How to teach seniors to use technology?

Wise Choice in Home Care
4 min readDec 24, 2020

How can you start to talk to the elderly people in your life about how to use technology. Now I’d like to start off by saying this assumes that they are open to the idea of using technology as a way to communicate with you and the other people in your family or friends.

I’m not about to talk about how to convince them. It’s a good idea but if you have someone who is elderly and in your life wants to learn a little bit more about how to use email or Facebook, Skype or explore the internet.

With years of experience doing this and there are certainly some tips that we think you’ll find useful.

#1. Teach about the benefits of Technology in their life

Most elderly people don’t know about technology, Although they heard a little bit about tech words they haven’t idea about its benefits and how can they take advantage of it in their life.

So our first most tip is to question them: what they want to do? What do they want to learn? What do you want to see?

If they answer then secondly tell them about this technology and how this technology will help you to gain what you want.

For example: If your grandpa wants to watch mount Everest. Then there are a lot of videos on the internet with 4K videos about Mount Everest. Even 3D Videos and VR systems feel like them in a real location.

So, Teach your elderly parents about their interested technology fundamental and its advantages in their life.

#2. Leave documentation

Leave Step by step documentation with your grandma or grandpa uncle whoever wants to learn it. Once you’re gone they can still refer back to it and remember what you had talked about. A walk through the steps and steps almost like a little guidebook.

It doesn’t have to be anything too fancy just simple and ideally with screenshots with a visual reminder of what you’re talking about.

But if it has to be only text that’s still a good start whether or not they have memory issues. It’s hard to remember step-by-step processes for any of us. Let alone when we’re learning something that’s so brand-new documentation with a visual, audio guide.

#3. Take it to step by step

When you’re working with someone who’s very new to it every little bit is something that they have to learn down to. How to charge their device? how to turn it on? how to check that they’re connected to Wi-Fi?

If they’re not what should they do each round step to really set themselves up for success and using the piece of technology?

You must focus on is also important to review during your session

#4. Focus on one particular benefit

Let’s say you have a grandmother who wants to keep up with everyone’s photos perhaps teaching them how to browse Facebook is a good idea.

You don’t have to teach them you post to Facebook or change anything or really update their profile in any way. All you have to teach them is how to get to facebook.com, how to log in, and then what they can do to browse around and view everyone else’s content.

This is a great first step that provides instant results and they may later be curious about the other functionalities that they stumble across.

#5. Be deeply patient

You want to leave a lot of time a big chunk of time when you go in to train someone so that you don’t feel in a rush.

Secondly, you want to make sure that you keep taking some deep breaths and just think of it as a fun way to teach them something new so will make them feel connected at any moment.

They want to keep reminding yourself about the benefit of what you’re teaching them and how it can help them every day of their life and it should hope you calm down be more patient and take time to remember learning to do things for the first time and they like to move slow so just slow down your day and have fun with it.

#6. Check whether or not they have resources in their area

My last tip is to check whether or not they have resources in their area that can help them learn technology. Perhaps there’s a center for adult education or maybe you can hire some private caregiver to go visit them and teach them the tool that they’re interested in learning.

For instance, Our personal in-home aged caregivers serve the Sydney area to train people on things like email and Facebook and Skype. The big key ones that help them stay connected with their family and friends.

Conclusion

So, these are the basic tips to teach technology to your aged family members. If you think of any great idea left above then don’t forget to share it with us in the comment below. Good luck with teaching your senior parents.

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Wise Choice in Home Care
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Wise Choice in Home Care is a home care company in sydney providing services of elderly care, home care and disability. https://wisechoiceihc.com.au/