emergency calls only occurs once in awhile)

(oh. now they use iPhones too. "it's like a small version of the iPad!")

[Yolina]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

but plenty of people who just aren't good with technology and in fact may be a little scared of it, will still appreciate using an iPad/technology in general.

That would be my mum - she was never good with "new tech" throughout the years, and I'm using the term loosely here - I mean a new TV or oven etc, let alone computer things - even when she was in her 30s; she's now coming up to 65 and does have an ipad. She can manage emails and browsing, but doesn't get bookmarks *at all* no matter how many times we've explained so writes down the sites that she wants to go back to; and she always keeps about a gazillion tabs open for no reason whatsoever. She's by no means stupid (she was a psychiatrist - in France at the time that was about 8 or 9 years study) and she absolutely want to try "tech" but simply doesn't get it - her brain just doesn't seem to process that kind of information

[eschwartz]

Hey, I have a gazillion tabs too!

But then again, I'm using them all.

[Yolina]

Yeah - see in her case the conversation usually goes thus:
- why do you have all these tabs?
- I don't know
- you know you can close them?
- but what if I want to go back to that page? (in a week's time or more)
- just bookmark it (show *again* how to bookmark pages and call them up)
- it's too complicated, I'll just write the site(s) down

As I've said though she's struggled with things like that for as long as I remember, so it's obviously never going to get any better The parents had their kitchen redone about a year ago and it's taken her that long to know how to use the basic functions (like set temperature and timer) of their fancy new oven without having to refer to the instructions.

[slayda]

Someone once asked how I remembered the 'long' path names I used? My reply was to ask them how they remembered how their mother looked. When you see something enough times, you remember it. Yes, young (and adventurous) people will remember better but 'You can teach an old new tricks'. It just takes more repetitions. I know - I'm 71 & still learning.

[HarryT]

How did the teaching go? Some feedback would be nice!