You talk about the chicken-and-egg problem when using a phone, but doesn't your course itself present one? To do the course, you need to have fairly good computer skills, and that assumes someone handles the purchase for you. How many seniors are actually in that position, and how many are completely lost when it comes to any digital devices?
I spent a year building an Android course for the elderly
51–60 of 98 posts
Re: I spent a year building an Android course for the elderly
#52Looks like a great course.
I’m sorry to say my experience has been “Android = pain” as far as the oldies are concerned. Had years supporting MiL and her endless devices. Then two years ago we got her an iPad instead. Support requirement has dropped to pretty much nil.
Re: I spent a year building an Android course for the elderly
#53Hey this is great - just had a look for my mum! Couple of questions (which without watching are hard to answer) - why the modules on the F-Droid App Store and Firefox? As a (young(er!)) Android user I've used neither and would be unlikely to. I can't imagine my mum would use anything other than Play and Chrome, so it feels a little 'too far' for me, confusion for the sake of it? Also a suggestion - pretty much everyo…
Thank you! Yeah, you are partly right about that (they are not there for confusion's sake). I just didn't had the stomach to leave those things unmentioned as I'm personally not fond of the monopoly either. So thought to still at least put somewhere at the end. Make some poweruser grandmas:) Whatsapp, indeed is a good idea, will add that, thanks!
Thanks for the reply! I completely understand, particularly regarding the monopoly, but do consider stuff that's technically 'non-standard' in an advanced module. It's hard enough to explain to my mum (at least) one concept - explaining a secondary app store, or to use a browser that none of her friends would be using isn't the quickest route to her grasping stuff (or indeed comparing experiences with her friends).
Re: I spent a year building an Android course for the elderly
#54You talk about the chicken-and-egg problem when using a phone, but doesn't your course itself present one? To do the course, you need to have fairly good computer skills, and that assumes someone handles the purchase for you. How many seniors are actually in that position, and how many are completely lost when it comes to any digital devices?
I'm not sure how would you like author to address that. If a user is not able to navigate any computer, he won't even reach the course or any advertisement. He needs at least some help to start out.
Also, to be fair, the site has a clear video that shows step-by-step process of ... purchasing the course.
I think our senior population changes and there are plenty of them that had contact with desktop and touchscreen devices, but get easily confused and can't keep up with updates. I know many such people and would love something like that, but translated.
Re: I spent a year building an Android course for the elderly
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thank you! Yeah, you are partly right about that (they are not there for confusion's sake). I just didn't had the stomach to leave those things unmentioned as I'm personally not fond of the monopoly either. So thought to still at least put somewhere at the end. Make some poweruser grandmas:) Whatsapp, indeed is a good idea, will add that, thanks!
>Whatsapp, indeed is a good idea, will add that, thanks! And then, since you have one base covered for one "sphere" of the world, you also need to cover Telegram and Facebook Messenger, rofl
But i have those already;)
Re: I spent a year building an Android course for the elderly
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wanted to:) And you know what the funny thing is, if i give the course for free, no-one watches it. I did reach out to several people in my friendship, gave them free the course just to get feedback. None of them watched it, so thats very, very surprising for me. Maybe i should go up to random strangers and PAY THEM in order to give them something that would benefit them - and maybe get some feedback:)) But on the…
> Maybe i should go up to random strangers and PAY THEM in order to give them something that would benefit them It is pretty normal to compensate people for their time in my limited experience (both as subject and from what I hear about user testing). Usually it's a pretty small amount, not like a normal salary but a bit more than a cup of coffee for maybe 30-45 minutes of their time (assuming they don't have to trav…
Used to give $5 starbucks cards or relevant swag (pens, cups, t-shirts) in exchange for 15-20 minutes of one to one f2f feedback.
Re: I spent a year building an Android course for the elderly
#57You talk about the chicken-and-egg problem when using a phone, but doesn't your course itself present one? To do the course, you need to have fairly good computer skills, and that assumes someone handles the purchase for you. How many seniors are actually in that position, and how many are completely lost when it comes to any digital devices?
I'm not sure how would you like author to address that. If a user is not able to navigate any computer, he won't even reach the course or any advertisement. He needs at least some help to start out. Also, to be fair, the site has a clear video that shows step-by-step process of ... purchasing the course. I think our senior population changes and there are plenty of them that had contact with desktop and touchscreen d…
Yes, exactly, thank you.
Re: I spent a year building an Android course for the elderly
#58This is great! Are there any plans to translate it into other languages? With Ai it should be doable.
Re: I spent a year building an Android course for the elderly
#59Did you test your course on any elderly people as you were developing it? What did you learn from that, if so? Did it require changes that were surprising?
I wanted to:) And you know what the funny thing is, if i give the course for free, no-one watches it. I did reach out to several people in my friendship, gave them free the course just to get feedback. None of them watched it, so thats very, very surprising for me. Maybe i should go up to random strangers and PAY THEM in order to give them something that would benefit them - and maybe get some feedback:)) But on the…
Libraries have tech support help sessions.
Re: I spent a year building an Android course for the elderly
#60Teaching tech to elderly people is hard—many struggle with gestures, apps, or even turning their phones on. I built a course from scratch, covering every step from unboxing to apps. Along the way, I learned about video production, Android’s quirks, and marketing struggles.
Another thing that's difficult, is that phones that were advertised as old-person-friendlly, physically were not. Black buttons on black background, etc. Maybe this sotuation has improved.