How does one go about teaching a computer-illiterate person how to use the Internet?
Recently, my 58 year old mum asked me to teach her how to use the internet/computer. And honestly, I don’t know where to begin. How would one go about teaching a 58 year-young woman how to use the net?
just show her the basics then let her play.
that’s how you and i did it
just show her the basics then let her play.
that’s how you and i did it
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I had the same thing with my Mum too. I found it best to let her explore and work it out and when ever she needs help to ask you. If you get her started with basics like searching hopfully she can work some out for herself
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patience is important while u teach sum1 else……………………..start her to teach frm how to login…..n ask her to do it once infront of u……lolz i hav had similar experiences too…
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Its not hard. I knew nothing and I am older then your mom. She needs to just do it. If you are standing over her and walking her through ever step. She will never learn. Turn her loose and only help her when she gets in trouble. I didn’t have anyone to guide me. She can do it. If she needs help, sign her up to a beginners class.
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I was able to teach my mom. I let her pretty much learn on her own but I stayed near her so she didn’t get lost. I gave her hints on where to go and on how to find new places and info. The internet is very basic but buying things and typing things in can take a little while to learn.
It’s very important to be understanding with her, she’ll probably be pretty lost for a while. Computers and the internet are VERY over-whelming at first. Patience will help.
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Show her how to turn on the computer and access the internet. Then show her how to access a web-site. I think you will be surprised how fast she gets the hang of it. Stay with her, but let her do the exploring. You may need to explain links to other sites, browsers not being able to access a page, etc.
If you are teaching her how to use computers and software, try the …For Dummies books, i.e. PC or Mac For Dummies,
Windows or Tiger/Leopard For Dummies. They have a whole line of computer books that include help with a variety of software applications. And they are very easy to understand.
I made the switch from PC to Mac (MacPro w/23" Cinema Display and 17 " MacBook Pro. The change has been pretty seamless, and I would never go back to PC. Macs are pretty ‘intuitive’ so to speak.
Good Luck! (And be patient.)
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Been there, done that, got the t-shirt!
Before I became a middle school teacher, I taught adult computer classes. I agree with many others here. . . she has to play with it. However, a few things I’ve learned about the approach are these:
1. Explain to your Mom that she is not going to "break" anything by playing around. Most adults are intimidated by the whole idea of using computers and are afraid of messing something up.
2. Use analogies. Older adults have a great frame of reference for things like this. I explain the internet this way. Its just a giant map and you now have to ability to travel anywhere, to any house, store,or other location in a second. You can also get right back home just as quickly. Explain web addresses are just like streets and house numbers. Its just a location.
3. Use familiar stores’ websites. If your Mom likes sewing, go to a sewer’s site, for example. If she likes plants and flowers, try a Botanical Gardens site.
4. Show your Mom some really basic navigation tools like the arrows to move back and forward through pages, and locating the home link button.
5. Always show that if she thinks she’s "lost" on the web, she can just quit out and start all over.
6. When she gets a bit of confidence, show her how to add places to her favorites so she can get back to those places quickly. . . or better yet, add a few places for her to start. I did that for my Dad a while back. I added all his woodworking sites to his favorites.
7. Just remember that your Mom is coming from a different perspective from you. DON’T MAKE HER FEEL STUPID! While you may not mean to do it, it happens quite easily. An older adult’s pride about their intellectual ability can be fragile when faced with technology that they didn’t grow up with. Just keep reassuring her that she can’t mess the computer up or get "lost".
Hope that helps.
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Been there. Done that.
I would start out step by step. Show her the main buttons, the address bar, etc. Explain that the Internet is like a huge town and where you go is dictated by the "address". You may be able to find a website that has a crash course on it. Get a list of sites (about 5) that you think she would like so she can explore without being overwhelmed. Last show her search engines. I think these are one of the more complicated things to use because you never quite know what information you are getting or where it is coming from.
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Former 5th and 6th grade technology teacher