Reflection

Reflection-
    The goal of this was to witness and experience the digital divide, and for the most part I really did not notice it. I was working with residents that were quite efficient in regards to using computers and technology. They were able to use computers to send and receive e-mails and they were constantly interacting with their friends and families in this manner. They were also able to search the internet and find the relevant information that they were looking for. Their biggest obstacle that I noticed was that they had a tough time seeing the small print that is prevalent on most computer screens (although they can be adjusted). Outside of that and a little bit of a struggle with the mouse I was very impressed with their knowledge and abilities.
    I spent the majority of my time trying to figure out how to write about a “digital divide” that I was not witnessing. Than on my last day it dawned on me. There are approximately 500 residents in that facility and of that I was only interacting with 3, that is not to say that they were the only 3 that were competent in regards to using a computer, but from what had been told to me by my liaison they were 3 of the few that were actually using computers on a regular basis. I also had an in-depth conversation with both Karin and one of the residents that I was working with about how many seniors were using a computer their. They informed me that was not many at all. The resident than informed me that the biggest problem was that no one was coming in to teach them how to use computers, and on top of that there was only 4 computers in the lab at Kensington Gardens for them to use.
    I    We continued to speak about some of the obstacles stopping more residents from using computers. The answer actually caught me off guard, Karin explained to me that the hardest part for most residents was not grasping the concept of how computers work, or how to surf the internet, but rather handling the mouse. She explained to me that they lacked the dexterity to comfortably use it and that they often get upset by this and give up using computers. I thought to myself she is probably on to something. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to be able to grasp the concept of something and than be unable to do it because of a tiny little object called “a mouse”. And after a little bit of investigation I found an article that in brief mentions this. However, this article presented me with a few more pieces of information that could be hindering the advancement of computers in the elderly.
    According to Jamie K. Wilson, the hardest part of learning to use a computer for seniors is the way that seniors (those born after the 1950’s) learn. (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/281822/teaching_senior_citizens_about_computers.html) According to Wilson seniors “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”.(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/281822/teaching_senior_citizens_about_computers.html) This is an interesting finding, and it is supported by what she refereed to as a “Difference in learning style: Our kids today learn in a group setting that often seems chaotic; our seniors learned much more individually and may value politeness over assertiveness. The most important difference: you have to learn to spot questions without the student asking them. Many seniors, especially women, simply won't ask questions, and get lost instead”. (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/281822/teaching_senior_citizens_about_computers_pg2.html?cat=25)
    After hearing what Wilson had to say on the issue I began to put a few more concepts into consideration. It is important to note that “seniors” are the same group of people that often grew up in a house with one, or quite possibly no television. To ask them to learn technology in the same manner as an individual that grew up with Ipods, Iphones, SmartPhones, and personal computers is a foolish approach, and this certainly contributes to the digital divide. I actually had a conversation with one resident while I was at Kensington Garden and he put this divide into perspective for me in terms of the mentality of many elderly. I asked him if he would like to learn how to use a computer. He asked me why? I informed him of all of the possible things that I could teach him to do on a computer. He told me that he had gone 84 years without using a computer, and he does not have any time to waste sitting in front of it now. And to a large extent what he said to me made a lot of sense. He has gone his entire life without using a computer, why would he have to learn now, with all of the activities that they have going on at Kensington Gardens I can only imagine that he is already busy, so why waste the time using a computer now.

It must be remembered that this is a generation that was working when computers began to become popular, and they were often too busy raising their children and making mortgage payments to become so drawn into computers to stay up-to-date with them. Also, it is a common expression that as soon as a computer comes onto the market it is obsolete, so how can it be expected that this generation should be as technologically adept as the Gen X’s or teens of today. However, with that being said they are a brilliant generation that are certainly closing the digital divide despite the many obstacles in their paths.

