Report Text 29/09/2000

CASE STUDIES

The six projects presented were varied in approach. Some illustrated the 'taster sessions' provided not only to sheltered housing residents but also to other groups of older people, in clubs, day centres, etc. In others the object was to establish ICT usage specifically within sheltered housing schemes. Each project provided valuable lessons.

In each of our projects the initiative came from without ‑ from the landlord agency managing sheltered housing, from a voluntary agency or activist. In none of these projects did the initial initiative come from residents within a scheme; but there is no reason why it should not ‑ one purpose of a workshop such as ours is to stimulate residents to explore the possibilities of introducing ICT within their own schemes.

Frances Cambrook: Bournemouth University/McCarthy and Stone

As a researcher Frances Cambrook has been studying technological change through oral history; she has also been teaching the use of the internet to students. Consequent upon an oral history project she was invited by McCarthy and Stone (a major private sector provider of retirement housing) to investigate the introduction of ICT into five of their schemes in central‑south England. If successful, McCarthy and Stone would introduce ICT facilities into their schemes and advertise them accordingly.

Refurbished computers were obtained for each scheme (all of the five selected participated but one did not retain the computer afterwards). Sponsorship sources resulted in two servers being used ‑Freeserve and ncl. Printers were not available within the existing funding ‑ two schemes purchased their own. In each scheme 15‑20 residents participated in the project.

Two full day training sessions were given in each scheme, separated by a two week interval. The morning of each session was devoted to 'theory', the afternoon to 'practice' in groups of three. The first session dealt with the internet, the second e‑mail. Homework exercises were given for the intervening fortnight.

Funding did not permit further formal sessions, but Frances made voluntary visits to the schemes as and when time and itineraries allowed. A final visit to each scheme concluded the project.

Feedback on the project was positive. Several residents have bought their own computer; some have proceeded to other formal classes. Two schemes have kept their computers and of these one has formed a 'club' with some five members.

Ann Brogan and Jenny Foulger: Watford Council/Better Government for Older People

Ann Brogan is Housing Needs Coordinator/Sheltered Housing, and Jenny Foulger a scheme manager. In October 1997 Watford Council successfully bid for a Better Government for Older People grant under the title, 'Strategies for Older People'; the project was to install computers in all the Council's fifteen schemes and to train residents in their use.

Refurbished computers were not forthcoming and identical machines were purchased at full cost; the Council's IT department arranged the acquisition of the computers and their installation. Most schemes have purchased a printer from their social club funds.

In a pilot in Jenny's scheme a questionnaire introduced residents to the project. A volunteer trainer ‑an older person ‑ visited each Monday to give one‑to‑one training at arranged hours. About ten residents were involved in the training though others were passive observers. The computers are accessible throughout the day for residents to practice their skills.

At present each scheme has from four to six residents who are regularly using the computer. Management of the use of the computers is being debated in each scheme. A large local firm now has agreed to sponsor the training of residents as a community project.

Teresa Gallagher: Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation/Training for Life, NIACE

Teresa Gallagher is Deputy Care Services Manager in the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation's sheltered housing scheme of 138 flats for ex‑servicemen, many of whom have disabilities. Trainingfor Life had been renting a room in the scheme to train 16‑24 year olds in computer skills. They carried out a questionnaire survey of the older residents in the scheme and offered spare time and access to their computers to train them in ICT. A successful bid to the Adult and Community Learning Fund administered by the DfEE and NIACE has provided two computers and a part time project manager for two years.

The project manager is about to begin in this post; but she has been a volunteer and then a paid tutor for some months; she is a trained teacher and well known to the Foundation.

Three computers and two printers are now installed in the scheme's Garden Room where newspapers and tea are also available. They are freely accessible throughout the day and are now in regular use. The tutor provides one‑to‑one training sessions of one hour, to residents on request. Ten sessions seem sufficient to establish confidence to proceed with little additional help. Initially the training focuses on e‑mail and the Internet but will later cover more complex processes. SOSF will recruit volunteers to provide additional training and expertise. The target is to train eighty residents in basic skills.

Sue Warr: Age Concern Bournemouth/Age Resource

Sue Warr is Development and Information Officer at Age Concern Bournemouth. In 1997 ACB set up a Resource Desk as part of a programme initiated by Age Resource ‑ a unit within the national Age Concern England. This Desk provided information to callers from its computer data base on a very wide variety of topics. Subsequently ACB invited older people into its offices for one‑to‑one ICT training. This proved so successful that the Internet Outreach Project was established; a kit ‑ of laptop computer, multi media power point projector and printer ‑ is taken to a wide variety of community groups (sheltered housing, day centres, private rest homes etc.) for a 1 1/2hour 'taster session'. A minimum of four participants is required, a maximum of 24. In these sessions the first half hour deals with basic principles, the second with e‑mail and the final period with the Internet.

