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May 15, 2008, Hartford Courant: Seniors Increasingly Comfortable with Surfing the Net

By KORKY VANN; Courant Staff Writer

Old age brings a number of physical challenges, including arthritis, diabetes, hearing loss or high blood pressure, and the Internet is a good source of information and updates on services, programs and treatments. But when seniors go online, they're not looking for medical information, according to a report released earlier this year by Generations On Line, (www.generationsonline.com), a simplified Internet program used by more than 30,000 seniors in 1,300 facilities nationwide.

Older Americans new to net surfing, the research shows, are most interested in researching arts, entertainment, culture and religion. "It's big bands to the Bible," says Tobey Dichter, Generations On Line founder and CEO. "Close to half of the searches last year were for entertainment, religion, arts and culture and news. Health and medicine don't even make the top five."

There's a good reason for disconnect, says Dichter. "For many older individuals, everyday life revolves around illnesses, aches and pains and doctor visits," says Dichter. "When they realize that the Internet can provide a window onto any subject they can imagine, the sky's the limit. It's a passport to another world."

An elderly woman who discovered that she could look up the city where she was born in Russia is a good example. "She sat for two hours with tears in her eyes, just looking at the picture. She simply couldn't believe this was possible," says Dichter. "We hear these stories all the time. It's a mind-blowing experience for people."

But too few older Americans are familiar with what the Internet has to offer. Estimates are that as many as 21 million Americans 65 and older are not "wired." Dichter's nonprofit organization encourages elder computer literacy by providing specially programmed computer software tutorials to senior centers, public libraries, retirement homes and other locations where older people congregate. Facilities pay a small fee for the programming; seniors use it for free.

"You'll hear statistics that indicate that older adults are the fastest growing group of Internet users, which is true," says Dichter. "But the reality is the majority of seniors still are not online, which makes it increasingly difficult for them to access information. When a senior who does not use a computer reads an article about a program that might be of benefit, and all there is for contact information is a 'www dot com' address, it's not just a marginalizing experience, it's lack of equal access to resources, which is a civil rights issue."

Although older adults do experience gradual declines in cognitive abilities as part of the normal aging process, they can successfully use computers if the online information is provided in an age-appropriate manner.

The Generations Online program contains large print and short, clear segments of information in easy-to-understand language, ongoing step-by-step instructions and self-guided tutorials for its four applications - "Look it Up," a multilingual search in 36 languages; "Send a Postcard," a full service e-mail program; "More Choices," links to websites of interest to seniors and Memories," which links users to an intergenerational oral history project with 9- and 10-ear-old students. "Age is not a barrier to using a computer, if you demystify the process. Our oldest user is 106," says Dichter. "She started surfing the net when she was 99."

Contact Korky Vann at kvann@courant.com

Copyright (c) 2008, THE HARTFORD COURANT. Reprinted with permission.



February 12, 2008: Big Bands and the Bible Lead Searches by Seniors

Older Americans new to Internet searching are most interested in arts and entertainment, culture and religion, according to a report released today by Generations on Line, a simplified Internet program used by more than 30,000 seniors in 1300 facilities nationwide. "It's Big Bands to the Bible," said Tobey Dichter, Founder and CEO. "More than a third of the searches last year were for music, television, museums, hobbies, books, history, and religion," she said. "Interestingly, health and medicine don't even make the top five, and Oprah Winfrey remains one of the most searched for terms by seniors." Rankings are listed below:

Generations on Line Search Term Report Oct '06-Oct '07
RankingCategory Percentage (N=16,486)
1 Entertainment 13.6
2 Religion 10.7
3 Arts/Culture 10.2
4 News 7.4
5 Names 7.2
6 Medical 6.6
7 Retail items/stores 6.2
8 Travel 5.8
9 Sports/gambling 5.4
10 Genealogy 3.6
11 Insurance 3.2
12 Animals/Nature 2.6
13 Education/Employment 2.5
14 Food/Wine/Restaurants 2.1
15 Government/Political 2.1
16 Finance 1.7
17 Vehicles 1.6
18 Housing 1.4
19 Sex/sex information 0.9
20 Seniors 0.7
21 Photos/Yearbook Photos 0.7
22 Geography 0.6
23 Volunteering 0.2
Other 3.0
Total 100.5
Generations on Line is a nonprofit organization founded in 1999, based in Philadelphia, PA, to help people over age 65 overcome the Internet barriers of access, skill and intimidation. The award winning program (American Society on Aging and MetLife Foundation for innovation in older adult learning) is in more than 1300 senior centers, nursing homes, public libraries, retirement centers and low income elder housing facilities in 49 states and Canada.


Generations on Line Founder Named Purpose Prize Fellow -- Americans over Age 60 Inventing New Ways to Meet Society's Greatest Challenges

Simplifying the Internet for Seniors

PHILADELPHIA — September 21, 2006 -- Civic Ventures, a think tank and program incubator helping society achieve the greatest return on experience, has named the Founder of Generations on Line, Tobey Dichter, as one of its inaugural Purpose Prize Fellows, a major new initiative to invest in Americans over 60 who are leading a new age of social innovation. Ms. Dichter also participated this month in the first "Purpose Prize Innovation Summit" at Stanford University, cosponsored by Civic Ventures and the Stanford Graduate School of Business' Center on Social Innovation.

Generations on Line is the nationwide program that simplifies the Internet for seniors. In the past six years, since its 2000 launch by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Norman Mineta and Mayor John Street, this non-profit program has helped more than 25,000 people over age 65 get online through an on-screen tutorial available free in 1200 public libraries, nursing homes, senior centers, retirement homes and low income elder housing in 48 states and Canada.

"It is the story of changing lives of people who are being left behind by new technologies we take for granted. It is helping those unable to communicate because of a stroke and now able to email. People too arthritic to continue hobbies now going online to pursue their interests. Nursing home residents now able to rekindle memories and revisit favorite places. It's about people dependent on others now empowered to research benefits, health, news, and support groups independently," said Ms. Dichter, age 62.

Ms. Dichter is one of 70 Fellows selected from the 1200 nominations. "It's conventional wisdom that young people drive entrepreneurialism and innovation, but The Purpose Prize Fellows turn that outdated notion on its head," said Marc Freedman, founder and President of Civic Ventures. "These inspiring men and women illustrate an emerging trend in our society, as millions of aging Americans turn their experience and passion for change into meaningful work in the second half of life."

Purpose Prize Fellows are selected each year from the top candidates of people over the age of 60 who are tackling the toughest problems in their communities and the country. The Fellowship program and the Innovation Summit supports these innovators, helps them develop their capacity, links them with funders and venture philanthropists, and seeks to combine these individual efforts into a wave of social innovation that could transform America.

About Civic Ventures
Civic Ventures is a think tank and program incubator, working to help society achieve the greatest return on experience. For more information about The Purpose Prize, visit www.LeadWithExperience.org.

About Generations on Line
Generations on Line is a national non-profit organization devoted to reducing the digital divide for seniors. The program is an onscreen tutorial that guides people over 65 unfamiliar with computers on to the Internet and email, including an intergenerational chat about the past and searching in 36 languages. It is free to seniors where they live and congregate. Those interested in contributing or applying for an institution, please see: www.generationsonline.org.
More on Ms. Dichter



PRESS RELEASE

New Website Tool Helps Seniors Get Medicare Drug Card Information Online

Philadelphia — February 3 -- Generations on Line, a national nonprofit Internet literacy program for seniors, today announced a simple new way for seniors to access the new Medicare drug benefit online.

