Keeping the Dream Alive

Back in the early days of Microsoft Corporation (when its name was MicroSoft) innovator Bill Gates posted his life’s goal on Micro Soft Network (MSN), “To be the richest man in the World”. Many who grew up in that era supported Mr. Gates’ ambition by subscribing to MSN even when other Internet Service Providers (ISP) were much cheaper. We purchased all of the MS-DOS operating systems including DOS-based software products,  programming languages, each of the upgrades from DOS to Windows, and the Windows-based product-line. In short, we built that city for Mr. Gates and the Microsoft Corporation.

Now that the Baby Boomer has reached retirement years at a time when the cost of living (food, transportation, accommodations and fuel) has risen, employers seek more youthful candidates to fill limited openings, interest rates are at best static (for those wishing to live off the interest of their life’s savings), and the promise of health care coverage (through Medicare and Medicaid) is threatened because of the nation’s debt crisis. Thus the typical Senior Citizen has far greater issues to contend than upgrading aging software on their legacy computers without some financial incentive. (Those legacy systems are usually discarded by their adult children and passed up to their elder parents with the instruction, “stay in touch” without any provision as to how they are to use them.) These seniors want to learn to use the ‘gift’ but initially, “don’t know how to turn the stupid thing On” much less learn to use its previously installed software that is considered ‘well beyond’ obsolete.

It is with this in mind that we created our four Computer Survival modules so that the late learner might discover how to Startup, Shutdown and negotiate the Windows Desktop using the mouse (Module One); log into and search the Internet (Module Two); create an email account with a login and secure password (Module Three); and log into a self-help  website where they can have questions answered remotely (Module Four) thus forging their independence using technology. Some of our ‘regulars’ have even begun responding [online] to questions that only a short time ago-they themselves were asking.

As an advocate to this demographic and because of their obsolete software, we would like to suggest to the Microsoft Corporation that it offer, at a discounted price, the latest copy of its Office products to each senior that completes a computer class. Medical testimonies show that seniors who keep their minds active show less health issues than those who don’t. Attending a class on productivity tools will revitalize this population and get the senior out asking questions and become more productive in their social setting  (and to further help themselves).

The advantages for Microsoft are obvious:

1. It gets products off the shelf and into the hands of a forgotten demographic.
2. It encourages another generation to learn that the computer is a tool that, “…extends the power of his imagination rather than the strength of his arm”
3. Elders have the time to learn and become proficient and report flaws—a resource that younger generations lack.
4. Provides the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) with a new mission–an education arm (not to mention countless hours of free publicity for Microsoft Corporation).

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awards large grants to children’s organizations around the world and that is fine but Bill and Melinda should not forget those individuals who bought their products and helped to make them the philanthropists they are today.

Why Do Elders Dwell on Sick?

In my youth it always frustrated me that as older relatives arrived at family gatherings they invariably began talking about the pain in their extremities, the cough that would not go away, or body fluids that would either not leave or exited unexpectedly. Some of these topics started almost immediately following the greeting, “Hi Fred, my back is giving me trouble…” and others would be interspersed with politics or over the dinner table. Why do elders dwell on sick?

The solution came to me over a breakfast meeting with a friend while sharing ‘pain’ stories. Most of the medical community is comprised of young professionals with fairly healthy lifestyles. They eat right, exercise regularly and maintain a positive mental attitude vowing to avoid the bad choices that their parents made. When I seek medical attention at the onset of a problem, the medical expert wants a  clinical history of the ailment. He wants to discuss causes while I want to talk resolutions. Its as though a cocoon forms between patient and doctor as the later starts to distance himself from the problem. There is no empathy for the malady…just standard vanilla questions trying to uncover a root cause for what they themselves have not yet encountered. Conversely, when I talk to my peers I know I am not alone because they have had the same problem or, through their involvement with senior ‘pain’ network, they know exactly what I am experiencing. So in a sense, my same-aged friends know my symptoms, its causes and what eventually works to a larger degree than my younger doctor.

Our juvenile counterparts will do essentially the same thing–only their exchanges differ in that they focus on career prospects and personal relationships (loves lost, acquired and who’s in the running, or who’s doing what to whom) using text messaging services. Both sociological groups seek consensus, compassion and continuity (although the senior-set, suffering from decreased manual dexterity. uses a more personalized, low-tech approach). Neither community should fault the other during these circumstances. An old Bob Dylan song advises, “… don’t criticize what you don’t understand for the times they are a changing”. I believe that we now understand one another!