The training is carried out by volunteers ‑ mostly older people ‑ recruited via media advertisement. A very large response led to the selection of five (now seven) volunteers who each received two full days training by Age Resource. These volunteers work in pairs ‑ to share the carrying load and to prompt each other.

Sue Warr collects individual evaluation forms from participants and now has some 160 responses, testifying to the success of the scheme; many participants have proceeded to further training. One ACB volunteer takes classes to bring older people up to the standard which they feel necessary to join formal classes. There continues to be a large number of requests for the 'taster sessions'. ACB is actively involved in collaborative projects promoting ICT use by older people.

Gwyneth Bryant and lan Betts: Age Concern East Sussex/Age Resource

Gwyneth Bryant is Development and Information Officer, and lan Betts a volunteer, at Age Concern East Sussex (located in Lewes). Here too an Age Resource Desk was established in 1997 but with little success. An open day for ICT training was advertised locally; 58 people wished to attend. Nine of these were accommodated in a single workshop whilst the remainder were offered one to one sessions. The success of this led to the recruitment of lan Betts to take taster sessions to a wide variety of venues.

A taster session at a senior citizens' club in Bexhill led to a series of weekly sessions. Some members bought their own computers and two now attend classes in a further education college. A local firm has provided a computer and offers support to club members. These now offer their own taster sessions and envisage the development of a cybercafe. Similar developments are taking place at social services day centres, a bowls club, a day hospital, a sheltered housing complex...

Peter Stanley: Woodingdean Open House, Brighton

Peter Stanley has been active within the community for 40 years, and involved with computers for nearly as long. He is now retired. Initially he worked with Age Concern Brighton in establishing its Resource Desk, but this did not develop; nor did a proposal to open a cybercafe.

In the past two years he has worked with a colleague on a number of projects in his locality. They respond to local requests rather than work to a pre‑defined programme; Peter describes himself as a facilitator rather than an organiser. He and his colleagues are not constrained by bureaucratic red‑tape. Participants in the projects are able, and encouraged, to work at their own pace. With little external funding and sponsors to be accountable to, local groups and projects can work informally.

Peter and his colleagues have built up a core of volunteers, older persons, who undertake a wide range of training. Three are retired engineers who would like to be trained to maintain computers and equipment and to trouble‑shoot; this has yet to be arranged.

Initially, for about three months, the group were able to borrow six lap tops one day a week from Brighton & Hove Council. Subsequently they were able to acquire four new PCs (with Lottery funding) used for training sessions, and now have another six that they are able to loan out for up to six weeks so that students can practice at home.

A varied array of activities now take place within the locality: a computer club for the over 50s recruited through a leaflet drop, a club within the sheltered housing scheme, an afternoon drop‑in centre, an evening club, together with individual tutorial sessions, usually of two hour duration spaced to allow practice between sessions.

THE GUIDE

1. Why should older people get involved in ICT? What is in it for them? What benefits might they gain? The answers come both from the older people themselves, describing how they use ICT or what they want from it; and from external advocates who argue how it could benefit older people.

1.1 Uses

a) e-mail:

	many sheltered housing residents live distant from close kin and friends, and communication with them is problematic
	with arthritic hands letter writing becomes more difficult, and handwriting less legible
	long distant telephone calls are expensive
	e-mail promotes a rapid, if less personal, response; it is an easier and cheaper mode of communication
	e-mail clearly tops the list of current ICT usage

b) the internet:

	the internet provides an encyclopedic store of knowledge and information; for example:
	about local community activities
	about health issues
	about similar interest groups (e.g. crafts and hobbies, politics ... ), with the possibilities of communicating with these groups

c) shopping:

	the widely advertised possibilities of shopping via the internet do not, as yet, seem to have taken off; many people still like to see and feel what they are buying; they fear their credit card number will be fraudulently used; (it could be so used in everyday shopping!)
	shopping by telephone is an alternative; in one London borough home care assistants no longer shop personally for their clients but encourage tele‑shopping; collective shopping is facilitated in some day centres
	he booking of holidays via the internet may increase in popularity as it rivals the high‑street travel agents' ability to select the cheapest or most attractive options.

d) games:

game playing may be either a solitary activity or an interactive pursuit

Benefits.

