Final interview questions

Question: What tips did you find most useful when learning to use the computer?

Mr. B: You need to take things step by step. Sure you might want to instantly go write letter but you need to be comfortable using the mouse and the keyboard before then. If not you can get stuck and might mess something up. I also suggest that you be willing to ask for help and when you do have the person helping you explain how they are solving the problem so you can do it next time. 

Mrs. C: I suggest you try things out. I had the hardest time using the mouse and getting it to do what I wanted. I got one of those trackball things and learned how to move the cursor around the screen. Once I got use to that I went back to mouse. When my arthritis is flaring up (mostly when it rainy) I might pull out the trackball again. I just depends how much I need to accomplish on the computer. I also learned how to look up thinks for myself. If I don't know how to change something in Microsoft Word, then I will look it up on Google. I can often find the solution.

Mrs. J. Don't be scared! I still find it funny how scared I was to start using the computer. I think you should always ask for help if you need. There are plenty of people are need help with different things and the only way you won't have to keep asking for help is to learn it. 

Question: Are you comfortable with where you are in learning to use the computer?

Mr. B: Yes, but I want to learn more. Never settle!

Mrs. C. I like how much I have learned and I just need more practice. 

Mrs. J: I'm very happy and pleased with myself. I'm happy with what I have learned but I'm sure there is plenty more to learn, but I don't want to overwhelm myself.

I am very thankful for the three patrons who helped me with my project. I learned so much from them versus what I learned in my readings. 

-Angelica

Learning process

I do want to take a moment and discuss what I have learned about helping older adults use the computer. About two years ago our library started offering computer classes to the community. We were very unprepared for taking this on and we learned as we went. Our classes were always slammed because there was nothing like it offered in this area that were free. We made mistakes, but quickly learned that we needed feedback from the students taking the classes. We handed out anonymous surveys with the class handouts so we could find out what we were doing right or wrong.

We learned that students liked small classes and an instructor that spoke in a loud clear voice. If there were more than a handful of students there needed to be a helper. We also learned that they did not like covering tons of information or covering a variety of tools in one programs. We broke down classes and split some classes like e-mail. We also were able to get outside help for out classes.

We did get a lot of positive feed back. We have numerous patrons tell us that they really learned in these classes. We even have some adult children thank us for helping their parent learn the computer because they couldn't teach them.  We did apply some of suggestions that various literature proposed, but it was a learning process that we had to go through.

Older Adults Information Needs

What are the informational needs of older adults when it comes to using the computer? Based on research done by Morris, Goodman and Brading (2007) there are a variety of reasons for the desire to use the computer. There was not one reason that the majority of older adults want to use the computer for. Here are the results of their studies:

Word-processing & letters 35%

E-mail & Communication 33%

Internet 32%

Information and research 19%

Leisure 11%

Learning 10%

Keeping up with the times 10%

Finance 10%

Work 6%

Other 20%

Willis (2006) gives several reasons older adults use the internet with communication being the number one reason. She says that 93% of older adults that use the internet also utilize e-mail. Another use is for information seeking. Many enjoy getting their weather, news and misc information online. Over half of the older adults who are seeking information online are looking for health related answers to their questions. This includes information about disease, managing weight, and prescription drugs. 

Additional Sources:

Morris, A., Goodman, J. & Brading, H. (2007). Internet use and non-use: Views of older users. Universal Access in the Information Society, 6(1).

Willis, S. (2006). Technolog and learning in current and future generation of elders. Generations. 30(2).

Back to the Interviews

Question: When learning to use the computer, what did you most want to do?
Mr. B: Anything and everything! I kept seeing how people were using the internet and different things created on the computer and I wanted to do the same thing. That's why I took all the classes. I'm not comfortable with that excel but I haven't really figured how I would use it practically. I have really enjoyed using the computer to read the news around the country and watching old videos on YouTube. You can loose some time on the computer.
Mrs. C: Like I said I like being able to pay bills on the computer. And I'm always checking my bank account. I also wanted to get use to using the e-mail. I still need more practice, I'm always messing up the address.
Mrs. J: I love looking for recipes and being on the internet lets me get to bunches of recipes and I have even shared my recipes.

Questions: What more do you want to learn how to do?
Mr. B: I would like to get on Facebook and learn what to do with it.
Mrs. C: I want to get one of those laptops or iPad. I think I'm ready to do something different.
Mrs. J: Typing. I took a class way back in high school when we were using typewriters but I see other folks going away at the keyboard and I want to do that too.


Don't worry. We'll hear from them again!

Older Adult Problems: Physical

For older adults who are having problems holding and moving a mouse they might find using a trackball easier to maneuver  a track ball allows the user to rest their hand on the device and use their fingers to manipulate the pointer on the screen (Bean, 2003).

Trackball
from gizmodo.com

For older adults who are not comfortable with the computer itself can be shown how to adapt the different components to make it work for them. The computer is meant to work for the user and they should not be afraid to make changes. Some find the angle of the screen and position of the keyboard awkward and uncomfortable. Monitors can be adjusted to whatever angle and position work best. The keyboard is limited in the way it can be altered, but keyboards can be easily be switched out (Smith, 2012).