The easiest and fastest way for seniors to get drug discount savings from Medicare is through the Internet, where they answer a series of online questions on the Medicare website, said Tobey Dichter, founder and chief executive officer of Generations on Line. However, a new national survey of older Americans (e-health and the Elderly: How Seniors Use the Internet for Health) by the Kaiser Family Foundation released last month found that only 2% of all seniors had gone online to Medicare.gov. Nearly 80% of people over 65 don't have access to computers or aren't computer literate, according to the Pew Internet & American Life 2004 study.

To address these issues, Generations on Line has developed a free, simplified interface designed exclusively for novice senior computer users that enables them to use the Medicare site despite their lack of computer experience. www.golmedicare.org

The new website provides onscreen instructions to help those less familiar with computing to enroll in the new drug card benefits and determine eligibility for a $600 drug credit for low income seniors. The website -- www.golmedicare.org -- is available free to any senior or caretaker who wishes to use it.

"This is a good example of the importance of closing the digital divide among seniors," Ms. Dichter said. "In addition to the new Medicare tutorial, Generations on Line provides a simplified Internet program for seniors in more than 1000 senior centers, public libraries, nursing and retirement homes across the country, providing free simplified email, searching in 36 languages, and an intergenerational cultural exchange about the past," she said.

For more information go to www.generationsonline.org or call 215 222 6400. For more help on Medicare, call 1-800medicare or www.medicare.gov.



The Chicago Community Trust Awards $233,000 to Generations on Line to Teach Seniors the Internet

CHICAGO — October 25, 2004 -- The Chicago Community Trust today announced a grant of $233,000 to Generations on Line, the national nonprofit program that simplifies the Internet for seniors. With this second major grant to enable low and moderate income elderly Chicagoans to learn and to use the Internet, The Chicago Community Trust has established itself as a leader in closing the digital divide.

"Chicago has become the country's leading metropolitan area to confront on a large scale the growing problem of the lack of Internet usage by the elderly, thanks to The Chicago Community Trust," said Tobey Gordon Dichter, CEO and founder of the Generations on Line. "This follows a grant last year of $175,000, which was so successful, it was concluded in 12 months instead of its scheduled 18."

"The grant will pay for the Generations on Line tutorial software, and a limited number of computers to more than 100 Chicago institutions throughout metropolitan Chicago, with emphasis on diversity and broad geographic range. These include Chicago Department on Aging multiservice centers; subsidized elder housing; metropolitan Chicago libraries; assisted living sites; and senior centers; community centers and not-for-profit nursing homes," said Jennifer Jobrack, associate vice president for communications and community relations at The Chicago Community Trust.

"Nearly 800,000 Chicagoans over age 65 do not, cannot and likely will not use the Internet, unless we help," Ms. Dichter said. According to the latest statistics from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, only 11% of African Americans over age 65 use the Internet. Only 17% of all people over age 69 use the Internet. Only 22% of all those over 65 use the Internet. This contrasts sharply with the nation as a whole, where the Internet is used by two-thirds of everyone over 18, and three-quarters of those under 18.

Generations on Line is a national not-for-profit technology organization based in Philadelphia. Its mission is to foster and promote internet literacy and access to the elderly; overcome the fear and reluctance to use new electronic media and stimulate communication among generations. Generations on Line is the winner of the 2002 MindAlerts Award for innovation in older adult learning from the American Society on Aging and MetLife Foundation. For more information, visit www.generationsonline.org.

Founded in 1915, The Chicago Community Trust is the third largest and second oldest among the nation's more than 600 community foundations. The Trust is a union of gifts and bequests from many sources, forming endowments of more than $1.2 billion, the income from which is used to support more than $60 million annually in grant making to not-for-profit organizations serving local residents and to support local programs like Generations on Line. To find out more about metropolitan Chicago's community foundation, visit www.cct.org.



The New York Times

For Some Internet Users, It's Better Late Than Never
By KATIE HAFNER
March 25, 2004

Walnut Creek, Calif.

WHEN Helen Karjala decided to set up her own computer last year, she was fearless. She patiently plodded her way through the process of setting up the machine and connecting to the Internet, an ordeal that can bring unwholesome utterances to the lips of people half her age.

"I started investigating the wires and the prongs and I thought, 'I can do this,' " recalled Mrs. Karjala, who is 88. "Of course, I needed a magnifying glass."

Mrs. Karjala, who lives in Rossmoor, a retirement community in the San Francisco Bay area, now spends at least an hour each day at the computer. She exchanges e-mail messages with two dozen relatives in Finland, keeps her language skills polished by reading a Finnish newspaper online, and collects chicken and eggplant recipes.

Once largely written off as a lost cause, older Americans are now coming into their own as Internet users. They are researching their family histories, sending e-mail, running virtual book clubs, reading about religion and travel, and pursuing other interests lifelong and new.

According to a new study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, a research organization in Washington, the ranks of Americans over 65 who use the Internet have jumped by 47 percent since 2000, making them the fastest-growing group to embrace the online world.

Despite the increases, this age group still has a long way to go. Only 22 percent of Americans over 65 go online, the study shows, compared with 75 percent of those ages 30 to 49. But as Americans who are more comfortable with computers gradually reach the age of 65, the percentage going online (or more precisely, staying online) should soar.

"People who are in their 50's now, once they begin on a computer there's no going back," said Tobey Dichter, president and chief executive of Generations on Line, a nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia that provides libraries, nursing homes and senior centers nationwide with special software geared toward the elderly. "Once they get adept, especially at the Internet, they don't give it up."

Susannah Fox, director of research at Pew, said the biggest factor pushing older Americans toward Internet use has been family. "Younger Internet users have probably encouraged their parents and grandparents to start communicating with e-mail, and many seniors have turned out to love it," Ms. Fox said.

For many of those younger users, the encouragement has extended to actually setting up a computer for an aged relative. And there are other sources of help: Generations on Line is just one of several programs that have sprung up to assist older people. Senior centers and retirement communities often have their own programs to guide the uninitiated.

Mrs. Karjala, for example, said she was inspired by the computer club at Rossmoor. After her husband, Matt, died four years ago, she began visiting the club's quarters to send e-mail messages to relatives. She was so taken with the novel mode of communication that she decided, with encouragement from the club's administrators, to install a computer in her home.

In setting up an Internet connection, Mrs. Karjala was aware that she was entering a world populated mainly by people far younger than she was, but she persevered. "It's my main hobby now," she said. "I don't do lawn bowling." Her new goal is to hook up a printer a friend gave her.

Leonard Krauss, 74, president of the Rossmoor club, said that Mrs. Karjala's experience was hardly unique. "People are continuing to learn and stay mentally active instead of vegetating," he said.

That is the case with Kathryn Robinson, who was 99 when she first learned to use a computer. Ms. Robinson, who is now 101 and lives at Barclay Friends - A Senior Living Community, a nursing home in West Chester, Pa., discovered the Internet through Generations on Line. She uses the Internet daily to send greeting cards, look up information and communicate with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

"The computer has kept me busy and kept me in touch and interested in life," she said in an e-mail exchange. "It's always a surprise to find new information about subjects that interest me."

Indeed, a prominent support structure like Generations on Line or the Rossmoor computer club can be surprisingly magnetic.

Of the 9,500 people who live at Rossmoor, where the average age is 78, nearly one-third participate in the computer club, Mr. Krauss said. "And it's growing," he added.

"There's definitely some peer pressure," said Louise Daum, 73, another Rossmoor resident who is just starting out online. "I thought I'd better dive in while I'm still mentally capable."

Mrs. Daum worries that she will hit the wrong button and lose all her work, or even break the computer - common fears among the elderly.