	ICT can reduce isolation, especially of those who are largely housebound; it brings them into contact with the outside world; they understand the realities of the outside world, even though they may not participate; (even if they do not wish to play computer games with their grand children, they do at least appreciate what they are doing!)
	conversely it is feared that some users might retire to their screens in their own rooms and reduce their interaction with others, their friends and neighbours
	a computer in the communal lounge is viewed as a focus of activity (in an often little used area); friends will chat with users, enjoy a cup of tea. (The laundry usually fulfils a similar social function)
	management of the computer facilities provides another stimulus for resident participation (along with organising outings, the Christmas party, annual fete etc.).
	ICT stimulates mental activity and this almost certainly benefits health and feelings of well‑being
	ICT can dispel the myths of aging. Speakers and participants provided many examples of the activities of older residents; to note but one example: Doris is in her late 80s. She had no previous experience of computers; she began to attend 2 hour weekly classes in her scheme and after 6 weeks her children bought her a computer; she attended 20 weekly classes; she has recently downloaded all Monet's paintings to fulfil her interest; she uses some of the pictures to make her own greetings cards; she writes poetry; a year after her own first lesson she has returned to the beginners class ‑ as its tutor.

2. Impediments to learning

2.1 Most older people are not computer literate; their reluctance to remedy this can be summed up as fear:

	they do not understand the technology and its terminology - so different from the scientific principles learned at school, if at all, six decades previously
	they lack confidence in being able to keep up with others in a tutorial group, feeling that their slowness will inconvenience others and bring shame on themselves
	many do, in fact, have physical impairments ‑ arthritic limbs and poor eyesight resulting in difficulties in using keyboard and mouse, in seeing the screen.
	many websites are very poorly designed; they are not user‑friendly even for the average user and can be most unfriendly for those with poor eyesight
	conscious of the costs of using the telephone, they believe that a more 'hightech' facility will, ultimately, be even more expensive

2.2 Speakers and participants suggested that many of these fears were either groundless, or could be overcome:

	some adolescents were reported as asserting that, mentally, older people could learn as fast as their own age group; they were impeded only by their physical impairments
	most trainers report that older people need a longer period to become proficient
	in physical tasks ‑ e.g. in using the mouse
	older people should, preferably, be taught by their age‑peers ‑ who will understand their fears, and tolerate any slowness
	it was suggested that men and women learn differently; men are more goal oriented, and prefer to practice in isolation whilst women see learning as a social
	the average age of group members may be a significant factor in group activity; the younger the group, the faster they learn; (illustrations of the success of older people must modify this assumption)
	many older people do have physical impairments ‑ but these can be remedied, e.g. larger white keyboards, screen magnification; it was emphasised that individual needs could vary widely within categories, and that the standard equipment recommended perhaps by a disability association might not always be the most appropriate
	older people who can type may have an advantage over those who cannot

3. The role of scheme manager (aka warden, estate/house manager)

	the attitude of the scheme manager is very probably important; a keen manager can stimulate activity among the residents, or can through their own apathy discourage it.
	factors involved here might include:
	the scheme manger is computer literate, either through past experience or through having a computer in the office, provided by employers
	the scheme manager has no computer in the office but hopes that the residents' possession of one will encourage the employer to provide one in the scheme office; (in the meantime the manager must be disuaded from over‑use of the residents' computer)
	the scheme manger realises the social benefits of having a communal computer

4. Starting a project

The availability of 'taster sessions' is usually advertised in the local media and requests are responded to according to resources:

	if a project is being established within one or more schemes, a questionnaire could be completed by all residents indicating:
	their experience and knowledge of computing
	what they think they would use a computer for; (they are unlikely to realise its full potential)
	the taster session must incorporate demonstrations of the uses of the computer; many older people may be ignorant of the range of possibilities
	when a project is set up by an external agency its members will have expertise to select hardware and software as appropriate to the purpose, being constrained however by what is available, donations etc., budgetary constraints
	if residents are embarking on a project on their own initiative, or when they are taking over a project at the conclusion of a pilot run, they will need a small cadre of people with expertise to advise them; particularly re choice of equipment, comparing financial deals on offer, how to cope with breakdowns and maintenance problems; these may be found:
	among the residents, with existing skills or with scientific backgrounds which might be extended
	among residents' close kin who live nearby
	in a small local firm which will steer the residents through the sales talk and gimmicks of the large companies, giving residents their loyal and personal attention

	the cost of trainers/tutors tends to be a large proportion of the project budget (especially when the computers are acquired cheaply).
	the project leaders/trainers are usually ICT experts (which makes their input more costly, their available time limited!)
	they may need to acquaint themselves with the software being used (see above)
	they may need some training in working with older people (being used to school/college students)
	many projects therefore place heavy reliance on volunteer trainers
	these may be older people themselves; or as younger people they may need formal training in working with older people
	peer group training is often a successful way of getting a project started
	they may need training in the hardware and software used
	they should form a support group meeting regularly (monthly?) with project leaders
	it is frequently asserted that 'grandchildren can teach grandparents'; workshop participants felt that this is not so ‑ children do not have the patience to cope with the grandparents' initial learning stages; once the grandparent has acquired basic skills and competence, fruitful interaction is possible; (in one project a trainer sometimes brought her adolescent children and their friends to a class ‑ they were useful in giving one‑to‑one support to the learners)

