Robin Brewer, Lake Zurich, Illinois special to AgeVenture News Service  If you're anything like today's senior citizen, you insist on keeping up with the times. That means becoming computer savvy.
Sending e-mail to the grand kids, corresponding with far flung friends, and exploring the globe without ever having to leave your easy chair. Sounds great. However, for many seniors high-tech computers are foreign territory. After all, when you were growing up, phone numbers consisted of only 3 numbers, cars ... not jets ... were the mode of transportation, and television programs were broadcast in black and white. Computers existed only within the pages of science fiction books. But that was then, and this is now. The Internet is brave new world, and you need a computer to get there. Where in the world is the Internet? How in the world do you get there? And, what in the world can you find online? Good questions. Here's another. Who can help me? Read on. Join the rest of the world in browsing the Internet. Jane Ware Davenport has written a "little" book that tells you exactly how to do it. It's all in plain English. There is no jargon at all. And you can do it yourself. It's a shame that so many people, many of them seniors, have been frightened off, kept away from even "thinking" that they can browse the Internet. It's basically because of the jargon, the "web-ese." Just about anyone who says anything about the Internet speaks the "jargon." Except Jane Davenport. She taught herself to use the Internet. One day her library asked her to teach an introductory class on the Internet. She said, "Sure. I'll teach them what I do." First, Jane led them through her "steps." She taught them in the same plain English that she was using in her head. In the second half hour, everyone in the group was web-surfing! Over time, Davenport saw that her "student body" was primarily "50-plus." She realized this is the group that has been "left out." "So many of the senior participants kept thanking me after the Internet workshop", says Davenport. "They were so grateful for what they learned, and so enthusiastic about learning more. That response motivated me to write my book." Jane Davenport believes that the Internet can do so much good for seniors! It can keep them connected to family and friends. It can provide them with valuable resources: investment information, finance, banking, medical and other research. It can literally be life-saving! So, after a year of classes, Jane put her eight easy steps into a booklet so that more seniors all over the country could learn her neat system, not just the ones she could teach herself. Now the booklet, too, has been tested and found to work. So she's offering it to everyone who's tired of being belittled by kids who are on the Internet. The presentation and format won't scare a single soul! You can get this little do-it-yourself booklet by sending a check or money order for $10 (US) which includes tax and mailing, to Jane Ware Davenport, 21 Carolyn Court, Lake Zurich, IL 60047. Photo Credit: Robin Brewer. |
