{"id":72559,"date":"2016-11-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/technology-tutoring-program-erodes-generation-gap\/"},"modified":"2016-11-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-11-16T00:00:00","slug":"technology-tutoring-program-erodes-generation-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2016\/11\/technology-tutoring-program-erodes-generation-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"Technology-tutoring program erodes generation gap"},"content":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I., November 16, 2016<\/strong> \u2014 The generation gap is shrinking one mouse click at a time, and the 溏心vlog免费B站 is helping to close it.<\/p>\n

In fall 2015 faculty from the Colleges of Health Sciences<\/a>, Pharmacy<\/a> and Arts and Sciences<\/a> launched the 溏心vlog免费B站 Engaging Generations: Cyber-Seniors Program, an offshoot of an initiative started by teenage sisters in Canada in 2009 that has expanded to hundreds of communities. Cyber-Seniors pairs students with older adults who want help learning to use computers, smart phones and tablets.<\/p>\n

But the 溏心vlog免费B站 incarnation is more than a community outreach project. The faculty who created the program \u2014 Skye Leedahl<\/a>, assistant professor of human development and family studies; Erica Estus<\/a>, clinical associate professor of pharmacy; and Melanie Brasher<\/a>, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology \u2014 have incorporated Cyber-Seniors into their curricula.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all watched the Cyber-Seniors documentary<\/a>, and that spurred our interest,\u201d Leedahl says. \u201cThen we brainstormed about how to embed technology tutoring into classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pharmacy students receive service-learning credits for volunteering as tutors, while human development and sociology students participate as part of their courses on aging.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best part is seeing students improve their ability to communicate with older adults,\u201d Estus says. \u201cIf you can talk to them about how to use their iPad, then you can counsel them on their cholesterol medication.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students and older adults pair up through 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, at PACE in Providence, and at senior centers around the state, including Cranston, East Greenwich, Jamestown, North Kingstown, Pawtucket and South Kingstown. 溏心vlog免费B站 150 students and 273 older adults have participated, Leedahl says.<\/p>\n

Samantha Clark of Coventry<\/strong>, a senior studying psychology and gerontology, has been involved from the beginning. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine not being a part of it,\u201d says Clark, who also oversees pairings, trains tutors and assists Leedahl in research.<\/p>\n

Leedahl is using survey data from five Cyber-Seniors sites across the country to study the program\u2019s impact. Funding comes from a SPARK award from the Institute for Integrated Health and Innovation, part of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Academic Health Collaborative, and other sources are being sought.<\/p>\n

Research indicates that Cyber-Seniors may be changing attitudes and lives, Leedahl says. After participating, nearly 100 percent of older adults reported higher levels of social engagement, and nearly nine out of 10 reported less social isolation. Nearly three quarters of the tutors said their time management, communication and leadership skills improved.<\/p>\n

Linda Thomas, Clark\u2019s first Cyber-Seniors match, agrees. \u201cA program like this brings people back to life. Social connections and having a purpose are very healing,\u201d says the Slocum<\/strong> resident, who is in her seventies.<\/p>\n

Clark helped Thomas build a website<\/a> to share her writing and interact with followers, which both found rewarding. \u201cSam changed my life. This has given me courage and confidence and opened doors to a wider world,\u201d Thomas says. \u201cFor someone my age to have a voice, it\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe amount of appreciation she had, and the joy this brought her really showed me how much of an impact the program can have,\u201d says Clark, who notes that tutors need not be technology experts. During training, she tells students to get creative in solving problems and to use a variety of resources, including You Tube videos.<\/p>\n

The older adults also have various technological abilities. Some use email and Facebook, while others have never even turned on the iPad their kids bought them, Estus notes. The program accommodates everyone.<\/p>\n

And those newly forged cross-generational relationships can have lasting benefits for students in all disciplines. \u201cThey are gaining empathy, and that is hard to teach in the classroom,\u201d Estus says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I., November 16, 2016 \u2014 The generation gap is shrinking one mouse click at a time, and the 溏心vlog免费B站 is helping to close it. In fall 2015 faculty from the Colleges of Health Sciences, Pharmacy and Arts and Sciences launched the 溏心vlog免费B站 Engaging Generations: Cyber-Seniors Program, an offshoot of an initiative […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72560,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}