Seniors finding their
place in cyberspace
From e-mail to Web sites,
By Betty Shimabukuro
older isle residents are
going to the Net
Star-BulletinLiane Corbelli made it through her teaching career avoiding just about all contact with computers. Well, except for that time when her son was in seventh grade and talked his parents into a computer and they all went to class together to learn to use it.
"Of course my son went zoom -- left us in the dust," she recalled.
Fast-forward a handful of years to retirement. Corbelli went back to the future to get a handle on this computer thing.
Now she's got her own Web site on the Internet.
"I think we have to learn to be like kids and just go for it," she said.
Seniors have found their place in cyberspace. They are surfing the Internet to research genealogies, keep track of stock investments, collect medical data, make travel plans, read up on any number of interests -- and, of course, e-mail.
"Seniors have the time and the intelligence," retiree Fred Ing said. "They may not be up to speed, but they catch on fast enough if you don't use all this computer jargon."
Ing, a retired computer programmer, helped teach Internet skills to seniors through free sessions offered by the Kokua Council for Senior Citizens last year.
About 140 people, aged 60 to 90-plus, attended the two-hour sessions on basic computer use and the Internet.
Classes were held 16 different times at sites throughout Oahu. Coordinator Jane Chong said she received more than 300 telephone calls in a week about the classes -- after just a single, brief announcement in a newspaper.
"My phone was ringing constantly," Chong said. "Every time I put it down there was another call."
Many seniors had been given a hand-me-down computer when their children upgraded, she said, but their kids couldn't teach them to use it and they were intimidated by regular adult classes.
The Kokua classes, taught by volunteers, gave them a shot at learning at a basic level, and interest was overwhelming.
Chong is trying to put together the grant money to offer more free classes (for information e-
mail Chong at jvsaloha@aol.com) and wants to take them into nursing homes. "I think computers could be most valuable to people who have limited mobility."
Also offering training for the older Web cruiser is SeniorNet, a national organization with a learning center at Honolulu Community College's Emeritus College. SeniorNet has more than 200 members statewide.
Coordinator Joe Yuen said members learn from each other through newsletters and their Web page, and gather for quarterly meetings where they share problems and solutions. Their last meeting also included a presentation on WebTV.
Between meetings are informal sessions on various topics, free to members. Weekly sessions in March focus on Turbo Tax software, taught by SeniorNet members. Members also may sign up for Honolulu Community College computer courses at a discount.
Corbelli is learning to manage her Web site, which explores things to do with the grandkids, through weekly SeniorNet sessions at HCC. She's adding links to places she visited on a recent hiking trip to New Zealand.
Corbelli's site is an offshoot of the SeniorNet C@fe home page, which covers everything from club events to lunch wagons and allows members to build linked pages on just about any topic, under the heading of "pleasant moments."
Yuen said seniors can be reluctant to wade into technological waters, so he encourages them to stick to the basics.
"Forget about learning how to do spreadsheets and all that. You're not going to use it. Get on the Internet. That's a wonderful thing," he said.
E-mail alone is worth getting online for many seniors, retiree Art Park said.
He keeps up with a son in Japan, siblings on the West Coast, missionaries from his church who are in Africa and the Philippines.
Many seniors find their interest in computers grows from an initial wish to send e-mail to grandchildren away at college, Park said.
The idea in reaching seniors, Ing said, is to demystify computers. "It's not like it's a deep, dark secret and we're only going to keep it among the Merlins."
Plugging in
How to reach computer-savvy seniors:
SeniorNet C@fe: The learning center at Honolulu Community College, 845-9296, or http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/srnetcafe