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Solitaire—The Game That Reinforces Introductory Computer Skills

How do you teach the essential skills of working with the Windows Desktop using a ‘fun’ activity for the ‘late learner’…why not with Solitaire? What better method is there to drive this frequently used computer activity than with a game that provides a challenge to every user?

Solitaire as a ‘Learning’ Tool. The game provides an excellent technique to work on the  Click, Double-click and Drag fundamentals while improving eye-hand coordination when using the mouse. Some years ago when we wanted to teach our son typing skills on the computer we bought a touch-typing game that required him to watch the computer screen and not the keyboard. Students placed their fingers on the ‘home row’ and pressed keys in rapid succession building confidence as well as a repertoire of keystrokes.  As each new task was completed points were added to a tally giving them a sense of gratification. Each new ‘level’ required faster timed responses. The program progressed to sequences of keystrokes. Ultimately it became quicker for our son to touch type than to return to the hunt ‘n peck method to complete his assignments.

Options in Solitaire. Under Options I recommend Draw-Draw One [card at a time],  Scoring-Standard scoring and initially uncheck the Timed Game for the new user…but as the student gets used to the tasks, re-check the ‘Timed Game’. The user learns instinctively to watch the clock and improve their proficiency.

In teaching Windows mouse control…there is no better game than Solitaire! Its free with most versions of Windows in the Accessories-Games tab. As I often tell my students, ‘I am a big fan of free’-here is just one example of it!

 

“I Want to Learn to Use My Computer!”

The driving force behind tutoring at local Council on Aging (a.k.a. Senior Centers) has been this statement. Every late learner can relate to the impatient ‘other’ who has been asked to teach them what they need to know about using their computer-with the implied reply, “watch me and don’t ask any questions until I’m done”. Few have ever learned by watching someone else fingers glide over the keyboard or perform rapid mouse operations toward an obscure objective. Ours is an active generation…we learn by doing.

Teaching is not something everyone has the patience to do…it is an acquired skill. Advancing age produces less nimble fingers and fear-of-breakage results in reluctance in following directions immediately–thus educating the elder requires far more patience than with its youth. Unless you have the desire to bring others along at their own pace…the learning experience will be bad for both parties. The scar of ‘failure’ is etched into the mind of the student while ‘unteachable’ resounds for the teacher reducing the likelihood that subsequent attempts will occur.

Successful learning outcomes are rewarded by a confidence not previously attained and the guarantee to return to learn more or to find the elusive ‘short-cut’. Retirees are at a time in their lives where they have an opportunity to learn and reinforce new skills given the appropriate guidance. They finally have the time to become proficient in a new or relearned skill.  As with any other lesson in life it is important to find a supportive environment where you can ask questions and get sincere responses from those who know or are willing to explore the question cooperatively. This is the educational philosophy of the KMG Consulting Group. Under the logo ‘College of Technical Knowledge’ students review a brief tutorial [booklet] and follow step-by-step instructions–producing one or two learned tasks. In the Introductory series are a sequence of four classes that takes a student methodologically from 1. ‘Starting Up the Computer’ to 2. ‘Working with the Desktop’ to 3. ‘Effectively Using the Internet & Creating an Email Account’ to 4. ‘Joining And  Logging Into A Supportive Online Help Site’ in about four-hours time. Having successfully achieved these four steps the student can graduate to an intermediate level with a moderate degree of independence.

Not Your Daddy’s Senior Citizen

The senior citizen in the third millennium does not cower away from new technologies but embraces them. These men and women know they must change with the times and will go out of their way to take lessons to update their knowledge. Unlike their youthful counterparts they allocate the time to learn and will use that time to become proficient in their new skills. This generation has a much broader knowledge about the sequence that led to this  technological age…after all, in their lifetime they grew up with manual typewriters, electric typewriters, wax-paper based rub-off fonts (to have professional-looking reports). They have worked with all the predecessors and anticipated the computer & printer of today. On the other hand, their children arrived on-the-scene when the technology was already in place. When technology fails, the experienced elder can envision a work-around while the inexperienced wait until the problem resolves itself.

A typical college student is more concerned with attaining a high grade for a course than learning a life-enriching skill. The emphasis is switched away from ‘learning is fun and useful’ to ‘an academic degree is a path to a good life’ and ‘good grades will help me succeed’. Having spent the last 30 years in the classroom it is truly a refreshing change to teach seniors because they are always present for class, they don’t give a fig for the grade and they are motivated learners…they are present because they can envision a way that technology can be useful to them. They apply what they’ve learned and improve upon it to suit their own needs.