    There are many reasons why a digital divide exists in regards to seniors in Canada. However, according to Mark McMurtrey, Ronald McGaughey and James Downey this digital divide is shrinking; however it is certainly not because of any adjustment made to tailor to the needs of the elderly. (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7096/is_2_17/ai_n31059706/?tag=content;col1)
But rather” because the elderly want so badly to use the technology that has so much potential to improve their lives. They use it in spite of the fact that it is not designed with them in mind.”http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7096/is_2_17/ai_n31059706/pg_12/?tag=content;col1



http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7096/is_2_17/ai_n31059706/pg_12/?tag=content;col1




(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/281822/teaching_senior_citizens_about_computers.html)

April 6th

Wednesday April 6th

I have meetings with two residents today. I arrived for my first appointment and met him in his room. Today his goal was to work out how to print out labels. He had previously told me that he wanted to focus on this for this appointment so I went ahead and found a how-to guide on how to print out labels for him. The article was quite detailed and I had the link prepared for him when I arrived. We opened up the link and he followed the instructions perfectly and he had it working in about 20 minutes. To ensure that everything was done properly we tested the printouts on regular paper. The first time the labels printed out in portrait as opposed to landscape so after a minor adjustment we got it working the way that he wanted. After we completed this he informed me that he had no other questions and since he knew that I had other appointments that day he told me that I should go and work with other residents. So we parted ways and he said that he would write down and email me any questions that he may have for our next appointment for next Wednesday.
    I arrived slightly early for my next appointment but the resident informed me that my timing was great and she was ready to work with me. Today our goal was to ensure that her GMail account was set up properly and to set up a blog for her. So we got her GMail account working in no time, and after that we set up her Blog. She was very excited about this and wanted to know how to link all of her FlickR, Twitter and Blog together. So I informed her that this was possible and that all she needed to do was know the links of each networking tool and post them all on each other. After we finished setting up the Blog we were out of time but we agreed to meet again the following Wednesday.

Getting in contact

Monday April 4th
Today I recieved an email from one of the residents that I had left a note with. He informed me that he would be available on Wednesday at 3:30pm for an appointment. I emailed him back and verified that I would be available to meet him at that time.

Tuesday April 5th
Today I received a phone call from a resident informing me that she would be available on Wednesday, I told her that I was already meeting with a resident that day and that I would be available at around 4:30 or so to work with her. She informed me that this worked perfectly with her schedule on that day.

Day 3

Sunday April 3rd

I was in contact with Karin my liaison at Kensington Gardens and we decided that it would be best if I set up my appointments with the residents at mutually agreeable times. So today I decided that I would stop by and try and make contact with the residents. Unfortunately all three of the residents that I had been working with were not there. So I left a note in each one of their rooms with information on how to contact me, and after I left the third and final note one of the residents called me just as I was about to leave the building. So I went back upstairs to meet up with the resident. We had discussed last week about new forms of data storage devices (she wanted to upgrade from the 3 and a half inch floppy disks that she was using), so we went over some of the newer forms of storage (CD's, DVD's, on-line, as well as USB drives), and after some discussion we concluded that it was best that she use a flashdrive as it would be the most practical and useful device. We did a small amount of research and found a few potential matches, as well as some locations that she could go to (close to her residence) that she could purchase one. After that she informed me that she was off to a gathering of residence and that our time had concluded for the day. I wished her the best of luck and she informed me that she would be in contact with me regarding another appointment in the upcoming week.

Today's interaction was interesting, the resident seemed relatively up-to-date regarding some of the newer forms of storage, but seemed slightly apprehensive due to the smaller physical size of USB drives in comparison to floppy drives. However, after a discussion she was convinced that a USB drive would be best for her storage needs. This was the first time in our discussions that she seemed a little out of her element. I am still not sure if this is a reflection of the “digital divide” or the fact the she had been removed from using computers due to a five year stay in a hospital. I feel as if this particular resident would have been well aware of USB drives had she not been away from computers for so long.

