Useful meeting with Age Concern Barnet

It was good to meet Mark Robinson and Lisa Dubow from Age Concern Barnet.

They are happy to assist me with my research. Firstly, they will send out in their (paper based) newsletter the invitation to take part in the online survey.
In January I will be able to sit in one of their computer classes.
I told them that I plan to run some early concepts past computer users and would like to hold a user workshop latest near April for this. Age Concern Barnet offered that I can use their computer room as a location for the workshop. The computer room is a fairly large room where they have 4 computers.

I asked them about the types of computer classes they offer. They have a beginner class (which means real beginners i.e. questions such as where to switch on the computer are dealt with) and one advanced class, where people usually want things like having images scanned in. The classes are small in numbers (4 people at the time) and "organic" i.e. not structured like normal classes, but responding to individual wishes & needs. When I asked what the motivation is for people to come to the computer classes Lisa explained that there are some people who know from their grandchildren (or other younger people) what is possible on the computer but don't want to have it shown by them because they are too quick in explaining. The main motivation for learning using a computer is to stay in contact and to communicate with relatives.

The people who come to the Barnet day centre events are ‘in very general terms’: female, white and over 75 years. In comparison Age Concern Barnet have for their computer classes more men and people from different ethnic background joining them.

I would like to thank Lisa and Mark for sharing the information with me.