Overcoming computer anxiety. Older adults and new technologies
Can we teach older adults new tricks? There is strong evidence that seniors want to learn computer technologies, they seek computer training, and they can be very successful at it. My daddy is 79 but he never fails to amaze me demonstrating new computer skills day by day. I am proud to say, he has recently given a brilliant PowerPoint presentation of our summer tour to France followed by cheers and applauses of the family. Unlike my dad mother is a real technophobe and tends to watch not to do when it even comes to simple things like changing slides or searching for them. It plunges her into a panic although we bend over to demonstrate how easy it is setting the daddy to be an exemplar. We have tried lots more to help her struggle with technology that prompted me to do my personal research of the problem. As it may concern everyone whose parents or grandparents have got that computer resistance, I want to mention some factors that make older adults audience different and approaches it requires to gain better results when teaching.
Increased destructibility and slower cognitive processing, vision, cataracts, neural noise alongside with motivation and psychological aging factors significantly affect the learning process. Thus simplified explanations and presentations become preferential technics. Let us consider using PowerPoint slides in presentations for older adults. The presentation procedure itself cannot be taken as an easy one even with a typical audience. Remember that you must avoid complex images and graphics. Moving objects can inspire the viewers with impeccable eyes, but they become serious distractors for older adults and can even discourage them from further presentation procedure. If people lack confidence or enthusiasm, nothing can make them sit and learn. A simple-looking design with larger than normal fonts provide comfortable slide run and the result that will please both teachers and learners.
Make sure that all the information is being presented in rather serious manner, as adult learners may not appreciate an eccentric, disorderly style. It is essential to keep to the point of your presentation unless you see your audience is really in need of a break. Then, a good joke never hurts!
We cannot overload our students with too much information, so it’s a good idea to split it over two or three slides, placing no more than two core points on a slide.
Some of older adults cannot learn at the same pace as others. Therefore you may send them copies of your presentation and they will have a chance to read the information before or(and) after the presentation. Those will double-effect their perception skills. After all, you want to teach, not to overstrain your audience!
Students may shower you with questions. Take all of them very seriously. Your mission is to encourage social growth, independence, and self-esteem in older adults through your presentations and seminars.
It is also very important to speak slowly and distinctly, using step-by-step instructions and giving visual cues. PowerPoint abounds with various backgrounds for your slides. Base the information on what the adult learners already know, make use of analogy in reasoning to assist their understanding. Use precise language with a certain amount of repetition. Don’t teach extra skills if nobody asks you to do so, give the information they cannot do without, thus teaching them only the skills they need to know. Practice fixing mistakes reducing fear of making errors. Skills are mostly the result of perseverance, a common characteristic of older adults.
Teaching new skills to non-motivated group is Sisyphean toil, so start with motivating your students. As more and more resources move out of print and into the electronic realm, they may be available in the libraries, but for people who are computer-friendly. The analogy comes, whether manuscripts and printed press were available for the illiterate and how many things they were deprived of? Not being able to use new technologies puts older adults at a disadvantage in terms of their ability to live, function and successfully perform everyday tasks and remain independent as long as possible.
Above all, using a couple of intelligible PowerPoint presentations you can demonstrate them how easy it is to communicate with each other and their families in new and modern ways; to play games and entertain themselves; to get information and resources for a lifetime of learning.
Although all just listed may sound like a formidable challenge, increased self-confidence and undeniable social engagement of older adults is the best way to prove the importance of mastering computer technologies for older generation. lea�gsp2h! the audience. Not everyone can retain information from hearing a lecture. However, if you illustrate that lecture through PowerPoint, it helps to cement the concepts for the student and becomes an interactive way of getting the learners to speak and think for themselves. It's crucial to learn who our students are and try to balance our classes so each student is receiving what they need.