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| Grandmother and Me a Kidlink book in many languages
| Home | Grandmother and Me book | How to Join | Lessons | Resources | |
Prof. Edna Aphek, aphekdr@netvision.net.il, TelHi- Networks, and the David Yellin College of Education, Jerusalem, Israel Abstract The Internet which connects about 200 million people and millions of pages, voice, sound, image and video files, has become a most powerful tool in the hands of those who know how to navigate it .The opportunity to use this powerful tool exists and is open to most strata of the population, regardless of the limitations of age, education, etc. Though the opportunity exists what actually happens is that the gap between Internet surfers and those who are not knowledgeable in Internet skills, is ever growing. The gap is widening between youngsters, the primary Internet user population, and adults and mostly seniors, who are not skilled at using a computer or the Internet. In the new Hi-Tech world, where children speak the new language of the Internet as their mother tongue, it would be most fitting to put their mastery to good use and train them to teach this new language to Senior Citizens, those unacquainted with the language of the Internet. This latter age group might find much interest and relevant, useful information via the net; they can study on-line, meet new people via the Internet, find useful information, participate in on-line interest groups, and contribute from their experience and knowledge and most importantly feel connected. An experiment was conducted in one elementary school in Israel, the Alon School in 1999, where ten children tutored ten seniors aged 11-14. * * * The Virtual College for the Third Agers and how it all started It all started with the Virtual College for Senior Citizens which is an initiative of the College Department in the Ministry of Education in Israel.(1) We, (I am using the ‘we’ form since I am heading this project), at the College Department felt that the new technologies could revolutionize the existing social system and serve as a powerful tool to give senior citizens an opportunity to obtain asynchronous education and connectivity regardless of age, previous education and location constraints as well as making them part of the new order the IT is creating. In light of the above the Virtual College for Senior Citizens was developed. While working on the development of the Virtual College for the Third Agers, we realized that though the number of seniors using the Internet is on the rise, many are still lacking in Internet skills. We decided to use the knowledge of young children in IT in order to train seniors in Internet skills, thus creating new social interactions. I am a great believer in the need for knowledge to be passed on. The Israeli government, as many other governments, has invested so much in schools both in equipment and in teaching the youngsters computer and Internet skills that it would be only logical to put this accumulation of knowledge into use, in this case for the benefit of the Senior community. The Alon School, in the Mate Yehuda region was chosen for a mini experiment. The uniqueness of the experiment at the Alon School, as far as the Israeli scene is concerned, lies in the fact that elementary school children served as teachers. My idea to work with younger children and not with high school students, something more common in Israel, met with skepticism and much criticism. Most of the members of the Steering Committee of the Virtual College for the Third Agers were against it, they preferred to have high school students as teachers. I was adamant; in this case I am glad I was. I felt that the younger students would be less cynical, more giving and patient than the older ones. My choice paid off. The Alon School The Alon School is an elementary school in the Mate Yehuda Council, about 20km. from Jerusalem, at its southern entrance. The school serves a mixed population 1-8, from three Kibbutzim near Jerusalem two Moshavim (communal settlements) and new urban communities. It would be most appropriate to note that it has always been in the Kibbutz tradition to care for the community; the Kibbutz still has a highly developed social structure in which the elderly work even at a fairly old age and are well cared for. Therefore, when I approached the headmistress of the Alon school and asked her if she would be willing to run an experiment, where children from 5th grade on would be teaching Internet skills to the Third Agers, she was rather enthusiastic. I serve as an academic adviser to the school and thus am quite knowledgeable about the students’ mastery of Internet skills. The Alone school, under my guidance, has fully integrated the computer skills and IT in the classroom. We advertised the experiment in the region and soon we had 10 candidates, all 55+. Using a closed network, in Hebrew, as a platform for communication and documentation In addition to frequent use of the Internet for schoolwork, the Alon school is using The FirstClass outdated 2.6 version as its "intranet". Unfortunately there are no good intranets in Hebrew and though the SoftArc Firstclass software in Hebrew doesn’t contain many much desired features, it still is, I believe, the best "intranet" one could find in Hebrew. The Alone students are connected to the TelHi network, at school and from home. A forum specially