Day 2

Monday March 28th – Today was my second day working with the residents at Kensington Gardens. I had an appointment that was booked the day before for today at 1 o'clock. I showed up about ten minutes early to sign in and make sure that the resident was still able to meet with me. As soon as I walked towards the computer lab I noticed that the resident I was meeting with was both ready and eager to begin working with me. Much like my previous meeting this resident surprised me with her knowledge of computers as well. She explained to me that she has been using computers since they became available, but due to an accident approximately five years ago she became disconnected from computers and the internet. We talked for a bit about her accident and we also talked about how much computers and the internet had changed since she stopped using them. However, she was very excited to catch up and we began to work. What she wanted to do was set up a Flick R account as well as her own Blog. We spent the hour together setting up her first account, she had a great deal of questions and all of them were quite relevant to the topic. Her biggest concern was about security, she wanted to know who would be able to access her flickr and her Blog, and if she could stop anyone from accessing private information. Her questions caught me off guard a fair bit, because she was quite knowledgable about internet security. She even began to tell me about how when wireless networking first began they were often unencrypted and she knew of people that would travel around and find unsecured networks and use them, and sometimes collect private information from them. Once again, this residents knowledge and skill set impressed me, and it made me re-think the views that I had towards the elderly and technology.

Total time spent” 1 hour, 20 minutes

First Day

March 27th-- First “official” day working with the residents at Kensington Gardens. I arrived about five minutes before my scheduled 2:30 start time which was great because I am never sure which of the two buildings I am supposed to be in. But once I went to the receptionist she called my contact Amy who showed up and took me to her back office for a brief chat. We talked for a little bit about a few of the residents that she was going to have me working with as well as what I was comfortable doing. After that we walked towards the elevator but while doing so we passed a resident that was making use of the computer lab that they have on location. Amy had a quick conversation with the resident and the resident made it clear that she would like a few lessons on computers as well. Now I have an appointment with her at 1:00 pm on Monday March 28th. After this we went upstairs and I was introduced to an elderly man who was in his late 80's. He was fortunate enough to have his own computer in his room and he was very aware of his surroundings. He was quite comfortable using his computer but wanted to expand his knowledge. He asked me to help him rename some of the folders he used to organize his emails with as well as how to search for sent emails in one of his email accounts. He actually had multiple email accounts set up with multiple folders in each one. After that we talked for a bit and he asked me a few more questions about how to increase the font size on emails that he was sending, and I taught him how to do that as well. All together I was very impressed with his skill level I was not too sure what to expect but he was quite competent using his computer. It surprised me just how comfortable he was actually, considering that the purpose of this service learning was to experience the “technical divide” between the younger and older populations.
    The next resident that I worked with was a much younger lady that was located on the same floor as the previous resident. Her particular problem was quite different than that of the other resident. She actually needed help using her new Ipad that her daughter had given her. This caught me even more off guard than the previous residents skill set. She was well aware of the capabilities of the Ipad but had not received any instructions or training yet. She was asking how to perform certain tasks and just needed some guidance to do so. She was able to send and receive emails but was uncertain how to re-size the screen and wanted to find an online English to Irish translator. So we spent the majority of our time together working on those skills. She was a fairly quick learner and it was a pleasure to work with her. Again, this resident surprised me because she seemed fairly comfortable with technology and she was asking how to use an Ipad and this shocked me more than anything else. The Ipad is a fairly new technology and even most students in universities do not have access to them. Yet, an elderly women in a retirement home not only has one, but is also increasing her comfort level every day.

Total time spent – 2 hours.

Background Info

Prior to beginning working with the residents it was required of me to hand in a police background check as well as TB test. This was not a problem for me because I already had these things done for my job. We also had to attend an orientation session at the facility. This lasted approximately 3 hours and we got a tour of both buildings as well as an understanding of what our responsibilities were to be. This was a long day with a lot of paper work to go through, but all of it was certainly neccesary. We got instructions about emergency situations, as well as how to properly push residents that were wheelchair bound. I found this session very helpful and informative.

After the first the first introduction and orientation session my group had to meet with the volunteer co-coordinator Karin. We met for an hour and went over a few of the goals and concerns that each side had. After the session she told us that she would have a list of interested residents for us to work with. We spent approximately one hour and after I left I was very excited about this opportunity. It seemed that she was searching for just interested residents, which would make working with them that much easier, as opposed to just forcing them into participating.