7. Training methods

	Firstly one must generate enthusiasm among the learners;
	this may be helped by a pre‑circulated questionnaire (see above).
	try to arrange a spectacular event (a resident e‑mails a relative and gets an almost immediate reply; a photo of the latest grandchild is downloaded for all to admire; a picture and pattern of a jumper is displayed and all want to knit it).
	one‑to‑one teaching is often preferred, but is obviously costly; groups of three can provide time for each individual together with mutual support; with larger groups several learners will become passive by‑standers, unable to practice their own skills and left behind in the larger group
	'taster sessions' are single events; some projects allow for only 2 or 3 formal classes; neither brings the learners to a stage where most could be expected to continue on their own; they need the opportunity to practice, to do 'homework' exercises; provision of such opportunities seems to be a major stumbling block in most projects

several solutions were mooted:

	where a computer is located in the scheme's communal lounge it can be used (with times booked) for individual practice; (but some learners are reluctant to practice in public)
	some learners may have access to a computer, their own, a relative's etc.
	a project leader may have computers which can be loaned for three or four weeks to individual learners
	a trainer may make voluntary visits to a class
	most trainers provide their own training materials; (Age Resource has its own set for project use); these cover basic issues (what ICT is, what a computer does etc.), simple procedures and trouble shooting; these are used in classes and may be on laminated sheets left alongside the computer for private practice.
	A local 'mentor' could be found and trained to support learners.

8. Siting the computer

	A 'taster session' will probably be held in the communal lounge, often as an adjunct to a coffee morning
	for a training project, the communal lounge seems an obvious site for the computer as a permanent fixturelfor the duration of the course
	for many residents it will become a focus of social activity
	other residents may complain that the quiet of the lounge is disturbed, their other activities (scrabble, card games etc.) impeded
	some schemes may have a games room or an otherwise under‑used room; this may provide greater privacy
	project leaders/resident users/scheme manager must negotiate with the whole community of residents
	installation of the computer has a number of prerequisites:
	a table to stand it on (a folding card table may be adequate, the sideboard is not)
	appropriate chairs
	lighting may need adjustment
	extra power points and telephone sockets may be needed; (for taster sessions, have extension leads!)
	for a (quasi) permanently sited computer security is an issue
	lock it to the wall or fixture
	have it covered by V if installed
	locate it within sight of the scheme manager's office
	ensure that it is not easily visible through external windows
	ensure that any loss is covered by insurance
	increase vigilance and control over visitors to the scheme
	but residents will want access to the computer!
	will this be available at all times?
	will this be available only during the scheme manager's working day (residents often express a wish to use the computer in the evenings and at weekends when they are more likely to feel lonely)
	will the computer be accessible to residents only/residents' invitees/other nonresident class members?
	rules will be needed/a rota established to ensure fair access to all; (schemes often already have a laundry rota)

9. After the project?

a) 'Taster sessions' ‑ these are one‑off events; the intention is to demystify ICT

	most participants respond favourably to the session ‑ but many wish to go no further, being satisfied by understanding what ICT is; (one can watch a travelogue without wanting to book one's next holiday to the place described)
	a few will want to continue; but how? ‑ some may be motivated and acquire and install their own computer (without a telephone link one can only word process; not use e‑mail or internet) and learn on their own with the help of kin, friends etc.
	some will consider attending formal adult education classes etc.; but many will feel that they are ill equipped to join such classes
	similarly, they are nervous about trying to use public computer facilities e.g. in their local library or cybercafe
	there seems to be a need for an intermediate programme which can bridge the gap between the initial lessons and the stage when one feels comfortably competent; (trainers give different estimates of the time needed; it will obviously vary between individuals; '10 sessions' might be a rough average)
	one possibility has been with an informal group which meets regularly, with minimal tutorial support but considerable mutual support
	as an alternative to a computer, ICT may be used via TV or mobile phone; these advantages were not explored in this workshop

b) A scheme based project

	a scheme based project is usually larger, including several (but still too few) training sessions, and leaves the computer in the scheme; at the end of the project there may well be 5 - 10 interested users some of this group may acquire their own computer
	either, they may then withdraw from the group
	or, they may continue social interaction with other members of the group in a 'computer club'
	others will wish to continue to use the communal computer, and in so doing create a computer club; membership of this 'club' must be defined
	named users of the communal computer
	other residents owning their computer (or using other computers e.g. in library, cybercafes, at friends' homes
	other residents who do not themselves use the communal computer but ask other residents to undertake tasks for them (e.g. send an e-mail)

10) Club organisation