Additional Sources
Bean, C. (2003). Meeting the challenge: Training an aging population to use computers. Southeastern Librarian 51(3).
Smith, N. (2012). Teaching computer skills to senior citizens: a Library assistant's learning experience. Georgia Library Quarterly. 49(1).

Older Adult Solutions: Cognitive

Since many seniors have difficulty using the mouse in correlation to the screen it is suggested that they use exercises to practice. One library had seniors attending their classes practice playing solitaire but some users did not know how to play the game (Puacz, 2000). A good solution to this problem is using a site created by  the Palm Beach Library System called "Mousing Around". It takes users step by step through using the mouse in different ways. This online program helps the user get use to looking at the whole screen and not just what is in the middle. It also reinforces reading instructions to continue on to the next step (Bean & Laven, 2003).

Since older adults may have trouble with their memory or retaining new information, it is recommended that those who are providing computer instruction give handouts that go along with training. With the information right in front of them they find it easier to recall the instruction. It is also recommended that "cheat sheets" be given with key points for seniors to refer to. These allows instructors to suggest shortcut keys can be used to make it easier for computer use, like using the "enter" button instead of double clicking. (Puacz, 2000).

Older adults also need to have clear instructions given to them when they are getting started with learning about computers.Excessive computer jargon should be limited and basic terms need to be clearly explained (Bean, 2003)


Additional Sources:
Bean, C. (2003). Meeting the challenge: Training an aging population to use computers. Southeastern Librarian 51(3).
Bean, C & Laven, M. (2003). Adapting to seniors: Computer training for older adults. Florida Libraries. 46(2).
Palm Beach Public Library System. Mousing Around. Retrieved from: http://www.pbclibrary.org/mousing/
Paucz, J & Bradfield, C. (2000). Surf's up for seniors: Introducing older patrons to the web. Computers in Libraries. 20(8).

Older Adult Solutions: Vision

There are solutions for older adults who have visual problems when trying to work with computers. Newer computers no longer have to monitors that have glare issues, but some computer still do. Glare reducing shields can be attached to the monitor to make it easier for users to view the information without interference.  Users can also be taught to adjust the screen to suit their needs. Resolution can be changed to make everything on the screen easier to view. For users who typically only have problems when viewing website can be shown the shortcut of pushing the combination of the keys "ctrl" and "+" to zoom in on the screen (Cambell & Nolfi, 2005).

Glare Reducer
 www.kotulas.com

Users can purchase keyboards or keyboard covers that have larger characters thus making it easier to type. For those who have laptop or a keyboard that is not standard there is the option of large printer stickers. There are also keyboards that are large print and lighted to make it easier for users with low vision (Bean, 2003).

Large Print Keyboard Cover 
www.logickeyboard.com

Bean, C & Laven, M. (2003). Adapting to seniors: Computer training for older adults. Florida Libraries. 46(2).
Campbell, R.J. & Nolfi, D.A. (2005). Teaching elderly adults to use the internet to access health care information: Before-after study. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 7(2).

Older Adult Problems: Physical

          Even when the desire is there for older adults to want to learn how to use a computer they may have physical issues that keep them from pursuing training. Older adults often experience difficultly holding the mouse. They have trouble placing their hand correctly on the mouse. Arthritis is the main cause for this problem. There is also a declination in motor skills can make double clicking and move the mouse to the correct position difficult. They can also experience problems using the keyboard. Keys can be too close together. They also might have difficulty pushing the combination of keys at once (Bean, 2003).

Bean, C & Laven, M. (2003). Adapting to seniors: Computer training for older adults. Florida Libraries. 46(2).

Older Adult Problems: Cognitive

Older adults also experience cognitive problems when trying to work with computers. One aspect is the amount of attention that one has to give to the processes carried out when working on a program of website. Some seniors also have difficulty taking in the amount of information they see on a website. Some have memory problems and would confuse actions like clicking on a link and double clicking on an icon (Smith, 2012).

Seniors who are learning to use a computer are not use to working with a mouse and have trouble realizing how fast they need to double click. For those of use who work with computers on a daily basis, we do not realize how different little things can be (Bean & Lavern, 2003).

Let’s look at how we navigate a page. If you look at the image below you can see how many things the user has to remember when moving around on a page. 

It may be second nature to us but to a new user it can be very difficult. Just a single click can produce many different effects. It can move the page completely, a little or not at all. 

Sources

Bean, C & Laven, M. (2003). Adapting to seniors: Computer training for older adults. Florida Libraries. 46(2).

Smith, N. (2012). Teaching computer skills to senior citizens: a Library assistant's learning experience. Georgia Library Quarterly. 49(1).

Older Adult Problems: Vision

One of the common ailments for elderly adults is vision problems. How does this affect their use of computers? Often, older adults wear bi-focals or tri-focals which can make it difficult for them to focus from the keyboard to the screen or visa-versa.  There is also the challenge of viewing the information on the screen due to glare and trouble reading large amounts of small text (Bean, 2003).

