Beginning at Carmel Middle School in 2003 and still going strong at Carmel High School over 15 years later, friendly student volunteers continue to “adopt” senior citizens to answer their questions and in 2019, help them better be able to use their laptops, tablets and smartphones.
When the Senior Connects program first started, Net Literacy’s student volunteers held computer drives and built hundreds of computer labs inside independent living facilities, senior apartments, and senior centers because few seniors owned their own computer. Fifteen years later, most seniors own at least one device and so now, students spend their time answering questions and teaching them how to use their devices. While technology can feel unfriendly at times, the Senior Connects model pairs a friendly student volunteer with a senior for one-on-one instruction so things can be explained in a way that helps reduce any fears the seniors may have of the technology.
Senior Connects offers computer and digital literacy resources at no cost in English, Spanish and Russian, and are available by clicking on this link – https://www.netliteracy.org/senior-connects/lesson-plans/
For more information, contact Dan at danielkent(at)netliteracy.org.
Check out some pictures that show student volunteers helping seniors during a recent Sunday afternoon:
