Big Talk From Small Libraries 2015 - The Senior Connection: Helping Technology Make Sense to Seniors
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
0 likes•798 views
The Senior Connection: Helping Technology Make Sense to Seniors Doris Ann Mertz, Library Director, Custer County Library, SD (Pop Served: 8000) Big Talk From Small Libraries 2015 27 February 2015 http://nlcblogs.nebraska.gov/bigtalk/
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (11)
Similar to Big Talk From Small Libraries 2015 - The Senior Connection: Helping Technology Make Sense to Seniors
Similar to Big Talk From Small Libraries 2015 - The Senior Connection: Helping Technology Make Sense to Seniors (20)
More from Nebraska Library Commission
More from Nebraska Library Commission (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Big Talk From Small Libraries 2015 - The Senior Connection: Helping Technology Make Sense to Seniors
- 1. Doris Ann Mertz Library Director Custer County Library
- 2. Our Library Board Direction Mission Statement Accreditation Standards All Libraries The Need is there Formalizing Makes It More Effective
- 3. Mutually beneficial partner? Senior Center Scheduling Promotion Formal/Informal Benefits Fulfill a need in the community Enhance the lives of Seniors Improve attendance at programs Increase use of library resources Increase the library’s footprint
- 5. Introduction to Facebook Bring Your Own Device – OverDrive Tablets 101 Book-A-Librarian Ancestry Library Others Electronic Resources
- 6. Held at Senior Center Focused on: Developing a Profile Adjusting Privacy Settings Adjusting Notification Settings Uploading photos Messaging privately Adding/removing friends “Unfollowing” certain friends
- 9. Specify laptops/PCs or apps on tablets Survey to determine needs of group Most already had an account Many want to view, not post Provide take-home handouts Know what your Wi-Fi can handle Distinguish between Timeline & Newsfeed
- 11. Stress the need for passwords Narrow the focus Ex: OverDrive Group Similar Devices Android tablets & Android smartphones iPads, iPods, iPhones together Kindle devices Never had a Windows user need help Provide library tablets for “test drives” Provide take-home handouts if needed
- 14. Many received as gifts Not sure they want it “My kid set this up.” PASSWORDS Have a stylus handy Some need basic skills
- 15. Limit class size Survey their desires & focus on top 3 Common requests e-mail Facebook How to share photos OverDrive GPS Facetime/Skype Games, Pandora, etc…
- 16. Offer individual help with topics not covered Group similar devices Group similar skill levels Could expand to smartphones Make sure it’s a real smartphone Introduce to voice commands Faster than typing/texting for them Provide handouts of the basics
- 20. Individualized one-on-one sessions Better than drop-ins Schedule at a convenient time Emphasize the need for all passwords Focus on top 3 desires Provide some use suggestions Sometimes set-up; sometimes just turned on If set-up, usually done by friend/family member
- 21. Add a free app through the app store Show them how to move apps around Show them how to uninstall apps Show them how to access settings Show them how to navigate/find menus Encourage them to play If it’s acting strange -- restart (soft reset)
- 22. Nursing Home Resident From tablet borrower to tablet owner How do I get rid of these Angry Birds? “It’s an application!”
- 24. Host outside business hours Provide handouts from “Charts & Forms” Give brief introductions of both resources Emphasize Ancestry is in-library use Allow a lot of time for play/exploration Give tips for improving results Expect some dead-ends & frustration Provide a dedicated computer
- 26. How to access charts/forms How to truncate & use wildcard characters * ? How to view actual document How to link to others in household How to send documents to e-mail How to print documents How to access Heritage Quest from home How to take notes in Heritage Quest
- 28. It’s possible to teach old dogs new tricks It’s rewarding to enrich lives It’s o.k. to not know everything It’s o.k. to search for answers It’s o.k. to borrow from others Just give them credit It’s time to help Seniors with Technology
- 29. Doris Ann Mertz Custer County Library Director 447 Crook St., Suite #4 Custer, SD 57730 605-673-4803 cuslib@gwtc.net
Editor's Notes
- I’m given three goals for the coming year at each performance evaluation. One of my goal’s was to increase outreach to Seniors. “We provide resources and services in a welcoming environment to support a diverse community of life-long learners.” Accreditation standards require hosting and evaluating outcomes of programs for children, teens, and adults. We had served adults, but had not focused on serving seniors. The Seniors in every community need a place to go to for help with technology. Their grandkids know it, but can’t slow down enough to show them. You can choose to not meet the need, serve on an unorganized drop-in basis, or formalize the training to make it more effective.
