I’ve mentioned before that I host a weekly computer club at the local community center once a week. For an hour and a half, we talk about problems, achievements, and all things computer related. I had been feeling a little frustrated last fall because it seemed that people just dropped in to fix a specific problem and then didn’t come back for awhile.
But this year the club is finally starting to take off in the way that I’d intended. We have a group of six or seven regulars that work together, help one another, and delight in learning more about computers and all the great things we can do with them. A few of the group have started blogging as well and are getting interested in Internet marketing too. Since that’s one of my favourite subjects, I’m enjoying the time we have together.
I often take in books and software to share with the group. Now that publishers have realized how many older people are eager to learn about computers and especially the Internet, there are a lot of choices. I prefer the books that are fairly large print, easy to understand, and contain a number of screenshots to follow along. One such publisher is Visual Steps and they’ve published manuals on Windows, Internet and Email.
One of the titles that I purchased and recommended to the computer club is called “Interesting Online Applications For Seniors”. It contains tutorials on Youtube, Google Earth, eBay, Google Maps, Skype, RSS Feeds and Podcasts, Facebook, Hotmail, Messenger, web photo albums, Wikipedia and Online Dictionaries, and even creating a blog on Blogger. The Blogger tutorial is so detailed that I used it when teaching a workshop on creating a free website with Blogger.
Most libraries will probably carry the book, or you can order it from Amazon and have it delivered to your door. Let me know how you like it, and if you start a blog, share the link so we can visit. Oh, and don’t think you have to be a senior to benefit from the information.
Technorati Tags: online applications, Internet, social media