"This is a generation that takes things very seriously," Ms. Dichter said. "The first thing they worry about is that they'll break the machine."

As more older people gain online access, there has been a concurrent rise in the number of Web sites geared for them. Government agencies, in particular, have patterned their sites after early models established by organizations like SeniorNet, which has been around since 1986 and has had a Web site, www.seniornet.org, since 1995. The United States Administration on Aging has one (www.aoa.dhhs.gov), as does the Social Security Administration (www .seniors.gov). And hundreds of general sites have a special section devoted to the elderly, like a Yahoo health site, dir.yahoo.com /health/senior_health.

Sites like these are intended to make it easier than ever for older people to use the Web. Still, the barriers for an older person thinking about going online can be formidable, Ms. Dichter said. "The phrase I always hear is, 'They're leaving us behind,' " she said. "That's what you hear as a constant refrain from people in their seventies."

Just the typing can be a deterrent. "Older people type very slowly," Ms. Dichter said. "Some women who had been secretaries can type pretty fast, but for a lot of men it's a real hunt and peck."

Then there are the peculiarities of Web pages. "Older people haven't been able to learn how to tell what's clickable and what's not," Ms. Dichter said.

Using the mouse, especially for those with tremors and arthritis, is another challenge. One of the Rossmoor computer club's classes concentrates on nothing but mouse navigation.

"I tell people to come to the mouse class because it's there that you can really decide if you want to do it or not," said Don Torrence, 77, a Rossmoor resident who teaches the class. One of the first activities in the class involves playing computer solitaire, as the game requires a great deal of clicking and dragging.

Mrs. Karjala was especially grateful for the introduction to solitaire. She still remembers her mother banning all card games from the house when she was a child.

Physicians even prescribe computer use to older patients who have suffered minor strokes, to help them regain motor control. (For Mr. Torrence, it worked the other way: the computer helped him figure out he had had a stroke when he sat down at the keyboard one day and could not move the mouse. "That's when I told my wife to call 911," he said. He has since recovered.)

Rossmoor's two computer classrooms are outfitted not just with computers but with a few additional aids, too, like a public address system, for those with hearing difficulties. Those who attend sometimes get so excited that they forget other things. "One woman who entered the classroom with her walker got so inspired by the class that she left without it," Mr. Krauss said. "We have people leaving their canes behind all the time."

Technical needs at Rossmoor are modest. Mrs. Karjala is perfectly happy with her Windows 95 operating system and her dial-up connection. When a reporter asked her if she might be interested in getting a high-speed connection, she asked what that was, then shook her head, "Oh no, I don't need that," she said. "I have plenty of time."

Intimidation and fear still can put people off. Many older people are not accustomed to mechanisms that work so quickly and essentially invisibly.

"People over 65 grew up in more of a mechanical world and if you do something wrong things break and they can't be undone," said Tom Tullis, senior vice president for human interface design at Fidelity Investments in Boston, which has watched elderly people interact with computers in usability labs. "Your toaster doesn't have an undo button on it. If you burn the toast, it's burned."

Mr. Tullis said that the older people who come into his labs will often be slow to commit to a mouse click. "We refer to it as cautious clicking behavior," he said. "They'll put their mouse over a link, then debate about whether it's the right link to click on, and you don't see that with younger folks."

Ms. Dichter said that time and again, when she talks with older people who have ventured successfully onto the Internet, she is struck by the sense of independence they gain. "The first positive impact on a person's life is that self-empowerment, that feeling of, 'I can do it,' " she said. "Then they're stunned and amazed at the resources available."

In a survey of 16,000 searches performed by older Americans connected to the Internet through Generations on Line, Ms. Dichter's organization found that those users are not fixated on disease and illness. Rather, she said, "they are curious and interested in the world around them."

In the survey, travel, history, hobbies and genealogy were among the top search topics. Disease and illness ranked sixth. "They'll look up Stephen Foster, Little Rascals, Billy Eckstine and Betty Grable," Ms. Dichter said. "It's a source of pleasure to be able to research things from the past, and they also look up hometowns and read newspapers from other languages."

Watching Mrs. Karjala sitting at her computer desk, set up in the corner of her small guest room, one cannot help wondering if the computer occasionally heightens a sense of isolation.

Ms. Dichter agreed that this could be the case for old people who live alone. But for those in nursing homes or retirement communities, it fosters a sense of togetherness, she said. "It happens over and over, when you watch people in a senior center and someone is at the computer, and pretty soon there's a whole cluster of people kibitzing."

Ms. Dichter pointed out that going online was now something of an imperative for the elderly. "There are resources dedicated to seniors that aren't available any other way but online," she said. Many agencies and services now have far fewer operators taking calls, she noted. "Now,'' she said, "everybody directs you to the Web site."

NEW YORK TIMES:

© 2004 The New York Times Co. Reprinted with permission.



Philadelphia Inquirer tech.life@school

Bridging the 'gray gap' that divides seniors from Internet

By Joyce Kasman Valenza

Published on March 18, 2004

There's another digital divide.

It's a persistent "gray gap," reports The Pew Internet and American Life study, The Ever-Shifting Internet Population (April 2003). The study found little growth in Internet use among older Americans. "Among those who say they will never go online, 71% are over 50, and 41% are over 65."

This is a disturbing divide for those of us who understand the Internet's powers to inform, entertain and connect. For the last four years, the nonprofit Generations on Line has been offering seniors a first, no-risk step - an opportunity to log on and compelling reasons to connect.

"This initiative began in order to overcome the embarrassment our oldest and wisest generation faced as the barrage of new vocabulary hit everything from the airwaves to the Thanksgiving dinner table," said Tobey Dichter, founder and chief executive officer of the Philadelphia-based organization. "Now the objective is to overcome the inequities faced by elders who realize they are being left behind, but are too intimidated by the enormous challenge to know where to begin."

V.J. Pappas, chief operating officer of Generations on Line, noted that though the gap was largely socioeconomic, "it also breaks out attitudinally. Why spend $1,000 on a computer and try to learn the Internet unless you've experienced it? Most seniors don't think they need it; they are not convinced it's a vital technology."

Pappas and Dichter shared stories of lives changed by online connections. One senior whose language abilities were degraded by a stroke came out of his shell and learned new skills. A Chinese-born retiree now reads her local hometown newspaper online. Old Army buddies have reconnected. A mildly retarded woman in an assisted-living facility now experiences joy and improved self-image simply by being able to e-mail.

On a recent flight west, Pappas sat next to an elderly couple. Conversation began over an article Pappas was reading about searching for airline tickets online. The couple had brought sandwiches to save the cost of $10 meals, but spent $400 more than they needed to on their tickets because they were unable to search and book online.

Generations on Line offers a guided, easy-to-use, consistent interface, featuring clear, large type, emphasizing that elders can learn while actually doing. The interface features four central applications: e-mail, an Altavista-powered search, a portal of links of interest to seniors, and a threaded intergenerational discussion between supervised students and seniors who can respond to questions about the past.

Generations on Line benefits children, too. Becca Bertland, a teacher at the Philadelphia School, an independent school in Center City, conducts an after-school club in which her third graders enjoy reading seniors' responses about baseball, dating, fads and fashion in the old days. Her students like the feeling that they "are helping elders to use the computer." She quotes student Millie Galashan: "It's fun to type questions and then read the responses. I also like finding out what the people liked to do when they were my age."

