KIT - keeping in touch

On 30th March 2010 I met with Jeremy from the KIT project. KIT stands for "keeping in touch" and is a project investigating how computer use might help older people to stay in touch in friends and family. Jeremy is the man who roadshows the KIT equipment& functionality in older people and care homes and gets the residents to try it out.

I meet Jeremy at the Wellesley Road Home for Older People in North London. He leads me into the communal area where KIT is set up. I see a colourful keyboard and a monitor showing 8 big buttons on the left-hand side (see photo). The 8 big buttons are the main activities you can do with 'Big Screen live' which is the software for KIT. Big screen live allows you to do the most important computer activities and has removed all other additional functionality to avoid complexity and distraction when an older person is using the system.
Jeremy demonstrates the system to me. The residents of the home have an email set up on the system and their inbox is represented by a number rather than by their names in order to maintain privacy. He also points out some niggles of the system, such as having to click into the message field when composing an email rather than the cursor appearing automatically or the use of the word "store" instead of "save" which had caused some confusion in the past.

I had seen other 'simplified' computer systems before, this one seemed to be similar to SimpliCITy (see previous blog entry), but it was even more interesting for me to learn from Jeremy how he got the residents involved.

Jeremy takes me on a tour in Wellesey Road. We walk past the corridors and various communal kitchens, single rooms and hallway seating areas. I'd guess that the people I see are roughly around 80 years and older, some are more healthy than others. While moving through the home I see people walking around, some resting, some watching television, some having a cup of tea and some are in their rooms with the door ajar. I notice that the conversations I hear are mainly care personal speaking to an older resident or Jeremy greeting or chatting to the residents, and there is very little interaction or conversation between themselves.

Jeremy shares his experience of getting older people interested in trying out KIT. He points out how it's important to have a chat with the person first, to build up a relationship and to know their interests (e.g. movies, gardening etc). On the second visit you introduce them to the 'machine' playfully, by showing them something that would be of interest to them e.g. a movie on youtube with their favourite actor.

"There are 3 challenges when working with older people - you need to ask:
1. Are they asleep?
2. Do they feel alright?
3. And then: Do they want to come to the communal room and …
Never ever use the word computer!… say: do you want to watch a little movie?"

Jeremy's experience was if you used the word computer, they switched off and were not interested.

He further explained that once you had got their interest and they were sitting in front of KIT you could show them how to send messages. Sending and receiving photos was particularly enjoyable for them.

I observed the try-out of the system where Jeremy 'drove' the system and had two female residents watching him. They didn't really want to get their hands onto KIT but enjoyed what Jeremy showed them.
Jeremy explained that when a resident gets an email address of a relative becomes easier to show the benefits of KIT, but getting the email address takes some time. The KIT system usually stayed for 2 weeks in a older people home before it was either purchased by the home or moved to another site for trying out.

I would like to thank Jeremy for allowing me to join him on his demonstration and I would like to thank the residents of Wellesley Road who took part.

More info about KIT