- In every venture, determine your logical partners who share a similar goal. The obvious choice when serving seniors is the local Senior Center. The director of the Senior Center knows the habits of the Seniors and can help you figure out times for training that will work with their schedules. They can also help promote the event in their newsletters and on their websites. The partnership can be a formal agreement. Ours is just an informal agreement. We both want to provide programs to enhance the lives of Seniors. We just coordinate to determine what class they would like, set the date and time, and determine how to promote it. Increased use of resources, whether it be downloadable books through OverDrive, Ancestry, WiFi, etc… By partnering with the Senior Center, we have become more visible in the community and are increasing our support base.
- I met with the Senior Center Director, and we decided to provide technology programs. We felt it would be best to provide the first program at the Senior Center. It would be a familiar environment where they felt comfortable. We scheduled the program for early afternoon. Many of the Seniors come into town for lunch at the Senior Center. So, we wanted to take advantage of that.
- The Senior Center Director and I sat down and discussed some of the classes we might like to offer. Here’s a list of the ideas we came up with. We chose a date for our first class, promoted it in the Senior Newsletter. and decided to host the training and see what we learned.
- Many of the Seniors feel persuaded to get on Facebook to see pictures of their grandkids. People rarely e-mail photos nowadays. Even more rarely do they mail photos to the grandparents They here, “Just get on Facebook.”
- When you tell them that you will be providing handouts for them to take home, they seem to relax and not try to take furious notes. I show them the handouts so they can see that they will be able to use them to remember what we did in class. I did not give the handouts out at the beginning of class. You can do so if you like. I wanted them to just play on Facebook and take comfort in knowing they could look up what they could not remember. To make handouts: I use the Snipping Tool (in Accessories) on my computer to make pictures of the screen. I insert the picture into a word document and add text, arrows, and circles to help them. They are not fancy handouts, but they are helpful to the Seniors.
- If you don’t provide some type of handouts with pictures, they probably won’t remember how to even get to the notifications options on their settings menu. It is not intuitive to them to click on the little arrow. I’d rather give them too much information than not enough in the handouts.
- You can learn from my mistakes. I did not specify that the Facebook class was specifically for using Facebook on a computer. I had one person bring an iPad and my handouts were all for the computer version. The Facebook app for iPads, tablets, and phones is enough different to make the handouts useless for those working on a tablet. I spent the class-time focusing on how to use Facebook on the computer, then worked with the iPad user once everyone else was occupied looking through their newsfeed, searching for friends, etc... At the beginning of the class, survey the group to see what they know about Facebook and what they want to learn to do. I found that all but one of those attending the class already had an account started, but they didn’t really know how to manage it. Several mentioned they were not interested in posting. They just wanted to see pictures of their family. A few were interested in how to upload photos for others to see. We had trouble with the Wi-Fi at the Senior Center. I had brought 3 laptops, and several other people brought laptops. We spent a lot of time waiting due to the Wi-Fi being bogged down. It’s very important that you distinguish between the Timeline and the Newsfeed. Otherwise, they are afraid that when people visit their page, they will see all of that other “nonsense” that others are posting. Also, remember to teach them how to “unfollow” those whose posts they find annoying.
- Next class – bring your own device and learn how to check-out e-books and audio-books through OverDrive. In the center of the picture is Fran and her daughter, Janet Fran was a large-print reader, so we encouraged her to check out one of our tablets we have set-up for patrons to take advantage of OverDrive. She was hesitant, but gave it a try. We helped her check out 5 books and showed her how to change the font size to what suited her. She ended up loving it. She kept it checked out for six weeks altogether and regretted turning it back in because she’d reached the maximum check-outs. Later, she told me the tablet had spoiled her because she could make the font such a large size, and it wasn’t as heavy as a large print book. She asked me to help her get one because she had hinted to her kids, but they weren’t moving fast enough. We found her a good deal on an Android tablet at Woot.com. I used my credit card to buy the tablet and cover for her, and she immediately wrote me a check. When it arrived, we set it up with the OverDrive app and loaded some books for her. Fran came to the class and brought her daughter with her. She wanted to become more comfortable with how to browse and check-out books. Fran doesn’t have Wi-Fi, so she has to visit her daughter’s house or the library to check-out books on OverDrive. I’m so glad we were able to improve Fran’s life. Now, she can read any book that’s in our OverDrive catalog instead of being limited to what’s in our meager Large Print collection.
