It’s never too late in life to learn and make new discoveries, especially when it comes to technology and all the new gadgets on the market today. Residents of St. George Village senior living life care community are proving this true, using desktop and laptop computers, smartphones and tablets.
Six SGV residents recently enrolled in a workshop on how to use an iPad tablet computer. The class, which meets once a week for eight weeks, covers a range of topics from the very basics of the iPad and how it operates to how to download and use free applications from the Internet.
“Even people who are not ‘computer literate’ or intuitive regarding technology can learn how to use the iPad and become comfortable with it,” says class instructor Jane Ratliff, owner of Blue Hair Technology Group, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate seniors about current technology and the tools available to them to connect and communicate with family and friends. “And while the current senior generation didn’t grow up with technology, there’s no reason for them to miss out on the whole social experience it offers.”
Students enrolled in the iPad workshop are discovering the joys of being able to connect with others online — playing games with friends, video chatting with loved ones via Skype, or even connecting with their grandchildren on Facebook.
Hands-on workshops like this provide a fun, comfortable and convenient way for seniors to learn how to use technology, find information online, and stay alert and active.
St. George Village will sponsor a second eight-week iPad workshop, also taught by Ratliff, beginning November 13, and also will host a TechRALLY for Seniors — a hands-on technology education expo — on December 2.