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Breaking barriers, building understanding: a multigenerational approach to digital literacy instruction for older adults

Published:22 January 2021Publication History
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Abstract

In entering the digital realm, older adults face obstacles beyond the physical and cognitive barriers traditionally associated with accessibility. One of these obstacles, technology related anxiety, is particularly problematic because it discourages exploration and way finding, two behaviors critical to the development of digital literacy. We see opportunities to address this issue and bring isolated older adults into a larger digital community, while simultaneously offering our students with valuable first-hand experience learning about and addressing the challenges faced by capable people struggling with unfamiliar technology. Here, we describe our social-cognitive approach to training digital literacy skills, pairing university student tutors with learners from the local community.

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  1. Breaking barriers, building understanding: a multigenerational approach to digital literacy instruction for older adults

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      cover image ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society
      ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society  Volume 49, Issue 1
      February 2020
      17 pages
      ISSN:0095-2737
      DOI:10.1145/3447892
      Issue’s Table of Contents

      Copyright © 2021 Copyright is held by the owner/author(s)

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      Association for Computing Machinery

      New York, NY, United States

      Publication History

      • Published: 22 January 2021

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