# What kind of IT help could seniors you know use? We are researching a nonprofit service model.



## Michele (Jan 10, 2015)

Hello.  I am working with a nonprofit group in Houston.  We are researching IT training service for seniors. Would you please help us evaluate this service by answering 2 very short questions - "What kind of IT help could seniors you know use and do you think it would need to be onsite or could it be provided over a screen-sharing application?  If it's provided over a screen-sharing application, people with mobility issues (e.g. people who use wheelchairs) would be able to provide the training. Thank you very much for your help!


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## Ina (Jan 10, 2015)

Michele, I must admit that I don't know what IT is. So please educate me.


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## Michele (Jan 10, 2015)

Hi Ina - Thanks for your reply.  Silly me for not writing out IT.  It stands for Information Technology (computers or smart phone are example of how people use Information Technology).


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## Ina (Jan 10, 2015)

Thank you Michele, I have both, so I'll be looking for your post.


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## Happyflowerlady (Jan 10, 2015)

Michele, it would seem to me that having both would be beneficial. I live in Alabama, and our Senior Center here has a few computers, and they have classes to help seniors learn basic computer use. I would think that this would be necessary to help people that are first learning how to use either a computer or a smartphone. 
Once the person was proficient in basic computer uage, then just having a place online where they could have questions answered would be a great help. 
Maybe some basic online tutorials that people could watch, and someone to work on chat lines, like many companies provide for shoppers nowdays. Comcast has a similar thing, where you can go to their webpage , sign in, and then chat with a service person about what the issue is. 
Of course, they only deal with issues with your internet or cable tv service; but I think that this would also work for someone who juat had a question about their tablet, computer, or smartphone. 

I am fortunate that i have my daughter to help me when I can't figure something out. She does require that I have at least googled the problem and tried to figure it out on my own first, and then (just before I pull out all of my hair), my Guruette will tell me how to fix it, or show me when I see her. 
Hopefully, this is the kind of answers you are looking for for your study ??


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## SifuPhil (Jan 10, 2015)

I'm assuming this type of on-line or in-person help is targeted toward fairly cognizant users. 

My problem, with my roommate, is that no matter how many times I remind her of a procedure she forgets it by the next day. Early Alzheimer's, perhaps, but it's frustrating at times. I've often wished for some type of smart system that would provide pop-ups based upon her keystrokes (think the little paperclip guy in earlier versions of Word). 

As Happyflowerlady mentioned, having both on-line and in-person help would be great, but I think that if I had to choose only one I'd go with the on-line help. You might have some problems convincing seniors that enough safeguards are taken with software such as TeamViewer - they might fear that "you're inside my computer!"


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## Michele (Jan 11, 2015)

Very helpful replies.  Thank you Ina, Happyflowerlady and SifuPhil.  Hilarious avatar, SifuPhil.  Thanks for the grin. Interesting suggestions about online help - similar to the kind provided by cable companies.  Many years ago I worked with Lotus - with the people who were in the call center and I admired their patience and ability to "see" their clients' problems without really seeing them.  SifuPhil - what a good idea you suggested - a system that learns your keystrokes and then suggests where you want to go.  Microsoft can record keystrokes and assign them to a "shortcut key".  I think the technology to do that is available.  But someone has to learn how to use it.

About the screen-sharing applications, do you think it would help if a volunteer came to the person's home the first time?  The volunteer could sit with the senior the first time they accessed the system and help them understand how the screen-sharing applications doesn't "plant" something permanent in their computer.  Or do you think a senior wouldn't want someone in their home for physical safety concerns?


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## Ina (Jan 11, 2015)

Michele, Your last comment has much validity.  For me, a "small" instrutional pamplet that I could grab, and quickly find my Q&A's would be great. Especially if you could enlarge and bold face the print.


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## Michele (Jan 11, 2015)

Thank you Ina for your note.  I think your last post confirms that people might be hesitant to have someone come into their home.  Am I hearing you correctly?  While paper pamphlets might be too expensive for our group to create, perhaps building an online forum with related Q&As that seniors frequently have would be possible.


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## SifuPhil (Jan 11, 2015)

Michele said:


> Interesting suggestions about online help - similar to the kind provided by cable companies.  Many years ago I worked with Lotus - with the people who were in the call center and I admired their patience and ability to "see" their clients' problems without really seeing them.  SifuPhil - what a good idea you suggested - a system that learns your keystrokes and then suggests where you want to go.  Microsoft can record keystrokes and assign them to a "shortcut key".  I think the technology to do that is available.  But someone has to learn how to use it.



"Smart systems" cannot get here soon enough, especially in scenarios such as yours.



> About the screen-sharing applications, do you think it would help if a volunteer came to the person's home the first time?  The volunteer could sit with the senior the first time they accessed the system and help them understand how the screen-sharing applications doesn't "plant" something permanent in their computer.  Or do you think a senior wouldn't want someone in their home for physical safety concerns?



A mixed bag, I think. Seniors like every other demographic come in all flavors. I think more of a concern would be the costs involved with in-home visits. Even though they would be volunteers I think there would be legal considerations (insurance, etc.) that would need to be addressed. Would your non-profit pay for their gas / per-mile basis? Any training of these volunteers (training costs)? 

Admittedly you could reach a wider audience with in-home visits, but I think the costs would still work out to be higher ... of course, I could be totally wrong.


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## Happyflowerlady (Jan 11, 2015)

One possibility might be to work together with the Senior Centers in your area, Michele. That way seniors who were not comfortable with having somone come to their home could go to the Center and see a presentation there, and if they wanted to schedule in-home help, they would be able to sign up for it,  and if they wanted to have online help , then they could get the website information for that as well. 
If it is online, seniors from other areas would also be able to use the service. 

FAQ is always a good idea, since people can find many of the most asked questions without needing further help from anyone.


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## Michele (Jan 12, 2015)

Very helpful suggestions SifuPhil and Happyflowerlady.
SifuPhil - You have an excellent point.  Seniors are VERY diverse & we'll need to refine the group we're looking to serve before we get too far afield.
Happyflowerlady - excellent suggestion to work with the senior centers.  I have contacting the local area agency on aging on my list.  After I read your post I looked to see if there is a center near me - and what do you know? There's one about a mile from my house.  

Big thanks to both of you!


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