- When advertising the class, stress that everyone should come to class with their passwords in-hand.
- Once again, make handouts with labeled pictures to help them through the process. These are handouts I made for the tablets we check out for OverDrive use, but they are fairly handy to provide as handouts for the BYOD OverDrive class. I just took a picture of the tablet at each step in the check-out process. If they have this to take home, they don’t have to remember everything, which allows them to relax.
- Just another example. This handout shows them how to access the menus by tapping the center of the page, how to change the font size, and how to return books.
- The third class we offered was Tablets 101. This class was focused on learning to use a tablet (or smartphone) for various purposes. It was not focused on using OverDrive. These are just some thoughts that come to mind when I think about Seniors and Tablets.
- Explain to everyone that you are going to cover the uses that most in the group are interested in, but that you are available to help them with topics not covered at a later time.
- I would recommend that you ask people to register and limit the class to five students for each helper you will have available. I did not require registration and was terrified I would be overwhelmed with this class. So, when folks called expressing interest, I always told them we also offered Book-a-Librarian sessions where they could receive one-on-one help. I had 12 Book-a-Librarian sessions that month, which was great. But only 3 showed up for the actual class -- which actually turned out to be a good thing. One lady brought a phone, which was not actually a smart phone. It was the most frustrating device I’ve ever dealt with.
- http://www.telstra.com.au/telstra-seniors/training-guides/ You can find a lot of training-guides at this website. I have a copy of the handout Introduction to Tablets for my “own information,” and I ask if they would like to make a copy for their “own information” to take home. They also now have a website they can access for other technology guides for their own information.
- Some of the topics covered in the training guide. There are illustrations to explain the gesture control. Some will need help with the basics of using a touchscreen, some won’t. Once again, in addition to discussing the use of the keyboard, show them how to use voice commands. Some will like it, some won’t.
- My Book-a-Librarian sessions normally last about 45 minutes. I had one that lasted 90 minutes, but I would handle that differently now – not because of the time commitment, but because I would rather she had learned how to do a few things well than overwhelm her by covering a lot of things. If they are not sure what they most want to use their device for, offer them some suggestions on common uses. Sometimes they show up with a tablet that someone else has set up. Hopefully, they listened to your advice and brought passwords. Sometimes, the device is fresh out of the box. I help them set up a gmail or Apple account so we will be able to visit the app store/play store.
- Show everyone how to search for and add apps through the app store/play store. Sometimes, I help grandparents after their grandchildren have come for a visit. They want to know how to “get rid of” some of the games their kids have added. Sometimes, they want the game to still be there, but not on their homescreen. I show them how to uninstall apps, move them around, and make sure their most used apps are on their home screen. If it’s not easy to access their common settings, I try to add the settings icon to their home screen and show them how to make common adjustments, such as screen brightness, sound effects, display timeout, etc. Almost everyone is annoyed by how fast their display times out, so you may want to adjust this as one of your first tasks together. I try to help them learn how to find and recognize menus. We try tapping the center of the screen, pulling down from the top of the screen, discussing how three bars, dots, etc… usually signifies a menu. I always advise them that if the tablet/phone starts acting goofing -- restart it, just like they reboot the computer when it acts up. I sometimes get phone calls asking for help. Restarting is always the first thing we try when the device is not responding the way it usually does.
