Summary Activities

Summary activity 1

Volunteer computer coach Bobbie is meeting with Rachael, a 75 year old vibrant, energetic and curious woman who is desperately keen to learn how to use her iPad. This is the second time Bobbie has met with her and at the commencement of the session he explains their previously agreed upon plan for the day. Rachael had been watching a renovation show on television and wanted to research the Art Deco style, particularly Art Deco paintings. Bobbie reminded her of the plan, checking that his understanding was correct. He went on to explain they could use the internet to explore the Art Deco style and then go to some specific sites that focus on art-work. 

Bobbie began by showing Rachael how to use the internet app. He showed her where to find it on the iPad and how to search for information. He typed in Art Deco and showed Rachael the many sites that could be explored. At Rachael’s suggestion he opened one of the sites and began exploring while Rachael watched and occasionally asked questions. Bobbie then asked Rachael if she was ready to try the process herself, which she did with Bobbie at her side, leading her through the steps. She opened a different website, this time full of images which she began looking at with delight. 

Bobbie continued sitting with Rachael as she explored and practiced getting into new sites. Before the session ended Bobbie congratulated Rachael on her success with searching the internet and asked her to show him one last time how to do the actions from start to finish without help. He then checked with her the plan for next week. Rachael said she wanted to do something more creative. She loves art and would enjoy doing some artwork on her iPad. Bobbie said he would research the apps required. 

Summary Activity 2

Penny has been coaching 77 year old John to use the computer and it’s their third session together. He has never really used technology before now because he would rely on his partner Ray to take charge of the computer and keep them connected with family and friends. Ray passed away 18 months ago and John has realised that his contact with others has diminished and he wants that to change.

Penny has been coaching John to use email and Skype. For today’s session they have made a plan to practice what has already been covered previously and then explore Facebook, and maybe, if time, start creating John’s own Facebook page.

After Penny has set the scene for the session and has checked with John that he is happy to proceed with their plan, she asks him if he would like to check his emails. Independently John goes into his email account and reads two new messages. He wants to reply to one of the messages and is able to achieve this without assistance.

Next, John wants to make sure he remembers how to get into his Skype account. “I’m useless at this” he suddenly exclaims, “I can’t remember how this Skype works!” Penny reassures John and gently asks whether he would like her to show him again. He agrees and she takes over the control of the mouse explaining the process in a concise, 3 step procedure. John watches and asks the occasional question. It’s John’s turn again but this time Penny is guiding him through, giving prompts as necessary. 

Penny detected that the notes John wrote down about Skype at the last session did not seem to be very useful. She discussed this with him and suggested that if the instructions were set out in a diagram format it may be more helpful.  She had previously observed that John really enjoyed Youtube ‘how to’ clips and felt he was probably more dominantly a visual learner. Together they drew the procedure using boxes and arrows which seemed to put John at ease and increase his confidence.

It was clear to Penny by now that John loves to learn and is always curious. It would be important to add new and interesting bits of information into their sessions, ensuring that John kept engaged and would continue to enjoy what technology had to offer.  The session time was nearly over but they were able to look at some Facebook pages together so John could start thinking about what he would like to do.

To finish the session Penny asked John to show her the steps he will be taking to access Skype to ensure he is able to do it independently. John referred to his diagrams and accessed Skype with ease. She then congratulated him on how well his email skills had improved and together they developed a plan for his independent practice and the next session.