Enhancing older adults connectivity by introducing mobile devices communication tools

Abstract

Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have the potential to enhance the connectivity of older adults with their family and friends. However, many older adults face difficulties when introduced to the devices and, as a result, they may end up being excluded from circles that require them to be educated in the corresponding technology. In such context, we designed a one-year course to teach older adults to use smartphones and tablets. Our long term aim is to propose a teaching format that would allow both replication and iterative improvement definition. In this paper we discuss preliminary results from the offering of the course over two years. We present an overview of the structure of the course and outline the typical demographics of our students. We also detail, for the current offering (Semester 2/2016), which applications students use more frequently after one semester of course. In particular, with respect to connectivity, we report the number of messages exchanged via WhatsApp by the students during a period of six months. We also comment on testimonials of students that have taken the course, who present their impressions, and of students that are about to start the course, who report their expectation.