Priscilla Bradshaw, director of the Ralston Center at 36th and Chestnut Streets, related the story of Mary Flannery, who "reflected the enthusiasm of the other seniors, when she spoke about Generations on Line. She said: 'I love corresponding with my grandchildren whenever I want. I know they love me, but now they think I'm cool because I use a computer. It is a free service at Ralston Center, so I don't have to worry about the phone bill.' "

Bradshaw added that Flannery loved to "communicate with schoolchildren in this area. They are beginning to understand it was all right to grow up without a TV, refrigerator or car. That's an important lesson for them to learn, and I learn many things from them."

Generations on Line currently operates in 47 states, and is available in 880 facilities, mostly libraries and institutions that cater to seniors. All branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia host a Generations on Line link.

"Our goal is to put ourselves out of business in 10 years," Pappas said. "We hope seniors will gain the same literacy and competency on the Web as the general population."

But Pappas calls the challenge "a race against time. The window of opportunity is closing with a generation of seniors not getting any younger. The younger of our seniors are more computer literate.

"If you are affiliated with a senior center, nursing home, or assisted-living facility, and would like to connect the seniors you serve, visit Generations on Line at http://generationsonline.org/.



Crain's New York Business

Guiding Seniors Over Digital Divide: City programs, corporate sponsors ease older users onto the Net, opening a fast-growing market

By Matthew Flamm

Published on December 01, 2003

Last spring, when 69-year-old Rachel Pasquale was planning a vacation cruise, she tried something she had never done before: She found a travel site on the Internet and, after canceling the cruise she had arranged through a travel agency, booked a new trip online. In addition to finding the process more convenient, she and her traveling companion saved $500 apiece on their cabins, with express check-in thrown into the bargain.

Ms. Pasquale gained the confidence to surf the Web by taking classes at the Fort Hamilton Senior Center in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, through a program run by the city's Department of Parks & Recreation for the past two years.

"I didn't use the Internet before I came here," says the retired customer relations representative. "It's much faster and easier than learning at home, and they introduce you to so many things you wouldn't hit upon on your own."

Ms. Pasquale is part of a growing trend. As the population ages, a push has begun to bring older people online. Parks & Recreation runs programs at 20 centers to help seniors learn about computers. San Francisco-based SeniorNet, the premier national organization getting the elderly online, supports eight learning centers in New York. The New York Public Library's "Click on @ the Library" program, which aims to ensure computer access for all New Yorkers, is available at all branches.

The campaign to get seniors into cyberspace is paying off. A recent study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 22% of Americans over age 65 now go online. That's up from only 15% three years ago.

"This opens up a whole new market for us," says Paula Baker, director of corporate community relations for IBM Corp. The Armonk, N.Y.-based company partnered with SeniorNet to develop the nonprofit's Web adaptation software, which features large font sizes and the capability to read text aloud.

"Seniors are the fastest-growing segment of the market, and they have the leisure time to use computers," Ms. Baker notes.

However, introducing tech-phobic seniors to the digital world isn't always easy. The Tremont branch of the New York Public Library found one solution: It installed senior-friendly software from nonprofit Generations on Line on some of its computers, designating them for use by seniors only.

"Many of our senior patrons had expressed interest but were very intimidated, especially when very computer-savvy kids started coming in," says Richard Sabino, a librarian at the branch, which is located on Washington Avenue in the Bronx.

Reducing fears

Once they had the computers to themselves, the seniors were no longer "afraid to touch the mouse, or that they would break the computer," Mr. Sabino says. A number of them have since expressed interest in buying computers of their own.

The key to introducing the elderly to computers is to start simple, says Tobey Dichter, founder and chief executive of Philadelphia-based Generations on Line.

"These are training wheels," she says of her organization's step-by-step software, designed specifically for people born between 1920 and 1929. "Why start with the complexities of understanding this technology for which they don't yet perceive value?"

Whether or not seniors want to become computer-literate, they may eventually have little choice, as their children increasingly rely on e-mail to monitor their well-being.

AT&T Corp. and IBM are sponsoring Generations on Line and SeniorNet programs around the country to assist their employees with elder-care issues. By helping seniors become computer-literate, these programs "are creating a viable mechanism for employees to be in touch with their elders as much as possible on a real-time basis," says Alan Youngblood, director of the employee assistance program for Bedminster, N.J.-based AT&T.

Expanded horizons

Seniors who test the waters online often find that in addition to keeping in touch with family, they particularly like gaining access to health care information and being able to browse sites like the one for the Social Security Administration. Like their children, the older set may also discover that the Internet is good for things other than researching health issues. SeniorNet, for instance, sponsors chat rooms.

"There have been marriages and liaisons that have come about," says Louise K. Licht, SeniorNet's Learning Center coordinator at the Jewish Center in Jackson Heights, Queens. The Learning Center opened a year ago with a grant from Verizon Communications Inc.

"I'm going down to Florida this winter," says Ms. Licht. "I have loads of friends down there from SeniorNet-and if I didn't, I could go over to the Learning Center and make some."

© 2003, Crain Communications, Inc

Reprinted with permission from Crain Communications, Inc.



PRESS RELEASE

IBM, AT&T Employees Help Seniors Use the Internet at 135 Libraries And Centers in More Than 30 States

PHILADELPHIA, April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T and IBM have tapped their employees to help bring access to the Internet -- and knowledge of how to use it -- to senior citizens around the country.

Last year, the two companies collaborated to sponsor a $660,000 grant to Generations on Line and SeniorNet, Inc. Since then, more than 130 AT&T and IBM employees have suggested libraries, senior centers and nursing homes in communities in 30 states where their parents or grandparents live to receive Generations on Line, a free simplified Internet program created exclusively for seniors.

Funding for this unique initiative is provided by the IBM Global Work/Life Fund and the AT&T Family Care Development Fund. The AT&T Family Care Development Fund is a joint project of AT&T, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

As a result of employee involvement, 135 new facilities now offer this program free to IBM and AT&T relatives and other seniors. Sixty-five libraries, nursing homes and senior centers have added Generations on Line to their facilities. "We are a small community that has had a lot of interest in Generations on Line," said Barbara Winter at the Pipestone Senior Center in Minnesota. "We've had a lot of positive feedback about Generations on Line and have a couple of people who come in everyday to use it and they love it. I think it's great because it is so simple for the seniors to use."

Carol Fjellanger is the IBMer who nominated the Senior Center in Pipestone, MN, her mother's community, to receive the Generations on Line software. Pipestone is about 180 miles from where Fjellanger lives in Rochester, MN. The Generations on Line program makes it possible for elders, such as Fjellanger's mother, to stay in touch with family members who do not live nearby -- in this case, two children, five grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. "Now she wants her own computer so she doesn't have to go to the Senior Center to send her e-mails!" says Fjellanger proudly.

In addition, 70 SeniorNet sites have added Generations on Line to their computer learning centers. Ann Wrixon, President and CEO of SeniorNet said, "When I walked into the SeniorNet Learning Center in Jaspar, Arkansas, which is in the middle of the Ozarks -- an extremely rural community -- there was the Generations on Line computer right in the middle of the lobby with 3 seniors crowded around it."

Dr. Joseph Romano, AT&T Human Resources Vice President -- Health Affairs said, "We're pleased to be associated with such a worthwhile program, and we're happy that, in many communities throughout the U.S., our employees and their families are benefiting from it."

Tobey Dichter, founder and CEO of Generations on Line, estimates that more than 8,000 seniors have overcome their fear of computers through this simplified program. "This grant is an example of corporate leadership recognizing the needs of employees with older family members as well as the importance to those employees of staying connected with their elder relatives."

