Blue Hair Technology Group Links Seniors to Tablet Computing
The Blue Hair Technology Group in Johns Creek, Georgia, is dedicated to educating senior citizens about current technology and the tools that enable them to connect and communicate with family and friends. It offers regular hands-on dynamic technology workshops in senior living facilities and provides a fun, comfortable, and convenient way to learn how to use technology, find information online, and stay alert, active, and connected with the digital world.
The organization began as a project of Jane Ratliff, inspired by her own 86-year-old mother's quick and easy grasp of an iPad purchased by Ratliff and her brother. "My mother had never turned on a computer in her life," Ratliff recalls. But her mother had seen the benefits of computerized communication via her senior but tech-savvy husband. Ratliff realized that she would need lessons to be successful and enjoy her gift. And three months of weekly lessons later, Ratliff's mom was an iPad pro. Ratliff has taken this same hands-on training idea. Since March of 2012, she's been bringing her teaching expertise to senior centers north of the Atlanta area with the help of local volunteers.
Ratliff relies on printed handouts, lesson plans, and promotional flyers for these hands-on classes. All of these valuable teaching tools are made possible by a Microsoft software donation via TechSoup. But the most important thing Ratliff brings to class is the inspiration from her own family's experience.
