ELDERLEARN

The 21st century is characterised by two defining trends: the rise of ubiquitous computing and population ageing. Digitalisation offers opportunities for older adults to maintain an active role in their lives and alleviate the ‘burden of care’ associated with ageing. Yet, digital engagement is consistently cited to be inversely related to age. Although interventions to enhance the digital literacy of older adults through formal in-person training have emerged, there has been little evaluation of their effectiveness, and they overlook the informal learning that happens daily through the social milieu. My MSc dissertation presents insights into the attitudes, needs and challenges of older adults in becoming digitally literate. We conducted preliminary user studies with older adults and a survey of younger adults to understand their role as an informal support system. Based on these insights, we proposed an innovative approach to digital literacy training for older adults by combining a senior-friendly learning management system, Elderlearn, with informal inter-generational family learning. A preliminary evaluation of the system yielded positive feedback and indicates a need for a more extensive exploration of the digital experiences and requirements of older adults and the influence of social support systems in their digital engagement process.

Elderlearn follows the premise of a shared-responsibility model that allows adult learners to discover relevant knowledge at their convenience to encourage exploration and still seek guidance from younger family members who are informal educators. You can read a published journal report here.