This document summarizes a study on predictors of technological anxiety and self-efficacy regarding social media use among older adults. It presents hypotheses that technological anxiety influences efficacy in learning social media and that demographics like age, gender and education influence anxiety. Surveys were conducted at senior centers to measure anxiety and efficacy. Results found anxiety predicted efficacy, age predicted anxiety, and ethnicity and income influenced efficacy. Recommendations include focusing training on active users, simplicity, hiring staff knowledgeable of older adults, and having patience.
Gender and technology was the theme of the Becta presentation, given by Phil Bannister and Di Levine. They referred to a range of research, published between 2005 and 2008, which had looked at gender and use of ICT both in school and outside of school. see http://www.ttrb.ac.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?ContentId=15098
Slides used during the debriefing of the Mobileland workshop during the 2012 EDUCAUSE conference.
https://sites.google.com/site/mccmobileland/channeling-lewis-carol
Gender and technology was the theme of the Becta presentation, given by Phil Bannister and Di Levine. They referred to a range of research, published between 2005 and 2008, which had looked at gender and use of ICT both in school and outside of school. see http://www.ttrb.ac.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?ContentId=15098
Slides used during the debriefing of the Mobileland workshop during the 2012 EDUCAUSE conference.
https://sites.google.com/site/mccmobileland/channeling-lewis-carol
Eynon, R (2009) Mapping young people’s use of new technologies for learning. Implications for policy and practice, BERA, September 2009, Manchester, UK.
Technology and Older Learners: Does Modern Personal Computing Equipment Meet ...Stacey Alexander
Abstract
The pervasiveness of technology in education, along with improved health and life expectancy worldwide enables older adults to pursue education later in life. Research shows that older people need to be engaged, feel connected and busy in order to have a productive and fulfilling life, and education is a part of an active, healthy lifestyle. The benefits of education for older people are felt physically, mentally and emotionally. This situation poses problems for elderly learners that want or need to use computers, but have reduced mobility, dexterity and sensory acuity, as well as low technology skills. It is in society’s best interests to facilitate this process for our older adult learners, to improve older adults’ quality of life, and because everyone ages and we will all become elderly ourselves. The focus of this paper is: does modern personal computing equipment meet the needs of older adult learners? This issue is examined from the point of view of the learners, the educators, and the research on the outcomes and effects of older adult education. One of the major recommendations is that older learners should be provided with adequate instruction on how to use computer technology so that they have the opportunity to overcome limiting factors such as a lack of confidence and experience with using computer equipment. Another key suggestion from the literature is to extend education initiatives so that they are integrated as part of community, health and social networks, to ensure that elderly learners have as much opportunity to utilize supportive educational resources to gain skills, confidence and independence. There are some policies in place and efforts being made but much more needs to be done to improve the design, availability and support of personal computing devices and equipment for older learners in order to sufficiently meet their needs.
A learning upgrade - gender and ICT in education
Presented at the Learning and Teaching with Technology Conference (September 2012) by Gerry White, ACER.
This presentation provides information on pathways that male college students may follow to achieve academic success by controlling distractions from digital devices and cyberloafing activities.
Eynon, R (2009) Mapping young people’s use of new technologies for learning. Implications for policy and practice, BERA, September 2009, Manchester, UK.
Technology and Older Learners: Does Modern Personal Computing Equipment Meet ...Stacey Alexander
Abstract
The pervasiveness of technology in education, along with improved health and life expectancy worldwide enables older adults to pursue education later in life. Research shows that older people need to be engaged, feel connected and busy in order to have a productive and fulfilling life, and education is a part of an active, healthy lifestyle. The benefits of education for older people are felt physically, mentally and emotionally. This situation poses problems for elderly learners that want or need to use computers, but have reduced mobility, dexterity and sensory acuity, as well as low technology skills. It is in society’s best interests to facilitate this process for our older adult learners, to improve older adults’ quality of life, and because everyone ages and we will all become elderly ourselves. The focus of this paper is: does modern personal computing equipment meet the needs of older adult learners? This issue is examined from the point of view of the learners, the educators, and the research on the outcomes and effects of older adult education. One of the major recommendations is that older learners should be provided with adequate instruction on how to use computer technology so that they have the opportunity to overcome limiting factors such as a lack of confidence and experience with using computer equipment. Another key suggestion from the literature is to extend education initiatives so that they are integrated as part of community, health and social networks, to ensure that elderly learners have as much opportunity to utilize supportive educational resources to gain skills, confidence and independence. There are some policies in place and efforts being made but much more needs to be done to improve the design, availability and support of personal computing devices and equipment for older learners in order to sufficiently meet their needs.
A learning upgrade - gender and ICT in education
Presented at the Learning and Teaching with Technology Conference (September 2012) by Gerry White, ACER.
This presentation provides information on pathways that male college students may follow to achieve academic success by controlling distractions from digital devices and cyberloafing activities.