designed for the experiment was opened on the network. Each old learner was given an ID and a password, so that they would become part of the school’s on line community. We also wanted to make sure that the process would be fully recorded both by the "young teachers" and the "old learners". This paper is based upon the careful recording of the process, as written in the aforementioned forum. The course For five weeks, 10 volunteers, grades 5-8 tutored ten senior citizens 55-75. They taught them search techniques, how to participate in discussion groups, shopping on the internet, chatting, sending e mail messages and even making PowerPoint presentations. The "young teachers" and the "old learners" met on Fridays. The Alone school, unlike most of the Israeli schools operates 5 days only as part of an experiment conducted by the Ministry of Education. The "young teachers" were ready to give up their day off in order to train the seniors. They had to get up early, and be ready for the school bus to come and pick them up. Each session lasted 3 hours from 8:30-11:30, with one break around 9:45.During the break teachers and students had the opportunity to eat, drink and socialize. The process The first meeting was held on May 25, 1999. All in all there were 5 meetings. At the end of each meeting both teachers and learners recorded the learning and teaching process and their comments, in the forum dedicated for this project, in the TelHi network. The following are some of the comments, suggestions and instructions as documented in the aforementioned forum. The First meeting "young teachers" - "Today I taught S. how to conduct a search on the Internet and find sites containing information she was looking for. It was somewhat hard in the beginning, but we overcame all the difficulties." I , 13 y/o And another "teacher "writes: -" today we had the first meeting with the adults. It was OK, because R. whom I am tutoring is nice and a fast learner, so it wasn’t difficult at all.tT. 12y/o The "older learners" And what did the "older learners" have to say after the first meeting? Here are some of the comments:
At home The tutors were thrilled. They kept talking about the project at home. They felt they were doing something meaningful and beneficial. One mother, M. told us the following: My daughter doesn’t stop talking about "her old lady". The entire house revolves around L’s "old lady". The other day she called her on the phone and wanted to know what she was really interested in, so that she could better prepare for the next meeting."L., added the mother, "hates waking up early, but now she does it out of her own free will on Fridays." The last session In the last session, the "young teachers" spontaneously, came up with the idea of taking a computer apart and showing its components to their students, who have never seen the inside of a computer before. This on the spot decision and the way it was carried out turned out to be one of the highlights of the course. At the end of the last meeting the older learners summarized their impressions of the course and tipped us as to what future courses should be: -" Today, 25/6/99 is our last meeting for the time being. I would like to note that I learnt a great deal in the lessons we had. However, I didn’t practice at home and I don’t know how I’ll cope [with the Internet] without the children’s help. I think it would be most advisable to continue this course after the summer vacation. By then we’ll have many more questions. I would like to thank L. and all the children who took part in this project. I would also like to thank all the adults who devoted their time and energy to this interesting initiative. R. 55+ -"At the end of the project I would like to express our satisfaction. The "young teachers" were very kind and patient. I am sure it was not easy for them not to touch the mouse and to wait for us to do that. I gained much self assurance [from the process] . I am not afraid of the computer anymore. I am very grateful to all the teachers and all the other people who helped get this project off the ground. L. - "For the last 5 sessions I had the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the computer in general and the Internet in particular. It was very interesting to learn a skill which as far as I am concerned was unattainable and this was quite embarrassing. Now I feel its possible even at my age. If we only practiced more and believed in ourselves. The idea of children teaching Seniors Internet skills was most enjoyable and beyond our expectations. I [still] don’t feel quite at ease with the computer and the Internet but have a strong feeling its possible. I would like to thank the initiators of the project and the teachers, and to extend a special thank you to my lovely, patient teacher- L. With much love and appreciation. A P.s. we would love to have the children come for a visit. -Today, Friday 25.6.99 I graduated Internet 101. I enjoyed it very much and derived special joy from the work with my teachers- the children. I’ll never reach their level of expertise, but I find it very important to have [some basic knowledge] in the field. In my opinion, courses like this one must continue, so as to bridge the generation gap. I think this is a real blessing for the older generation. I hope there will be a continuation. Sh. Some things need to be improved. Two learners were more critical of the process: -To summarize: the two first sessions were very good and I learnt a lot of new things. Then, my tutor didn’t show up. She left in the middle. I had no private tutor even though we started working according to a new method: we went from one tutor to another and each taught us something new and different. I liked this method a lot. The last session was somewhat wasted; not all the teachers showed up and most of the time I worked on my own. Still this had its merits as I practiced a lot and learnt from my own mistakes. Thanks to all the lovely children. R. -[This experiment] proves that children can teach Internet skills to seniors. The idea is good and feasible. How ever, more attention should be given to the mental and intellectual gap [between the older learners and the young teachers.] This gap necessitates more preparation. The young teachers should have a detailed lesson plan [in front of them] suitable for the more [structured] way of learning of the older learner. May I suggest that at the end of each session, the older learner be given an assignment such as finding a site on the Internet or sending an e-mail message. It would also be advisable to have the course evaluated. Thank you all .M. Summary and discussion The aforementioned data clearly indicate that the Alone school mini- experiment was very successful. How ever, we encountered a few difficulties and drew conclusions as to future courses. a. Tiredness About half of the "young teachers" got tired of the task after three meetings and five of them left in the middle. It was good that we had some tutors as stand by, we asked them to step in, and they did. At the initial stages, we explained to the young volunteers that once they start tutoring it’s a commitment and they can’t leave in the middle. They all said they would "stick to the end", but they didn’t. b. Structure The Alone teachers, the headmistress, the "young teachers" and myself were sure the course was well structured. Since we are "old" surfers we didn’t realize that the course should have been more tightly structured. We were also carried away by the children’s ability to create structure out of chaos, hyperlinks and endless undirected surfing. We learnt from the mini experiment that adult learners need a more structured, linear approach. Some more observations a. On being patient The adult learners, all 55+, were extremely grateful to their teachers for their patience. There wasn’t a single learner who didn’t mention this point. This brings to mind the following questions:1. are we that impatient towards the Third Agers that being patient comes as such an outstanding gesture to the "older learner"? Or 2. is it the myth that older people are so slow to learn that underlies the learners’ attitude? In his book The Nine Myths of Aging, Douglas Powell (2) debunks the most prevalent myths about aging and amongst them that "old dogs can’t learn new tricks". We could gather from the information presented and from my close supervision of the project that all the seniors learnt "new tricks" i.e.; using the Internet, being part of a communication network, the TelHi Network, and even making power point presentations, which the children taught the seniors as a "bonus". The children weren’t only patient they were also tolerant of the other. They accepted the seniors with all their limitations. There was no ridicule, no cynicism. I believe there was much gratitude on both sides. The children’s being tolerant helped alleviate the seniors’ fear of technology: the computer and the Internet. b. On being a teacher It was most interesting to note how regardless of age and experience the children became almost typical teachers, caring about how much their learners absorbed, worried about being understood, desiring that what they taught would be useful and wanting very much to live up to their students expectations. The seniors became learners, good ones. They worried about practicing what they learnt, hurt when their own private tutor left and fearing they might not remember everything they learnt. Conclusions There is much talk about the changing role of the schools in the Information age. Many educationists point out to the need for value and character education, and to greater involvement in the community. The mini experiment in the Alone School combined both: the "young teachers" combined their knowledge of the Information Technologies with the values of volunteering, tolerance, patience, responsibility, caring, commitment, understanding of the other and giving of oneself. It wasn’t academic learning. It was real life doing. Much of the success of the project lies in its being meaningful. There is much talk about the shallowness, the zapping way in which our youngsters behave and act. Give them a meaningful real life task to do and we’ll see how responsible and deep they are. Programs such as the one I have just described should start at the elementary schools, so that they may become a way of life. I strongly believe that the new technologies are handing us new opportunities for bridging gaps in society such as the intergeneration gap and for planning for a better future in which social involvement and caring is a commandment to live by. Bibliography:
1. www.education.gov.il/michlala (in Hebrew only)
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Grandmother and Me - a Kidlink book in many languages
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