This is an example of a user friend website for seniors:

http://nihseniorhealth.gov/

You can see here that the text is large and readable. Links are plainly visible being in blue and underlined. The user is not overwhelmed with the amount of information, and the sections of text are short and to the point. There is also an easy to spot tool to increase the size of the text.

Here is an example of a website that is not senior friendly:

This site from the New York Times is not highly colored (which can make things difficult) but there is a lot of text that is clustered together. The menu to the left has text that is even smaller and would be hard to read. There is also no tool to adjust the site’s text.

This website outlines ideas that site creators might want to follow when creating a website.

http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/older-users.shtml

Things like: keeping the site simple, making it plain if the pages requires scrolling, keeping language basic, and keeping the look simple. 

Additional Source:

Bean, C. (2003). Meeting the challenge: Training an aging population to use computers. Southeastern Librarian 51(3).

Pew Research Center: Senior Citizens and Digital Technology

There is really interesting information by the Pew Research Center on  Senior Citizens and Digital Technology.  There is a slideshow that gives a variety of figures.

I found it very surprising that according to the research it says that "50% of older Americans are internet users."

People age 75 and older:
40% are using the internet,
82% are using e-mail
61% use search engines
74% use the internet for maps or directions
61% use the internet for hobby or interest
49% use the internet for health information
54% use the internet for weather
47% use the internet for fun
45% use the internet for news
27% use the internet for video sharing
47% use the internet for buying products

People ages 66-74:
67% are using the internet
88% are using e-mail
88% use search engines
77% use the internet for maps or directions
68% use the internet for hobby or interest
63% use the internet for health information
84% use the internet for weather
59% use the internet for fun
66% use the internet for news
34% use the internet for video sharing
57% use the internet for buying products

I like facts and figures so this PowerPoint is really interesting. I really suggest vising the page and seeing the charts. It also covers use of other devices like smartphones. 3% of people age 75 and over have smart phones and 12% of people ages 66-74 use them. It also breaks down percentages of people using various forms of social media.


Source:
Rainie, L. (2012). Senior citizens and digital technology [slides]. Retrieved from Pew Research Center website: http://www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2012/Sep/Senior-Citizens-and-Digital-Technology.aspx

My random thought

          While doing research and interviewing the patrons I had this thought that occasionally popped up in my head. Seniors are educating themselves about computers and technology, but we should get to a saturation point when this issue of helping seniors learn computers will not needed. As the current population ages they are mostly using computers on a daily basis (not all, but most), then they won’t have to be taught on how to use the computer.

          Issues I will address later are problems like cognitive, physical, and vision. These issues are not likely to change. Even now I find myself quickly falling behind with new technology (mostly because I’m poor). When a patron comes up with their laptop running windows 8 I feel lost. So, while there might be a need to keep people familiar with new programs, software, and devices, I think basic computer education won’t be in demand in the future.

Interview with Seniors

This is part of an interview I did with a few of my library’s patron who became regular users of computer due to taking classes. I asked them numerous questions about their computer use, needs, and concerns.

Mr. B is an older gentleman in his 70’s. He used computers daily in his work during the 80’s, but retired around 1990 and had not used a computer since. Mrs. C is a retired educator (late 60’s) whose computer use was limited during her working career. She used the computer with her children and grand children’s assistance but hated being dependent on them. Mrs. J (late 60’s) has always been a homemaker and never used a computer. The extent of using items of technology was her cell phone her children bought her.

Question: What was the reason you had not used computers before now?

Mr. B: I wanted to keep up with computers, and I bought one. But, by the time I bought it, it was different from what I had been use to and it was overwhelming. It just sat in the study and never got used  (personal communication, March 29, 2012).

Mrs. C: I always thought they were too expensive and did see how they would be helpful. So, I never thought about it. Then everything and everyone started to be on the internet, and I hated to keep bothering my children for help (personal communication, April 2, 2012).

Mrs. J: I was scared of them. They are expensive things, and I could not imagine having something that I could easily mess up. I was also scared that people would track me on the computer and :::laughs::: see in my house. I thought they were dangerous (personal communication, April 3, 2012).

Question: What is your view of computers now?

Mr: B: I really enjoy it. I’m still thinking about purchasing a new one, but for now I’m happy to come into the library to use it. I think I might try out one of those laptop you have (personal communication, March 29, 2012).

Mrs. C: They have been so useful. I even started paying bills over the Internet. It saves stamps! My children still have to help me some, and you know I’m in here often to ask for help. I really am glad I got one (personal communication, April 2, 2012).

Mrs. J: I’m not scared of them anymore. I do pay for tech support so that if I get stuck I can call them. I’m still cautious, but I have an e-mail account now and have gotten better about spotting that spam (personal communication, April 3, 2012).

I asked several other questions and will blog those later.

The beginning!

Teaching patrons how to use the computer can be challenging  Many are at different levels when it comes to experience and comfort with the machines. My goal is to identify problems that may occur and hopeful provide solutions librarians can use on a practical level.