The WYRED (netWorked Youth Research for Empowerment in the Digital society) project has celebrated its fifth face-to-face meeting in Istanbul (Turkey) from November 19th–21st. This represents the work done by TAU partner regarding the WP4 (Delphi).
Working & Serving in an Updated World is an introduction to the Millennial (Generation-Y) generation entering the work force and the changes in technology that have shaped this generation. The presentation keeps the higher education audience in mind. This presentation was created by Rains Media and presented by Matthew Melnyk and Jean-Paul Rains
A presentation I gave to introduce the Always on (them): Digital and Social Media Use in Education event at University of the West of Scotland in June 2016
Education is a basic need for every human being and
digital education is the current trend and necessity for every
students or learners to be more focused in their learning. In this
paper authors worked with these current phenomena. Digital
education helps students or learners to gather knowledge in
easier and different ways than before. It also reduces the learning
time. In traditional education system we were mostly dependent
on text book or in instructor’s speech. But nowadays it is easier to
find any text book or any other learning materials by using
digital educational tools. Another charismatic change that
transformed human life is social networking. In terms of digital
education social networks contribute a good portion of education.
Among social networking services, Facebook has become most
popular for communication with familiar and unfamiliar
persons. The impact of the use of Facebook on students is very
impactful. In this paper authors conducted a survey on various
students for understanding the digitalization effect on
educational purpose. Machine learning was applied for classified
the happy and unhappy student with digitalization where focused
time spent on educational purposes. Finally authors provided an
analytical summary of digitalization effect on education based on
their survey.
The popular media tells us that we live in an age of disengagement. 21st century professors are told they need to design curriculum to support student success and create an engaging classroom whether it is face-to-face, online, or in a blended learning environment. Creating engaging learning environments with technology will be essential to embrace 21st century learners and their ever evolving learning styles. Information Technology is dedicated to this philosophy and embraces varying technologies and learning concepts with other institutions and with our own faculty to generate innovation with technology and learning engagement in tandem. Information Technology invites the Stevens community to explore how educators can use some of the tools such as apps, clickers, open education resources, mobile learning, collaborative learning platforms from Google Hangouts to Massive Open Online Courses, and embrace the engagement strategies of social media
2023 Higher Level Group of Education and TrainingLinda Castañeda
Presentación realizada por Linda Castañeda para su ponencia en la reunión del Higher Level Group of Education and Training de la UE en el Marco de la Presidencia española del consejo europeo en jerez de la Frontera el 29 de junio de 2023
Keynote taking about the importance of emotional and social learning, and digital competence as key comptences in the future where AI among other emerging technologies might shape our skills' set.
1. Predictors of Technological Anxiety & Self-Efficacy
Regarding Social Media & its Implications for
Nonprofit Agencies Targeting Older Adults
Angela S. Williamson
2. Introduction
• As of 2010, 97% of nonprofit organizations are using social
media websites like Twitter and Facebook
• There could be a neglected audience during this organizational
shift
• Underrepresented audience are older adults 57 and over
• Empirical research has shown that older adults are anxious in
matters relating to technological efficacy, but there is a gap in
research
• Current research does not show how technological anxiety
influences technological self-efficacy in learning social media
2
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3. Statement of the Problem
• 21% of Americans will be
over the age of 65 by 2030
• Older adults have an active
lifestyle and social media
could play a key role in an
aging society
• Technological gap may be a
major challenge for
nonprofits
• Understanding technological
anxiety may provide
guidance to nonprofit
organizations
3
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4. 4
Quantitative Hypotheses
• H1A: Based on a theoretical framework consisting of Bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy
theory on learning new tasks, it is hypothesized that the level of technological
anxiety influences technological efficacy in older adults learning social media.
– H10: There is no significant relation between the level of technological anxiety and
technological efficacy in older adults learning social media.
• H2A: According to current research on older adults and technology, demographic
factors like age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, income and education influence
feelings of technological anxiety in older adults learning social media.
– H20: There is no significant difference in demographic factors influencing feelings of
technological anxiety in older adults learning social media.
If a significant difference occurred then the third hypothesis was:
• H3A: If there is a significant difference in the independent and dependent variables,
then how much does technological anxiety influence feelings of technological self-
efficacy in older adults learning social media?
– H30: There is no significant difference in the demographic relations between
technology and anxiety as the independent and dependent variables respectively.
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5. 5
Quantitative Research Questions
• RQ1: Does the level of technological anxiety influence
technological efficacy in older adults learning social
media?
• RQ2: To what extent do the older adult’s demographic
factors (age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, marital
status, income, education) influence feelings of social
media anxiety?
• RQ3: To what extent do the older adult’s demographic
factors (age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, marital
status, income, education) influence feelings of
technological self-efficacy?
