Students become teachers in iPad class for seniors

@Grandma1945 is now following you.

A Twitter message like that could become more common if Rachel Weldrick has anything to say about it.

The Health, Aging and Society grad is organizing tech teaching sessions for seniors at Hamilton’s Caroline Place Retirement Residence and The Village of Wentworth Heights.

The students will spend six weeks, starting January 22, with people 65 years of age and older, teaching them how to use iPads for communicating with Skype, email and instant messaging.

The goal is to help the seniors connect with family and friends, some of whom they may not see as often as they like.

“There’s a lot of literature on the benefits of social engagement in later life,” says Weldrick, who earned her master’s degree in 2014. “We know that mental illness is on the rise in older populations, and one way to help prevent that is to increase social engagement.”

Teaching sessions are two hours long, and while the curriculum doesn’t explicitly cover social media, Weldrick says she’s already had seniors ask if they can learn how to tweet – and she’s happy to oblige.

“A lot of them are quite in touch with technology. They just don’t always know how to use it,” she says. “Some of them really want to learn how to tweet or use Pinterest.”

Classes will be small, and student volunteers will work with the same group of seniors each week, allowing them to get to know the participants.

Weldrick says she hopes the students and seniors even connect between classes – using their new iPad skills, of course.

“We’ll be successful if the class of seniors leaves on the last day feeling comfortable using their iPads, knowing how to reach out and digitally connect with their family and friends.”

The sessions are sponsored by the Faculty of Health Sciences, St. Peter’s Hospital and the Regional Geriatric Program.

Students interested in volunteering can contact Rachel Weldrick at weldrirc@mcmaster.ca.