GRUNDTVIG PROJECT

Learning in Later Life: Students to Senior Citizens: ICT and Inter-Generation Communication

LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Title: Level:Beginners Prepared by: Marja Liisa Toivanen

Subject: New technology	Technology/Equipment/Supplies needed: Users´ guide booklets of various phones, flap board
Topic: To use cellular phones
Lesson Lenght: One session 10.00 -14.00, each lesson 45 minutes. Possibility to each lunch during the break	Notes: The course addressed seniors who hade got or bought a phone, but were not able or willing to use it. Because of great interest we had three courses, about 12-15 participants. Age of the participants 68-84
Task/Objectives: The objective was to help the participants to use the most elementary functions of their phones: how to use address book, how to send / receive messages. Everybody got the ICE function installed.
Description of Activity/Activities There was a VERY SHORT introduction to the functions of the phones. Most of the time was used for practical exercises. Participants brought their own mobiles. The problem was the small size of the phones, difficult to handle. Some participants had slight dementia or problems in learning. These courses interested the residents of the Foibe more than any others, perhaps for the fact that most people – even old ones – have a cellular phone or plan to get one. The tepephone companies aim to close all line telephone services at least in the countryside in a few years time.

Verification (steps to check for student understanding):

Because of the practical nature of the course, it was easy to follow the learning. As many of the participants even repeated the course and asked for continuation, the activity responded to the needs.

Resources:

Two voluntary workers and a student from Laurea Technical University (nursing). It is very important to choose the students according to their ability to understand the seniors not new technology only.

Students are engaged in:

x independent activities

cooperative learning

x peer tutoring

visuals

simulations

x pairing

x hands-on

whole group instruction

others

Author Notes:

For learning to handle the phones these short courses are most suitable. In the future it is possible to organize the courses according to the level of the participant. Now the heterogeneous group was a bit problematic.