- Joyce is a voracious reader who lives in our local nursing home and gets around town in a motorized wheelchair. Her son, who lives in Nebraska, bought her one of the first generation Kindles. He gave me access to his Amazon account, and I used to help her check out books and return books through OverDrive. This option, kept her occupied during the long winters when she could not drive her wheel chair to the library. Later, he bought her a Kindle Fire and a small laptop. When he was in town, they set up an appointment with me to show her how to check out the books by herself. We reviewed the process, and I had my doubts as to whether she could learn to manage it on her own. She called me and came back in for me to review the process with her again. Now, I don’t get phone calls from her unless her device is acting up. She learned to check out the books herself, thereby improving her ability to access books all year long. We have already talked about Fran. I’m pretty sure Martha, who currently has a tablet checked out from us, is also going to end up wanting to buy one as well. Many of our senior citizens who need help with technology are very intelligent people. Mr. L. used to be a college math professor who has written math text books. He sometimes needs a little help with his iPad, because it’s just not intuitive for him. Usually, the help he needs only takes a few minutes. Once, he came in here after Christmas wanting to know, “How do I get these Angry Birds off here?” His grandson had added about 8 different versions of Angry Birds to his iPad. I showed him how to uninstall unwanted apps and move them off his home screen. Other times, he has been aggravated because the iCloud sign-in pops up wanting to know his password, (which his son created and changes often). He thought he couldn’t play games, etc… I simply showed him to press “cancel.” Sometimes, I just have to show Seniors they can “skip” a step the tablet is prompting. It only takes a few seconds to help with some issues that are interfering with their proceeding to enjoy their device.
- Our latest class was a class on using the Genealogy Resources available to our patrons via the State Library’s website.
- We needed to host this class during hours in which we were closed so we could have access to all of our library computers. Ancestry Library can only be accessed via computers associated with the library. I provided handouts from the Charts/Forms tab on Ancestry. The most useful ones seem to be the “Ancestral Chart” and the “Family Group Sheet.” We briefly talked about the differences between the resources, and spent the majority of the time playing and exploring the information available. We researched people in their families, and I gave them tips for improving their results. Sometimes, we hit dead-ends, and that can be frustrating. Expect a little of that and encourage them to explore some other avenues. They like to be able to look at Passenger Lists, Citizenship records, etc… It probably would be a good idea to have some sample exercises for them to research and report their findings. I didn’t do this, but probably will next time. The computers at our library are set up to offer only an hour of use per patron/guest in 2- 30 minute sessions. That doesn’t offer a lot of time for their research. I emphasize during the training, that we have a dedicated laptop they can check out when using our electronic resources in order to avoid the time limits. I would encourage everyone to have a dedicated PC or laptop for this purpose. They are more likely to use the resource if they don’t have to worry about a timer. Researching a family tree generally takes a bit of time.
- This is a handout sample that I provided to the class. Staff at our state library made these handy handouts for each of our electronic resources. They are double sided and provide a lot of info, starting with the website address and how to find the resource. The bubbles pointing to the tabs are quite handy.
- These are some of the activities I would recommend you review during the class. Show them where you find the Ancestral Charts, etc… So they can make as many copies as they want. Expect lots of spelling changes. Show them how to truncate spellings and use wildcard characters. If they don’t know exactly how it is spelled, they can truncate with the asterisk or use the asterisk to take the place of several letters. They can use a ? To take the place of one letter. Show them how to bring up the original image. Scroll down to the bottom of the page on census data to see who else lived in the house and to access their records by clicking on the name. A relatively new aspect of Ancestry Library is the ability to mail documents to your home e-mail address. By doing this, they can save them on their computer, look over them at their leisure, print them at home, etc… Emphasize that Heritage Quest can be accessed from home. Show them how to take notes in Heritage Quest, and emphasize they must print the notes out before ending their session. Heritage Quest, in my opinion, is good for researching a famous person or the history of a community, era, etc… but Ancestry Library is better for genealogy information. Books, PERSI articles 6 for $7.50.
- This picture is several years old. It shows Les, sharing his knowledge of Ancestry Library with other Seniors. When they learn something new they think others will appreciate, they like to share their knowledge. It’s gratifying to see.
- Seniors can learn to use technology. It may not be intuitive to them, it may not be as easy for them. But, if you have patience and offer training in a non-intimidating environment, I guarantee you they can learn. They are probably not going to learn from their kids and grandkids. The grandkids, just take over and do it so fast, that it remains a mystery to them. You can teach them. You can probably tell from my presentation today that I am not a technology genius. If I waited until I was as knowledgeable as I’d like to be, I’d never teach these classes. I figure if I can help them know a little more than they knew before the visit and if I’ve showed them ways to find out more information, I have provided a benefit. If they see you have to search for an answer, so what? You are modeling how to find out answers to them. It’s o.k. to Google it. Help them learn to help themselves. You don’t have to create the handouts from scratch. You can borrow from information posted on the internet as long as you give credit to the source. Why reinvent the wheel. Let’s do the right thing and answer our mission to support life-long learning in the communities we serve.