Generations on Line is a nonprofit program launched in September 2000 and is now in more than 670 senior centers, nursing homes, retirement communities, subsidized housing units and public libraries in 46 states and Canada. Through clear, step-by-step, on-screen directions in large type, the ad-free program guides elderly computer novices through the basics. Generations on Line provides free, simplified email service and, through a partnership with AltaVista.com, enables a user to "surf the Net" in 25 languages. The program, available only to institutions, also includes the opportunity for seniors to respond to children's questions about the past, and links to other sites. Generations on Line is intended to break down the barriers of access, skill and intimidation for 21 million people over 65 who otherwise might not use the Internet.

SeniorNet (http://www.seniornet.org) is the world's premier technology trainer and online community for adults over 50. Based in San Francisco and founded in 1986, SeniorNet is a major international organization that has taught hundreds of thousands of older adults to use computers and the Internet and has enriched the lives of millions through its website. With a thriving online community and a network of more than 240 locally run Learning Centers in the U.S. staffed by more than 6,000 volunteers, SeniorNet offers both offline and online destinations to a population that was originally neglected in the information revolution. Many of SeniorNet's partners and sponsors, which include major corporations and foundations, underwrite and co-brand areas of the SeniorNet website as a way to market their products and services to the coveted 50+ segment.



PRESS RELEASE

The Chicago Community Trust Awards $150,000
to Generations on Line to Teach Seniors the Internet

CONTACTS:
Sharon Meyers
847-733-0514
(cell) 847 571 1499
smeyerscomms@aol.com

Tobey Dichter
215-922-3244
(cell) 215 990 7542
tobeydichter@att.net

CHICAGO --MARCH 13 -- Chicago today became the country's first metropolitan area to attack on a large scale the growing problem of the lack of Internet usage by the elderly. The Chicago Community Trust announced a grant of $150,000 for 60 senior facilities and residences to provide free on-site Internet access and training through Generations on Line, a national nonprofit organization for Internet literacy of seniors.

The announcement was made here today at the 2003 Joint Conference of the American Society on Aging and the National Council on the Aging.

Michael Marcus, a senior program officer at The Chicago Community Trust said, "The grant will pay for the Generations on Line software, and, where needed, a computer and Internet connectivity to five Chicago Department on Aging regional senior centers; 15 Chicago Housing Authority senior facilities; 20 assisted living sites, 10 senior centers and nursing homes in the Chicago metropolitan area, and 10 other sites to be announced.

"This project aligns well with the Trust's concern for life enrichment activities, those things that make life worth living, for seniors. Generations on Line offers an opportunity to low and moderate income seniors and those who would otherwise be shut out of the information age. This grant follows a highly successful demonstration pilot project of Generations on Line in eight similar centers last year throughout metropolitan Chicago," Marcus said.

Tobey Dichter, founder and CEO of Generations on Line, based in Philadelphia, said: "As the Internet becomes the gateway to resources, it is ironic that those who need it most, use it least. According to the most recent census data, there are 998,474 individuals aged 65 or older living in metropolitan Chicago. Of that total, 84% don't use the Internet, according to national statistics. That means more than 800,000 people in metropolitan Chicago are ultimately candidates for this program. Barriers for the elderly are skill, access, and intimidation. Similar statistics hold true for the poor."

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project 68% of whites in households earning less than $30,000 are not online; 75% of African Americans in similar households are not online; and 74% of Hispanics are not online.

As more information is made available online, the cost of Internet illiteracy rises. Vital information on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security is now easier to access on computer than in printed form, as is the latest state and local care giving information for Chicago residents. Commercial enterprises, from airlines to catalogues, pass along exclusive discounts of 10% or more to customers who buy tickets or purchase items online.

For the initial Chicago pilot and current expansion into 60 new sites, Generations on Line and The Chicago Community Trust worked closely with the Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Department on Aging, and the North Shore Senior Center.

"Seniors living in public housing have a lot to gain from computer access, especially with all the information they can find about healthcare, current events, and other services," said Donna Dixon, Director of Senior Programs for the Chicago Housing Authority.

Generations on Line is a national not-for-profit technology organization based in Philadelphia. Its mission is to foster and promote internet literacy and access to the elderly; overcome the fear and reluctance to use new electronic media and stimulate communication among generations. Generations on Line is the winner of the 2002 Mind AlertsAward for innovation in older adult learning from the American Society on Aging and MetLife Foundation. For more information, visit www.generationsonline.org.

Founded in 1915, The Chicago Community Trust is the third largest and second oldest among the nation's more than 600 community foundations. In contrast to corporate and private foundations, the Trust is a union of gifts and bequests from many sources, forming endowments of more than $1 billion, the income from which is used to support grant making to not-for-profit organizations serving local residents and to support local programs like Generations on Line. To find out more about metropolitan Chicago's community foundation, visit www.cct.org.



PRESS RELEASE

IBM, AT&T to Fund 1,000 New Locations
to Make Internet Simple for Seniors

Generations on Line and SeniorNet collaboration could reach more than 150,000 people over age 65 in the U.S.

PHILADELPHIA - March 18, 2002 -- Generations on Line™ and SeniorNet, Inc. today announced receipt of a $660,000 grant to provide simplified Internet access to older Americans in 1,000 communities.

Funding for this innovative initiative is provided by the IBM Global Work/Life Fund and the AT&T Family Care Development Fund. The AT&T Family Care Development Fund is a joint project of AT&T, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

The greater part of the 50+ population still lacks Internet access, trailing other age groups in Web use by a factor of two-to-one, and the 65+ population trails those under age 30 by a factor of five-to-one, according to latest studies by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

"The partnership with SeniorNet, Generations on Line, AT&T and IBM marks a technology milestone that will give senior citizens a new level of access to the Internet and other computing applications," said Ted Childs, vice president, IBM Workforce Diversity. "IBM has taken a leadership role in helping to close the digital divide, so we are excited about providing increased access for seniors to receive hands-on computing education in their own communities. In addition, IBM is developing technology for seniors that will enhance the Internet experience through customized features such as increasing the size of text on a screen, formatting text for better viewing, or turning-off flashing images."

"Expanding Generations on Line does more than help older Americans and our own employees; it connects families and generations of families in 1000 communities around the country," added AT&T's Alan Youngblood, Director Employee Assistance and Work Family Program.

"This funding initiative provides the Generations on Line software to 800 senior centers, nursing homes, and libraries in communities where older relatives of IBM and AT&T employees live. Employees will suggest the community sites and those sites selected will be notified. This program could potentially reach more than 150,000 people over 65 throughout the nation," said Tobey Dichter, founder and CEO of Generations on Line.

Furthermore, the collaborative effort will provide a new public access computer with Generations on Line software in kiosks located close to the 220 SeniorNet Learning Centers across the country. "This will introduce the Internet to older people who may be reluctant to sign up for computer classes until they see its value," said Ann Wrixon, CEO of SeniorNet.

In addition to SeniorNet's partnership with Generations on Line, SeniorNet has also recently announced a pilot program in collaboration with IBM that will enable SeniorNet members to tailor how they view web pages according to the personal preferences of each user, eliminating barriers that have kept the web off-limits to many seniors. Both IBM and SeniorNet officials say the end result of this program will increase internet access for millions.

Generations on Line (www.generationsonline.org) is a nonprofit program launched in September 2000 and now in more than 300 senior centers, nursing homes, retirement communities, subsidized housing units and public libraries in 35 states and Canada. Through clear, step-by-step, on-screen directions in large type and plain English, the ad-free program guides elderly computer novices through the basics. It provides free, simplified email accounts and enables surfing the Net in 25 languages, through a partnership with AltaVista.com. The program, available only to institutions, also includes an intergenerational chat about the past and links to other sites. It is intended to break down the barriers of access, skill and intimidation for 21 million people over 65 who otherwise would not use the Internet.

