How to begin learning the computer (especially for Senior Citizens)

The computer can be very overwhelming especially for someone who has never used one but you CAN do it!

Computers can be overwhelming to anyone, especially to those of us who did not 'grow up' with computers, cell phones, Ipods, and digital cameras. It can be especially overwhelming for Senior Citizens to think about using a computer but with proper one on one instruction, it can be a very rewarding learning experience to learn to Email and even 'surf the net'. Here are a few practical ideas to get you started.

These are tips based on my ten years of experience in teaching computers to Senior Citizens of all levels from ones who had never even seen a computer to people who wanted more training on their current laptops or digital cameras. Anyone can learn with a little patience and some hard work.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• a computer (if you don't have one personally, you can use a liberay or public computer)
• the tips in this article
• a family member or instructor who can walk you through these instructons
• belief in yourself that you CAN do it
• patience with yourself
• practice time (everyday)

1. First, learn the basic parts of the computer. Do not overwhelm yourself with all the technical stuff.
   *Computer (the computer unit itself (the "brain of the computer)
   *The Monitor (the screen or 'eyes' of the computer)
   *The mouse (you will want to practice pointing and clicking with your mouse- for now, point to where you want to go and always use your LEFT click)
   *The keyboard (learn the basics of the keyboard including the letters, space bar, backspace, Enter, Delete, shift, Caps lock, and the arrow pad)
   That is it for now.
   *If you have a printer, familiarize yourself with how your printer works as well.
   ~Now, take a break~
   Review these steps a few times.

2. The second thing I would recommend is to get set up with an Email account. There are a few good, free accounts such as Hotmail, Yahoo, or Email. Have your instructor or family member help you get set up with an account and begin to collect Email addresses (if you are working with a family member, they may already have these addresses for you).

3. Before you know it, you too will love your computer!!

   Finally, let's get the basics of the Internet down.

   *First, the Internet is very basic and very vast at the same time. Figure out what you want to research before you go on the Internet.

   *Use a good search Engine like Google (Click on your Internet button, go to your address bar and click, type in www.google.com and push 'Enter' on your keyboard. This will take you to Goggle. Then, you can type in a subject to search in the 'Search' box and then push 'Enter' again).

   *Make sure you are specific when searching like if you are searching for how to grow the best roses, you would type in: How to grow beautiful roses' if you just type in 'roses', you will get millions of places to buy roses.

   *Experiment with this and have fun!

   ~Take another break~ *stay tuned for more lessons to come!

Tips & Warnings

• Never give out your Social Security number on the Internet

• Never give out Credit Card information on the Internet unless you are purchasing something

• Do not click on Advertisements (the blinking things on the top of the page that says "you won" or "lose 10 pounds today") unless you want to visit that website

• Keep practicing and don't give up! Computers are like a second language and it takes time to learn!