There is something about school supplies lining the shelves of the stores at this time of year that makes my heart go pitter-pat. I love brand-new, sharpened pencils, organizers, pocket tab dividers, and colored sharpies. Most of all, I love learning. And I especially love that learning is a life-long activity; we don't stop learning when we graduate high school or college. Learning is a privilege and opportunity well into our golden years. With advances in technology, we can now choose the setting and time of day in which we wish to learn. That's a big advantage to a retiree wanting to continue their education without the hassle of student parking at the local college. Did you know that 500+ accredited college classes are available to you online for FREE? OnlineCourses.com provides you with the opportunity to make use of research-based academic resources from some of the world’s best universities. These free resources are waiting to be used by you to advance your understanding in a variety of academic topics. The free courses listed are considered Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). By definition, MOOC means that any interested learner is able to participate in the course. There are no prerequisites or other qualifiers separating an interested student and the material, although some advanced courses will expect that learners have completed other coursework or have a certain level of knowledge in a related area. (excerpt from About OnlineCourses.com) Back to School for SeniorsIf you like being around people and want to attend classes in the community, check out the Emeritus Class schedule at your local community college. Each semester, a variety of tuition-free classes are offered to older adults to promote lifelong learning. For our local readers in south Orange County, here's the link to Saddleback College's Emeritus website.
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Although my 81 year old father is not as tech savvy now, since the stroke and subsequent vascular dementia, he is able to enjoy the benefits of modern technology. On our Wednesdays together, I sometimes help him "get work done" on his tablet; he dictates while I type or I transcribe his notes from the previous week. Since he had been the president of his own corporation, having me be his secretary isn't demeaning to him now. Ironically, his business designed and manufactured computer components so he once knew his way around the world of computers. But now that technology is changing so rapidly, even I find it difficult to keep up. Remembering how much my dad enjoyed studying ( and knowing how his mind can't do that skill as well as it used to), I decided to introduce him to iTunes. Last week, I downloaded it onto his tablet, downloaded a few free teachings, and showed him where the play and pause button is located on the screen. We reviewed the process about three times and included my mom in case she needed to assist him during the week. My mother, who is more tech savvy than I, took him to Best Buy the next day to get bluetooth headphones. Now my mom is not obligated to listen along with him. Since then, I saw the trailer for Cyber-Seniors documentary on facebook. While trying to track down the original source today, I came across an international campaign to involve tech savvy youth mentoring seniors in the cyber world. The website states, "The ‘Cyber-Seniors – Connecting Generations’ campaign aims to promote intergenerational connections. It’s goal is to engage youth mentors in bridging the technology gap by empowering older adults to use technology to expand their social and physical worlds." What a fabulous idea! To learn more and perhaps get involved, click on the link below http://cyberseniorsdocumentary.com/
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February 2023
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