SeniorNet (www.seniornet.org) is the world's premier technology trainer and online community for adults over 50. Based in San Francisco and founded in 1986, SeniorNet is a major international organization that has taught hundreds of thousands of older adults to use computers and the Internet and has enriched the lives of millions through its website. With a thriving online community and a network of more than 240 locally run Learning Centers in the US staffed by more than 5,000 volunteers, SeniorNet offers both offline and online destinations to a population that was originally neglected in the information revolution. Many of SeniorNet's partners and sponsors, which include major corporations and foundations, underwrite and co-brand areas of the SeniorNet website as a way to market their products and services to the coveted 50+ segment.



PRESS RELEASE

Oprah, Travel, News, History
Choice of Seniors New to the Internet
Say 7,000 Searches on Generations on Line (TM)

CONTACT:
Tobey Dichter
215 922 3244 / 215 990 7542 (cell)
tobeydichter@att.net

VJ Pappas
610 664 2793
vjpappas@verizon.net

February 27 -- Bethesda-- Older people using the Internet for the first time search for Oprah Winfrey more than osteoporosis and seek news and travel information over aging issues. This information comes from more than 7000 searches by new users over age 65, nationwide. These people gained access to the world wide web through a new nonprofit educational program called Generations on Line™ available free to seniors through local senior centers, libraries, nursing homes and retirement communities that order the program.

"The top five categories new older Internet users searched for are: travel, computing, current events, entertainment and family history," Generations on Line founder and CEO Tobey Dichter told an audience today. She was a speaker at the Second Biennial National Conference on Older Adults, Health Information and the World Wide Web, at the National Institutes of Health, sponsored by the Spry Foundation in cooperation with NIH.

"With 21 million people over the age of 65 unable to use computers, it was critical to make the Internet fast, easy, free, and accessible where seniors live or congregate," she said. After five months of operation, we collected and categorized the topics these new users entered.. The terms reveal interest in the past and present, from Oscar Peterson to Oprah Winfrey, from Hegel to Humor, the Bible, newsmakers, and places to travel or where they were born many years ago."

The accompanying chart shows the aggregated search terms, from anonymous older Americans who used Generations on Line.

Ms. Dichter also said that many facilities serving elders are woefully behind in providing Internet access for their patrons. "Society has begun to identify the Digital Divide as a senior issue, but we have not really addressed those institutions where seniors live and meet as obvious access points for the new media. Although some senior centers are beautifully equipped, the majority in poorer areas are not."

Generations on Line is now available in 120 facilities, in 17 states, including all the Philadelphia public libraries. The number of searches performed to date is 10,000. Generations on Line conducted the analysis on the first seven thousand searches between September and January. People over 65 who are unfamiliar with computers learn and use the basic functions, including an intergenerational chat about the past, simplified email, and a specially designed search with results returned in 25 different languages, provided through a partnership with altavista.com.

Top Ten Search Categories by Older Americans New to the Internet
%
Travel8.8
Computer/Internet terms8.8
Current Events8.7
Entertainment6.7
Genealogy/Family History5.7
Health/Fitness5.0
Greeting Cards/Holidays4.9
History4.5
Aging/Senior Issues4.3
Religion/Spirituality/Ethics4.1

Note: These search terms were entered by more than 1000 people over 65 who had not used the Internet before. It was made available by Generations on Line (TM).
© 2001 Generations on Line (TM)

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PRESS RELEASE

First Simplified Internet Access Plan Set for Seniors;
Generations on Line to Begin Regional Pilot

Contact:
Tobey Dichter
215-922-3244
For Immediate release

PHILADELPHIA, JAN 10 -- Generations on Line, a new nonprofit corporation, will introduce next week the first Internet program designed for seniors who are totally unfamiliar with computers and inclined to remain so.

Some 21 million people over 65 have never tried a computer, according to Tobey Gordon Dichter, Generations on Line founder and chief executive officer. Ms. Dichter started Generations on Line because research shows that many older people are intimidated by the Internet, and are being marginalized as a result.

"We have made the Internet simple to use and free and easy to access," Ms. Dichter said. Generations on Line will be offered at sites where seniors live and congregate. The service, free to seniors, will be available at senior centers, retirement homes, libraries, assisted living facilities, and private and subsidized apartment buildings. Sites will be expected to bear the costs of the computers, connections and Internet service providers, with Generations on Line providing turnkey set-up, promotion, free e-mail addresses, training materials and software.

Regional pilot testing begins this month for hundreds of seniors at seven sites: the Philadelphia Senior Center, one of the largest and oldest in the nation; Germantown Home, a Presbyterian Foundation assisted living facility; branches of the Free Library in South and Northwest Philadelphia; Martins Run, a Jewish-oriented nonprofit continuing care retirement community; the Methodist Hospital Nursing Center for long-term care; and the American Postal Workers House, a low-income subsidized housing unit with 375 people between ages 62 and 96, 20 % of whom are Asian.

Generations on Line is both a service for access and product for learning. It consists of software and training guides specially designed and tested for use by computer illiterate older adults and the necessary planning and promotion for institutions.

"We have just completed testing and proving that the software works," Dichter said. "In focus groups of people between the ages of 65 and 90 years old, complete novices have been able to send an e-mail postcard message, research a subject, and open selected sites of interest within 45 minutes."

One application, "Memories: Generation to Generation", enables people to respond to school children's questions about the past. For some elders, this experience will be the inspiration to try the Internet. For others, the simplified e-mail process will be the reason to try the on-site Generations on Line computer. The service includes free e-mail addresses for seniors through Generations on Line. At launch, Generations on Line will ask children to send their e-mail addresses to an elder.

Ann Wrixon, executive director of SeniorNet, the leading training program for people over 55, calls the program "the first access to the Internet for people disinclined to enroll in courses." "Generations on Line," she added, " builds the very basic skills that enable people to either continue with something more sophisticated or use this as their way into the Internet. Once on-line, they can enjoy all the value built into sites such as ours, but you have to get them there through easy access first."

Dr. H.E. Broadbent, chief information officer of the Philadelphia Library, heads a national task force on senior access to the Internet and was an early adapter of the program. "This is just what was needed to strip away the complexities so real people can come into their local library and with very little support from a busy staff get on line," he said.

Gloria Cavanaugh , executive director of the American Society on Aging, said, "Beginning to move older adults online--whether in senior centers or residential settings--has to become a priority in the information society. Without programs such as Generations On Line, we risk the danger of marginalizing elders and denying them the benefits of information technology."

HUD, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, encourages Internet access programs through its Neighborhood Network initiative. "We hope housing projects that use or are interested in HUD's Neighborhood Networks will consider this program among other tools for seniors," Dichter said.

"It is important that those who did not grow up with the Internet in school or use it in business recognize its value as a tool. And the three known barriers to its acceptance are lack of access, lack of skill, and intimidation," Dichter added. "By tearing down those barriers -- placing simple, easy, free large screen setups in the lobbies, libraries, and recreation rooms -- Generations on Line can encourage people to learn together, use the basic functions, and communicate with other generations. At the very least, many of our oldest and wisest will understand firsthand what this new world of 'www' is all about."

The national launch is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2000.

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PRESS RELEASE

Contact:
Tobey Dichter
215-922-3244
tobeydichter@att.net

Generations on Line launches unique Internet access and literacy program for seniors in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware

PHILADELPHIA, JULY 5 -- A unique program designed to introduce the Internet to seniors 65 years of age and older launches today in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. A national launch is scheduled for early September.

