Teaching Senior Citizens About Computers

Computer Training for Older Students

For several years, I taught basic computer use, from introduction to computers to office skills. I learned a lot doing it - that weapons scanners at the courthouse wipe diskettes clean, and that if you bond too much with rich kids their daddies lean on you to do personal tutoring.

But the most interesting thing I learned was that older people - those born before 1950, primarily - learn technology differently from those of us who have more or less grown up with computers. As an older population, they also have different physical issues; and as a completely different generation, they have very different learning styles.

It requires a different approach to teach our respected elders how to use the technology we take for granted. But if you're a teacher excited about technology, and creative about ways to get others excited about it, older people learn better than younger people.

You heard me right. I prefer my older students to my younger ones. They are smarter, more motivated, and genuinely excited about learning. But it can be a challenge.

Seniors Learning Computers: The Issues

Getting older students to the point where they can learn technology is the first hurdle. Physical, mental, and attitude issues all get in the way.

Physical issues include:

Vision - Not only do older students have poorer vision overall, it's poor in a different way from younger students. You may have to learn how to adjust screens for each individual student - and then teach them how to do it themselves.

Mobility - Most people think of mobility problems as wheelchairs and walkers. That's not a problem; in a comfortable chair, everyone's the same. What is a problem: arthritic hands.

Once you have those problems sorted out, you often find serious learning issues lurking behind them: