Advice

Tips to provide the most beneficial technology support to senior citizens!

  1.  If possible, visit the same senior citizen a few times – perhaps once a week for a few weeks – because some individuals forget what you have taught them and the repetition is very beneficial to remembering how to perform the task
  2. If you notice that the individual you’re helping is getting frustrated because they keep on forgetting what you’re teaching them, move to helping them with a different skill and then come back. Sometimes simply taking a break from a particular skill enables them to process it and perform the skill better
  3. Get to know the person you’re helping! I found that the people I helped had really interesting stories and talking to them was not only fun and interesting, but it also made them more eager to have me help them with their technology.
  4. “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.” Though it might at times be easier to simply “do” something on a senior citizen’s technological device than show them how to do it, it’s much more beneficial for them if you teach them how to do it because you won’t always be there to help them.

 

 

Tips for writing a good instruction sheet:

  1. After teaching an individual how to perform a specific task, use your phone to video record yourself doing that task on their device so when you go to write the instruction sheet you know exactly what you did and can make instructions specific to the setup of their device
  2. Pictures are your friend! If you can, put the symbol for the application you’re instructing the individual to click on in the instruction sheet because it’s very helpful to more visual learners
  3. Be as thorough as possible. It’s much easier for many people to perform a task when someone is helping them than when they are simply reading directions off a sheet so try your best to include a lot of detail.
  4. Follow up with the individuals you’ve helped a week or even a couple weeks after giving them the instruction sheet. Even if the instruction sheet is very detailed, an in-person refresher can often be very helpful!