Tobey Gordon Dichter, founder and chief executive of Generations on Line, said the year-old nonprofit operation, based in Philadelphia, has just completed a successful six-month pilot test that introduced the Internet to 168 seniors in seven institutions.

Specially designed self-teaching software will be made available free to seniors in the tri-state region at locations where they live and congregate: senior centers, retirement communities, nursing homes, private and HUD subsidized apartment buildings, and libraries.

Centers participating in the program, Ms. Dichter said, will be required to provide a location that is easily accessible, have a large screen computer and an Internet hookup. There is a charge of $350 to cover costs of materials and personal support to administrators.

Senior care directors of participating organizations can obtain free software and e-mail for patrons and residents who would not otherwise use the Internet by applying to Generations on Line through the corporate web site (www.generationsonline.com) or by mail addressed to the Generations on Line Administration Center, 108 Ralston House, 3615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA. 19104.

Regional pilots included: the Philadelphia Senior Center, one of the largest and oldest in the nation; Germantown Home, a Presbyterian Foundation assisted living facility; branches of the Free Library in South and Northwest Philadelphia; Martins Run, a Jewish-oriented nonprofit continuing care retirement community; the Methodist Hospital Nursing Center for long-term care; and the American Postal Workers House, a low-income subsidized housing unit with 375 people between ages 62 and 96, 20% of whom are Asian.

All pilot site administrators asked to continue the program and have tailored it to their own needs. "The residents have found a new appreciation for the computer and what it can do to enrich their lives," said Rene Fernandez of the Methodist Hospital Nursing Center, where he assists them in learning. At Martin's Run, Jamie Scott holds weekly classes using the software and materials. At the Philadelphia Senior Center, patrons use Generations on Line independent of any staff support and some 50 seniors there have now taught themselves to use the Internet on Generations on Line.

Generations on Line is both a service for access and a product for learning. It consists of software and training guides specially designed and tested for use by computer illiterate older adults and the necessary planning and promotion materials for institutions. Materials include a 24-page, step-by-step book; e-mail address booklets; monitor frames; posters; table tent cards illustrated by children; and personal training and set-up support available to administrators.

***

Note to editor:
Generations on Line is a 501(C) (3) organization, based in Philadelphia. The preview website for journalists is www.generationsonline.com Dichter is the former vice president and director of communication and public affairs for SmithKline Beecham Healthcare Services. She left the company after 30 years to pursue this nonprofit mission.

Working with her are Vasil Pappas, Jr., and Bernadette Hennessy. Pappas is principal of Precision Media Works. He is the former vice president and general manager of United Press International's business news and financial information division, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, and the founding editor of the National Business Employment Weekly. Bernadette Hennessy is an experienced computer educator for the elderly and young, and former director of computer training for Zany Brainy, the educational toy chain.

Advisors to Generations on Line: H.E. Broadbent, Ph.D., Director of Information Technology, The Free Library of Philadelphia; Humphrey Chen, Co-CEO, Connexus Corporation ; Anne Clark, Teacher, The Philadelphia School; Saadia Greenberg, Ph.D., U.S. Administration on Aging; Frances Miller, Social gerontologist, Director, Stiffel Senior Center; Henry H. Perritt, Jr., Dean and Professor of Law Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology; Andrew Seibert, Chief Financial Officer, The Presbyterian Foundation for Philadelphia and NewCourtland, Inc. and President and C E O, Veritas Health Systems; Nancy Sokoloff, author, entrepreneur, Cathedral Village; Robert J. Stone, Principal, The Dilenschneider Group; Ann Wrixon, President and CEO, SeniorNet.

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Commerce Secretary urges inclusion of all ages in Internet era at national launch of Generations on Line

PHILADELPHIA, SEPT. 7 -- A unique nonprofit program that introduces the Internet to seniors where they live and congregate was launched nationally today. U.S. Commerce Secretary Norman Y. Mineta appeared with Tobey Dichter, founder and chief executive officer of Generations on Line™, here today and underscored his message of inclusion of all ages in the new Internet era.

During a press conference at the Philadelphia Senior Center this morning, Secretary Mineta and Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street learned how to use Generations on Line, a nonprofit program to help people over 65 who have never used computers learn the Internet.

The Generations on Line customized software for seniors being introduced nationwide today is in plain English with step-by-step instructions for going on line.

Secretary Mineta selected Philadelphia and this setting as his first stop in a nationwide tour to close the digital divide. Today, he urged the inclusion of elders in the Internet era, and joined Ms. Dichter in launching Generations on Line.

"There are 21 million people over 65 who have never tried the Internet and are otherwise unlikely to do so. Generations On Line will help provide Internet access to these seniors. Today it is officially available throughout the nation to senior centers, nursing and retirement homes, both private and HUD subsidized elder housing and public libraries. We know this will make a difference in the lives of our oldest and wisest generations," Ms. Dichter said.

Ms. Dichter said the on-line tutorial software program is available to any senior center, nursing home, assisted living or retirement center, library, or private or subsidized apartment complex in the nation. The only provision is that these facilities make the software program, including its email, free to elders. Centers participating in the program, Ms. Dichter said, must provide an easily accessible location, a computer with a large monitor and an Internet connection. Adjunct tips and guides as well as personal representatives are part of the program with a one-time cost of $250.

Basically, here is how it works: Seniors with no computer skills walk into the lobby of their senior center or retirement home and see a screen that says, "Welcome to Generations on Line, your introduction to the Internet." Then, using familiar images and large type instructions, the program guides them through basic e-mail, a multilingual search by Alta Vista, links to other sites and an intergenerational chat area called Memories: Generation to generation.

Dichter and her team began the nonprofit 501 (C) (3) company in July, 1999, to help seniors overcome the barriers of access, skill and intimidation that prevent people over 65 from learning to use and enjoy the Internet.

To apply, visit www.generationsonline.com or by mail addressed to the Generations on Line Administration Center, 108 Ralston House, 3615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA. 19104.

Closing the Digital Gap for Elders

(from Aging Today's "@info.age"; by Jim Emerman)

Fewer than 20% of adults in the United States between the ages of 65 and 80 are now online, according to studies by SeniorNet, Microsoft, and others. Elders' lack of access and skills, along with their feeling intimidated by new technology, are among the major barriers they face in joining the information age. Older Americans voice frustration with their own lack of understanding about new informatoin tachnology, and constant media coverage of the cyberspace revolution only reinforces their feelings of isolation and obsolescence.

Yet elders could be perhaps the greatest beneficiaries of Internet use. There is an enormous unfilled need for communication, intellectual stimulation, entertainment and independence in the later years of life. With its color-blind, age-ignorant, infirmity-invisible technology, the Internet offers an enormous opportunity to those who can use it. Too many elders, though, are unable or unwilling to attend courses and won't or can't purchase the needed equipment.

Some senior centers and other elder gathering sites are woefully unequipped for the digital age. Even some of the best-run nursing homes have computers only for office staff and provide no Internet access; small senior centers - in particular rural ones - have no public equipment and are confused about options for accessing the Internet; libraries offer public-access computers but encounter staffing issues when an oder person asks for instructions on using the computer.

A New Nonprofit

When computer courses for older adults are available, they require money, a major time commitment or both. In addition, many economically disadvantaged elders lack the money to buy a home computer. In long-term care facilities, life enrichment activities are increasingly encouraged, but computer and Internet training pose a major challenge both for residents with severe disabilities and for staff.

