Lavonna Silveria, executive director of the Ukiah Senior Center, wrote a grant over a year ago and received $3,000 from the Mendocino Community Foundation to help seniors learn how to use technology and bring them up to date in the 21st century.
With the funds they have been able to make Bartlett Hall wireless and to purchase six laptops and a shared network printer from RespecTech here in Ukiah. They turned an activity room into a computer lab.
Three instructors teach two days a week for two hours a session. William Bray, Wally Wellman and Oni Lagioia have helped over 40 seniors enhance their computer skills. Some seniors come with a little knowledge and some completely illiterate and frightened about this new learning experience.
Bray says, "Most of these people have a small digital footprint; we give them a basic understanding of what a computer is, how to turn it on, how to use the mouse or the touchpad. We introduce them to Internet research, social media, email, synching cell phones, how to use their printers and how to hook their cameras up to transfer photos to send to family and friends."
The class is open to anyone for a fee of $2 per session, but seniors are the ones who attend the classes. Some bring their own laptops, printers, tablets, smart phones - one senior brought in his desktop unit - while others learn on the laptops available at the center.
Bray teaches one-on-one, very informally, working with individual concerns. Using a prepared lesson plan is not advantageous to this group. He can have anywhere from three to eight individuals per class. Some are learning to use a keyboard for the first time.
"I have been playing with these toys for over 40 years; I was a network specialist and computer analyst for PG&E in Lake and Mendocino counties. I went to college to be an electrical engineer and while I was teaching at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, in the '60s, Uncle Sam gave me an opportunity to play with millions of dollars of equipment. I like computers."
He walked into the senior center looking to find some partners for pinochle, someone said he knew about computers and one thing led to another.
Wellman, who took over for Sharon Dory, a previous instructor, also comes from a longtime background in technology. He worked with the big mainframes back in the day and watched the computer industry grow from its infancy. He helps people get online, set up email accounts and access social media.
Interest has spread by word of mouth and new people are joining the classes regularly.
Silveria says, "We used to have a little space in which we had some old funky desktops and let people connect for email. We realized there were many people who didn't know how to use them. With the exponential growth of technology, we decided that getting laptops was the better way to go. The instructors are primarily volunteers so we can keep this program going indefinitely; I am writing more grants to provide for stipends as well and for new software. We are looking into acquiring Dragon, a program that responds with voice commands for Internet research, email, documents. It enables those who cannot use a mouse or touch pad.
"We are trying to help the seniors stay involved and up-to-date on what is happening. Being computer savvy is vital today; everything is online and is continuing in that direction. We want them to be comfortable and not be afraid of learning these necessary skills."