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6. 6
Measurement Scales
• Rosen and Weil’s (1992) Computer Anxiety Rating
Scale (CARS):
– Computer Anxiety Rating Scale (CARS) changed to
Social Media Anxiety Rating Scale
• Rosen and Weil’s (1992) Computer Thoughts Survey
(CTS):
– Computer Thoughts Survey (CTS) changed to Social
Media Thoughts Survey
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7. 7
Quantitative Methodology
• Face-to-face surveys
• Senior centers in Southern California
• Participants were 57 and older
• Survey divided into two sections:
– 40 technological anxiety and technological self-
efficacy questions
– 7 demographic questions
• Pilot study tested updated measurements
• Survey data collected & analyzed with SPSS
software
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8. 8
RQ1 Results
•A positive statistical relationship exists between
the level of technological anxiety and technological
efficacy in older adults learning social media.
•Technological anxiety predicted technological
efficacy (β = -.471, p < .000), accounting for 48% of
the variance in the level of technological anxiety
predicting technological efficacy in older adults
learning social media, R = .480, F (1, 100) = 29.88, p
< .000.
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RQ2 Results
•Only age predicted feelings of social media
anxiety in older adults learning social media and
suggests that as older people age, their anxiety
about social media will be higher.
•Age predicted the level of social media anxiety,
accounting for 13% of the variance in predicting
social media anxiety for older adults learning
social media, R = .429, F (6, 95) = 3.58, p < .003.
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10. 10
RQ3 Results
•Ethnicity and income influenced feelings of
technological self-efficacy for older adults learning
social media.
•Ethnicity (β = -9.030, p < .008) and income (β = 7.356,
p < .019) influenced feelings of technological self-
efficacy, accounting for 20% of the variance in how
technological anxiety predicted feelings of
technological self-efficacy in older adults learning
social media, R = .480, F (6, 95) = 5.301, p < .000.
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11. 11
Conclusions
•Research concluded there is a correlation
between technological anxiety and
technological self-efficacy
•Age, income and ethnicity should be explored
further to test technological anxiety and
technological self-efficacy in older adults
learning social media
•Five key recommendations on the following
slides
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12. 12
#5 Know Your Audience
Four levels of older adults:
1.Younger boomers are born
between 1955-1964.
2.Older boomers are born
between 1946-1954.
3.The silent generation was
born between 1937-1945.
4.The GI generation was born
before 1936.
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13. 13
#4 Hire the Right Talent
•Social media
community
managers should
build relationships
with older adults
•Building these
relationships may
strengthen
“stickiness” with
this particular
group.
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14. 14
#3 Simplicity & Social Media Training
•More older adults are using
social media, but still have
challenges learning social
media
•Social media efforts should
include simple content and
easy navigation
•Provide a social media
handbook & on-site training
to address challenges
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15. 15
#2 Focus on Active Users
• Active users are
important for social
media success
• All social media
content should address
“senior” issues or older
adults will not
participate
• Age group perfect for
“Virtual Volunteering”
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16. #1 Have Patience
• Use creativity to
grab their attention
• Use patience when
exploring how to
provide products
and services
through social
media channels
16
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17. 17
References & Acknowledgements
• Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
• Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought
and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
• Berkshire, J. C. (2011). Tips for squeezing just a
little more from a tight budget. Chronicle of
Philanthropy, 23(7), 10. Retrieved from EBSCOhost
database.
• Comber, C., Colley, A., Hargreaves, D. J., & Dorn, L.
(1997). The effects of age, gender and computer
experience upon computer attitudes. Educational
Research, 39(2), 123-133.
doi:10.1080/0013188970390201
• Ellis, R. D., & Allaire, J. C. (1999). Modeling
computer interest in older adults: The role of age,
education, computer knowledge, and computer
anxiety. Human Factors, 41(3), 345-355.
• Gordon, M., Killey, M., Shevlin, M., McIlroy, D., &
Tierney, K. (2003). The factor structure of the
Computer Anxiety Rating Scale and the Computer
Thoughts Survey. Computers in Human Behavior,
19(3), 291-298.
• Lagana, L. (2008). Enhancing the attitudes and self-
efficacy of older adults toward computers and the
internet: Results of a pilot study. Educational
Gerontology, 34(9), 831-843.
doi:10.1080/03601270802243713
• Madden, M. (2010, August 27). Older adults and social
Media: Social networking use among those ages 50 and
older nearly doubled over the past year. Available At Pew
Internet & American Life Project website:
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Older-Adults-and-
Social-Media.aspx
• Mansfield, H. (2012). Social media for social good: A
how-to guide for nonprofits. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
• Rosen, L. D., & Weil, M. M. (1992). Measuring
technophobia. A manual for the administration and
scoring of three instruments: Computer Anxiety Rating
Scale (Form C), General Attitudes toward Computers
Scale (Form C), and Computer Thoughts Survey (Form
C). Carson, CA: California State University Dominguez
Hills, Computerphobia Reduction Program.
• West, M. (2011). How nonprofits can use social media to
spark change. Chronicle of Philanthropy, 23(7), 4.
Retrieved from EBSCOhost database.
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