Into this digital gap comes Generations on Line. This new nonprofit has introduced the first Internet initiative designed for elders who are unfamiliar with computers and are at risk of remaining so. Although Internet sites, computer classes, books, computer training centers and school initiatives targetting older people are available, the focus of Generations on Line is different.

Generations on Line is the first and only service devoted exclusively to providing elders access to the Internet. By providing interface-friendly software for computers where elders live and congregate, it eliminates the issues of purchase, decision-making and maintenance. By giving elders access to basic applications through an interface in plain English and with clear directions, it reduces the embarrassment of slow learning.

Following successful pilots in seven cities, a national rollout will take place in September. Generations on Line will provide software and printed materials for long-term care, assisted living and personal care facilities; senior centers; libraries; and private and subsidized elder housing sites. The customized, easy-to-use software introduces elders to the basics of the mouse and keyboard. It also displays clear, uncluttered interfaces for e-mail, Web search functions and a portal to sites of interest to older adults. Of particular interest is the latest information on Medicare, Social Security, health and finance.

Generations on Line is providing the software free; it includes multiple e-mail accounts for older adults at each location. A specially designed search section has been develkoped through a partnership with Altavista.com. Host organizations are expected to provide an Internet-ready computer in a public area. The Generations on Line materials to support training and promotional efforts cost $250, which helps defray part of their costs and the cost of representatives on site where necessary. Materials include a plastic "tips" frame for the computer monitor; a 24-page book; e-mail address books for individuals; table-tent cards drawn by children; posters; keyboard charts; and a mutual-coaching system for older participants.

To apply, qualified elder-care-giving institutions, libraries, senior centers and apartment buildings should either visit the corporate information website (www.generationsonline.com) or write to Generations on Line Applications, 1017 Clinton Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

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Generations on Line: A simple solution to helping elders access resources on the Internet

(With Permission from Maximizing Human Potential 11:1 Summer p,3, 7 © 2003 American Society on Aging, San Francisco, California.
www.asaging.org)

 

Catherine sat there in her wheel chair, with breathing obviously labored. Her white hair was combed smooth in the front, her red sweater was pilly but neat, and her blue eyes were watery but intense and keen.

 

She listened to the introduction - the excitement in my own voice - this thing really can transport you anywhere - to know virtually anything in any place in any language at any time. I asked for volunteers - this was 1999 and this nursing home was one of the first test sites for a program designed for the Catherines of the world - those who were too busy, too tired, too isolated or just not around when the Internet came zooming into our society.

 

A nurse in the long-term home wheeled Catherine up to the monitor, and suddenly the keypunch operator which she had been 40 years before jumped into action, her hands poised on the keys like a pro.

 

The 73-year old Catherine with a major debilitating condition read the large directions on the screen and moved the mouse, saw the arrow, pressed the left clicker and the page changed. Within the next fifteen minutes she had mastered the basics of the Internet. "I didn't think I could do it by myself, but I did." Then the blue eyes filled.

 

Six months later, at the national launch of Generations on Line Catherine Bergman came to the press conference; she was too sick to stay until it was her time to speak, but she whispered to me: "This changed my life".

 

In a nutshell, that is what it can mean to simplify the Internet for seniors - and most heartrendingly for the poor, the lonely, and the frail or disabled.

 

What we take for granted - speed, mobility, resourcefulness - are private gifts to a Catherine. The hearing impaired whose contact with distant family once relied on the telephone can find enormous value in the Internet's email.

 

The stroke victim who can move perhaps one finger of one hand can suddenly be a little more independent, just sitting in a chair. The disabled have among the lowest levels of Internet access in America - 38%. They face unique hurdles going online.

 

And the problem is larger for the ambulatory, active senior. According to the latest statistics there are at least 22 million Americans over 65 who never have and will never use the Internet. Studies say 84% of those over 65 do not use the Internet and of those, the Pew Internet & American Life Project says 79% admit they do not intend to try.

 

Why?

Why, despite all its obvious value, do elders not avail themselves of this technology?

From our studies, confirmed by other experts in the field, the answers are:

1)      They don't perceive the value justifies the hassle

2)      They believe it is too complicated

3)      They are afraid they will break it

4)      These wise seniors also either truly or defensively believe they are too old to learn and that it is not necessary to their busy lives.

 

Unfortunately, as time goes on, the Internet is becoming a necessity.

q       The US Savings Bond is soon to be sold only through the Internet.

q       The Banking systems are incenting people to bank by mail - one bank now issues passbooks only to the elderly.

q       Benefits Checkup is an interactive program to enable seniors to see what benefits they are entitled to - available only online.

q       Airlines are charging for paper tickets.

q       Half-price cultural last minute tickets and community newsletters in some cities are available only through email.

q       Agencies are sending newsletters electronically to save money.

q       And children write more than ever but don't buy stamps!

 

This problem of the digitally divided society will abate within five to seven years, but right now it is a genuine marginalization of our oldest and wisest generations. In our small way, we sought to address this by breaking down the three barriers: access, skill and intimidation.

 

Generations on Line is now in more than 700 senior centers, public libraries long-term nursing homes and retirement centers in 47 states -- helping thousands of people. One center in Metropolitan Chicago who received the program and computer through the Chicago Community Trust, had 1400 users. Winner of the MindAlert Award from the American Society on Aging and MetLife Foundation for innovation in older adult learning in 2002, Generations on Line is a nonprofit program that guides computer novice elders on to and through the Internet with large step-by-step directions on each screen.

 

The software is obtained through a web address and password. In addition, because older people prefer paper materials but not overwhelming content, there are colorful keyboard charts and tip sheets, a plastic monitor frame with reminders and email address booklets. To facilitate the program for administrators, there is a 24-page booklet that discusses each page and promotional items such as tent cards and posters. A technical support person is available for unlimited help by telephone.

 

Administrators at senior services facilities themselves can be an obstacle to getting seniors online. Already stretched too thin and often themselves cowed by the new technology, they defer decisions about introducing hardware and new programs. However, numerous local groups are forming to help such centers with expertise and help in purchase, set-up and introduction of new programs. Some charge, others are free. Npower helps nonprofit groups and charges $40 an hour. There are branches in many local areas. (www.npower.org).

 

"They used to come for the meals, now they come for the computers" said the former head of a regional Senior Centers group. Indeed, the reluctance could be overcome with the right kind of introduction. Some tips of best practices from some of our users:

 

q       Place teaser posters asking people to find the best recipe for something timely.

q       Invite attendees to a coffee and doughnuts session to see the latest pictures at the local museum or latest additions to the zoo via those websites.

q       Involve some peers who are a bit familiar with the Internet to be buddies (GoL has a buddy pamphlet and posters included.)

q       Place the computer for novices in a conspicuous place - not the computer lab; rather the library, dining room or lobby.

q       Sell the Internet through selling its offerings rather than its wizardry.

 

Generations on Line can be an introductory experience for those who go on to graduate into classes such as SeniorNet (www.seniornet.org) where they can learn to really master having a computer in their own home. It can also be used as the primary source for those who wish not to own a computer or pay any fees. Any senior center, nursing or assisted living home, public elder housing, retirement community facility or public library is eligible; no personal home use is available. There is a site license fee of $350 for use on multiple computers. For subscription or more information, go to www.generationsonline.org and click on To Apply.

 

 

Tobey Gordon Dichter is the Founder and CEO of Generations on Line She is the former Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs for SmithKline Beecham Healthcare Services and currently a frequent guest speaker and author about the senior digital divide. She can be reached at 215-922-3244; tobeydichter@att.net. More information is at www.generationsonline.org

 

 

 

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