IT AND CAKE – IT literacy classes for senior citizens

Description

St Joseph’s Court is an age friendly housing scheme based in Clifden, County Galway. The scheme consists of 43 apartments and is managed by Clann Housing. The complex is home to older persons who were housed from the Local Authority housing list or senior emigrants returning to live in Ireland having spent their working lives abroad.
Clann staff work in conjunction with the GRETB (Galway and Rosommon Education and Training Board) to offer computer literacy classes to our senior residents free of charge during the academic year. Clann provides facilities for the IT teacher to conduct classes one day per week. Courses are offered to small groups or on a one-to-one basis. The courses are designed around the needs of each learner in a friendly, supportive and confidential manner. This course proved to be a major lifeline during Covid when older tenants were able to connect with family, friends and each other over Zoom, email and facetime.
Technology and social Media have become a part of everyday life and the classes have been providing a vital role in supporting the residents to increase their digital skills in order to stay connected with their family and friends. It allows them to keep up to date with current news and to be informed of issues that concern them. They learn to shop and bank online, to email, to use Facebook and Facetime, WhatsApp, You Tube and photographic apps like PhotoBox. Some are working towards certified courses. They learn about scams, how to recognise them and how to avoid them.

Each lesson is tailored to the individual needs of the learner so teaching plans are personalised for the individual. The methodology and implementation of the Clann class reflects best practice in adult literacy provision as it;

• Addresses the everyday, functional digital literacy needs of the learners
• Is an active and expressive process as it allows the learners to explore their digital needs and to set their own goals.
• Promotes the philosophy of lifelong learning in a supportive, relaxed and friendly environment.
• Promotes personal development within a context of social action and interaction.

The weekly classes are supported by the monthly ITEA morning which is held in our communal room and to which everyone is welcome. This is a coffee morning with an emphasis on IT. The tutor delivers on a topic to the group and discussion ensues. People learn from and with each other. People with a specific query are able to put it to the tutor and again discussion follows. This medium allows people to learn in a friendly and fun setting. The sessions are always very well attended and there is always cake!

Overall, this programme continues to be a great success and the GRETB are to be commended on how they have risen to the challenge and adapted the classes in response to the functional needs of the learners, all of whom are senior citizens – the oldest student is 91 years old! This amazing group of learners have embraced technology and adapted to the changing social climate despite the restrictions of Covid-19. While this particular class is currently only available to a small number of learners in a specific context, it is a highly successful model that the GRETB hope to replicate in other locations in West Galway.

Aim of Initiative

To provide IT literacy classes to older persons, to give them the knowledge and confidence to stay connected with family and friends and to be able to access information and services that they need. To enable and empower them to be current and to have fun!

Who is it aimed at

The initiative is aimed at older residents living in an age friendly housing complex based in Clifden.

3 Steps critical to success

1. Communicating with residents and asking them what they wanted – they wanted to be more tech savvy, to get the most out of their phones and tablets. They wanted to be able to keep up with the world around them, to have access to information and services that they needed. Some wanted to study towards certified courses
2. Identify and source resources – we got grant funding to purchase laptops and a printer. The GRETB provided a tutor on a temporary basis. We set up an IT room in the scheme which was open and freely available to all residents. We advertised the classes at our coffee mornings and encouraged participation
3. The classes were tailored to individual needs and revised as these needs changed. We listened and adapted. We met our residents expectations and liaised with them constantly to endure that what wer were delivering was worthwhile and relevant

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. Age – Our residents are older persons, some were afraid to embrace technology. They thought that they would not be able to learn; they were hard of hearing or their sight was not the best. They feared that they had left it too late
2. Cost of devices – this was a barrier for some. The GRETB kindly provided tablets so that students could continue to learn and explore in their own time
3. Individual student course plans – normally a tutor produces a teaching plan for a class, in this case she had to produce teaching plans for individual students depending on what that person wanted to learn and the individual plan sometimes changed.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. We have well attended classes and older persons becoming more and more confident in their IT skills. They help and support each other and are hungry for knowledge and learning.
2. Some residents who had actively avoided IT prior to being offered the classes have now purchased their own devices and are able to continue to learn and explore on their own. One tenant who would run a mile from a tablet now has her own device and communicates daily with friends she left behind in Egypt
3. IT is now a buzzword among the residents, there is no longer fear associated with it. The word has spread. We have an excellent tutor and the classes are so successful that the tutor has been given a permanent placement here.