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Get your Ma and Da online
Teach the folks to surf!
To most young people, computers are a breeze and completely second nature. However, this is not always the case for the older people in your life. The Internet only took off in the nineties and really only became mainstream in the noughties. So, many people like your parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents may feel clueless and intimidated by computers and the Internet.
You may have been keen to help your parents, relatives or friends out, but not known where to start. Well, SpunOut have found just the place for ya.
Google have teamed up with Age Action to create a free and user friendly website, www.getyourfolksonline.ie.
The website is designed to help YOU (the teacher) pass on your knowledge in a clear and easy to understand way to an older person in your life (your student).
The website contains a variety of lesson plans, ordered in a very logical and simple way. So, your student will start out with the basics, such as how to turn on the computer, before moving onto other modules such as using email, social networking etc.
Each lesson is broken down into small easy to understand chunks, and goals for your student are highlighted at the beginning of the lesson. Each lesson plan is also accompanied by student notes, which your student can use to study and practice afterwards.
If you are keen to dive in and wanted to get started, here are some tips:
Before the lesson
- Chat to your student and find out what they are interested in and what they want to learn. It’s also very important to see what they already know.
- Have a look around the website and at the lesson plan you are about to start teaching.
- Print out the student notes to give to the student afterwards.
During the lesson
- Outline the goals of the lesson at the start, so that the student knows what they should be aiming to do.
- Cover the material in a clear way, with lots of mini steps along the way.
- Summarise and repeat information throughout the lesson.
- Keep your language simple and don’t use Internet acronyms or big fancy words as that will complicate things and intimidate your student.
- Encourage questions and make it clear that questions won’t bother you our upset the lesson.
- Allow your student to practice each step as many times as they wish, until they feel comfortable with it.
- Let your student know that there is no hurry to rush things and that they can take as much time as they want on each step and on each module.
- Be positive and praise your student for every step they complete and learn.
- Emphasise how important it is to practice between lessons.
General tips
- Make it fun. Show your student all the great things they could use the 'net for i.e. funny videos on YouTube or a forum based around one of their hobbies.
- Never assume knowledge about your student’s skill level. Just because they know how to email, don’t assume that they know all about search engines or social networking.
- Let your student actually do the work, i.e. let them move the mouse and type on the keyboard, instead of you doing it.
- You don’t have to cover all the lesson plans in a specific time frame or rush to get it all done; you can take it at your own leisure.
- Remember that there is real value in teaching these skills on a one to one basis. It will equip your student with a valuable life skill, which will always be helpful.
If you would like to learn more about teaching your student, click here to go to the getyourfolksonline.ie 'how to' page.
Further Information
Getyourfolksonline.ie
Getyourfolksonline.ie course information
Customised getyourfolksonline.ie courses
