ERIC Number: EJ1418076
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0360-1277
EISSN: EISSN-1521-0472
Evaluation of a Virtual 4-Week Digital Literacy Program for Older Adults during COVID-19: A Pilot Study
Sasha Elbaz; Johanna Gruber; Kaotar Elberhoumi; Syeda Nayab Bukhari; Soham Rej; Harmehr Sekhon
Educational Gerontology, v50 n4 p296-303 2024
Older adults have become more dependent on using technologies to connect and communicate with others across the globe. This insight has since become more evident with the COVID-19 pandemic. While many older adults have increased their skills with these technologies, many more lack the necessary knowledge and skillset to effectively benefit from their use. To provide them with an accessible and older adult friendly digital training, in the summer of 2021, we pilot tested a brief 4-week digital literacy program to train older adults on key skills related to navigating their computer such as sending e-mails or traversing the web, etc. A convenience sample of 5 older adults volunteered for this brief intervention study in which they were to participate in a 1.5-hour intervention twice a week, for 4 weeks (8 total sessions). Topics varied from class to class. Results suggest that average computer proficiency scores were higher post intervention compared to pre-intervention. Additionally, post intervention scores were higher on computer basics, communication, and Internet subscales. All sessions were typically completed within the proposed time. The main technical issues identified were related to connecting to the digital sessions as well as navigating application interfaces across devices (i.e., differences in icons or application names between iOS and Android powered devices). Overall, these findings would suggest that older adults may be able to quickly gain digital literacy skills in a short period of time, provided that they are well supported.
Descriptors: Older Adults, Computer Mediated Communication, Technological Literacy, Program Effectiveness, Training, Adult Education, Foreign Countries, Skill Development
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada (Montreal)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A