The Elderly and Internet (email, processor, how to, working)

[ElderLee]

Hi all,

I would like to ask you all for some advice and/or tips for my next project.
I have decided to create a video tutorial aimed at helping elderly people get online and make use of the Internet. I can think of thousands of subjects myself to cover but I am trying to keep it as simple as possible.

I would greatly appreciate any ideas or requests for tutorials or subjects to cover that might make the whole WWW experience for the elderly surfer a more easy and pleasurable experience. If you are having difficulty performing certain tasks online then share, your frustration and maybe I could cover that subject in a tutorial.

Looking forward to all of your idea's

Kind regards

Elder Lee

[Tek_Freek]

Let me think on it. I help people of all ages that are "afraid" of their computers and the Internet. I'm sure I can give you some ideas. Today isn't a good time to try to help.

Don't be discouraged if I don't get back to your right away. My wife is going in for surgery tomorrow. Minor, but I will still be spending my time looking after her.

Tek

[hiknapster]

Tek Freek, I'll pray for your wife.

I do tech support all day, too. My dad just bought a computer a couple of months ago. He's 71 and doing great with it. He's downloaded songs, posted pictures and burned a cd.

I love elderly customers. I find them to be the best. They listen to absolutely everything that you say, follow directions and won't touch anything or jump ahead. It is basically because they are just so darned terrified of the whole thing.

The worse customers are the ones that think they know everything. The worst words a tech can hear is "I'm a network administrator."

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Tek Freek, I'll pray for your wife.

I do tech support all day, too. My dad just bought a computer a couple of months ago. He's 71 and doing great with it. He's downloaded songs, posted pictures and burned a cd.

I love elderly customers. I find them to be the best. They listen to absolutely everything that you say, follow directions and won't touch anything or jump ahead. It is basically because they are just so darned terrified of the whole thing.

The worse customers are the ones that think they know everything. The worst words a tech can hear is "I'm a network administrator."

When I hear that phrase my first response is "Why did you call me, then?"

One of the things I tell older people is that they should either run a tape recorder or a video camera while I'm working. That gives them a reference for what I've done.

Normally anyone I'm working for has glassy eyes when I leave because I explain everything to them. I think I am a frustrated teacher or something...

[Racelady88]

The first thing that comes to mind is How Not To Become A Victim. There are plenty of people who are too trusting. Personally, I could not imagine falling for any of the Nigeria scams, but I know a few people who have and have lost quite a lot of money.

[hiknapster]

Tek Freek: That is not my response because I work for a large corporation. Letting my coworkers know that I have a network administrator on the line elicits a chorus of sympathetic groans, though!

Recording your actions is a great tip.

The glassy-eyed response is probably not good, unless they did, indeed tape you so that they can go back and review what you did.

I try to keep things very simple and not inundate the customer with too much information. I gave my dad a little bit of information per day rather than overwhelm him. Now he feels comfortable exploring on his own without much assistance.

There is nothing more satisfying then getting an 80-somethings issue resolved.

[foma]

how to send attachments through email

how to upload files to programs like kodak, snapfish etc so your family members can see your trips online

how to turn a computer on?

[foma]

oh, for the record, i'm not elderly and am perfectly capabale of sending attachments and using online photo programs.

[Sgoldie]

Well I'll tell you what not to do.

I had never even touched a computer before when I took an accelerated computer class at college with a bunch of kids no less. We were supposed to do all these projects in short order, and I had no idea how to even turn the thing on.

For newbies, I'd make the initial instruction on a VHS tape or something they didn't have to put into the computer first to make sure they know how to turn it on and off before beginning.

[doll lady]

I teach elderly people basic computer knowledge at the local library.

Most are afraid....they think they will mess up things.

These are the first things I teach them during the first three sessions:

How to turn it on. How to use the Word Processor. How to log in for internet. Help them set up an email for them using one of the free email services....yahoo, hotmail, etc and how to attach files and photos. How to open files in an email and where and how to save it. How to use the pull downs. How to paste and copy. How to print things as well as load paper and turn printer on and off.

How to correctly turn the computer off and on. And how to put caps on and off. And how to look in their computer book to find out what to do when something goes wrong.