The Guide
Here is a pdf of the curriculum I developed before teaching others about smartphones. It covers both Androids and iPhones, and includes content like:
-Writing a text message
-Making a phone call
-Using the Maps Application
...and more!
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It's easy to read and allows senior citizens to be able to figure out small issues on their own, like sending an email or using the internet.
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You will notice if you use it, it is only curriculum for three weeks. That's because the fourth week of the course was designed around what the senior citizens wanted to learn! It was a Q&A session.
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WHEN TEACHING:
When teaching the class, you have to be patient and flexible. You have to be sure that each senior feels as though they are getting the 1:1 help they want and may need. Some seniors may be further ahead than others, and that's okay. Encouraging them to practice their new skills or play around with their phone is always a good option, and allows them to learn more about their phones by themselves.
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The curriculum should be referenced when a senior citizen needs help. They may have a certain question and don't know where to find the answer, so that's where you are needed!
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The senior citizens also appreciate leaving with a copy of the curriculum in their hands, so they can use it as a reference point when they are practicing at home or using their smartphone.
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The Response
Overall, the senior citizens loved the class. The enjoyed getting to learn and understand their smartphone technology.
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"You and your assistants were very helpful and pleasant".
"Thanks"
"Good presentation-Good help"
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Are just a few of the responses written in the Extra Feedback part of the survey, which the Seniors were made aware that their feedback may be used in project when finished.
FUN
FACTS
12
5
4
1
Senior Citizens
Volunteers
Senior Girl Scout
Sessions
The Story
One day, when helping my grandmother with her new phone, she got very visibly upset over the fact that it was hard to understand and use. She had often communicated struggling with understanding and accepting this new technology, and would much rather stick to her "dumb" old-fashioned flip phone.
Thus, an idea was born.
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Seniors Connect was a Girl Scout Gold Award project that I created to help other senior citizens in my community gain a better understanding of their own smartphones, whether that be iPhone or Android.
I developed my own curriculum, which was used in a 4 week course that I taught along with the help of some good friends. With the help of the Malley Senior Recreation Center, I was able to help around 15 other seniors in my community understand how to do things as simple as sending a text message, which is something the younger generations seem to take for granted.
Gold Award recipients spend between 1 and 2 years on average working on their project.
A Gold Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn
A Gold Award can help girls understand an issue in their communities and make an effort to solve that problem.
A Gold Award is a community oriented project that a Girl Scout is able to do and complete on her own when she is at the correct level.
A Gold Award
Some facts taken from the Girl Scouts website.
The project overall was easy to get together once it had been designed and put together. I had a team assembled, ready to help others in their community, and we headed on over to the Malley Senior Recreation Center every Saturday morning for an hour and 15 minutes for 4 weeks.
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Half of my team would cover helping the people with Androids, and the other half would help the people with iPhones.
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Every week was a themed week when it came to what we were learning. Week one was when we learned the basics, like turning on/off a smartphone. We also learned about airplane mode, and how to unlock a smartphone.
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Every week it got a little more difficult. In the final session, we opened it up to more personalized and open questions that the seniors may have had or wanted to review again.
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At the end of each session, I gave out a survey asking each senior to rate on a scale of 1-7 how much they understood that week. They would also have to write feedback of what they learned and what they wanted to learn. With that information, I was able to get a reading on how well I was doing as a teacher and what the seniors actually understood versus what I could have done better.
There were four weeks in the session, but only three weeks in the curriculum! That's because the fourth week was modeled after exactly what the senior citizens wanted to learn, turning the session into a Q&A versus a strict teaching atmosphere.
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At the end of the fourth session, I gave an End of Entire Class Survey. This allowed me to see exactly what my impact was overall at the end of everything, and not just weekly.
The Project In Detail
About The Girl Scout
Tara is a senior Girl Scout in Colorado. This website serves as a resource on her Gold Award, which took around 2 years for her to complete.
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Tara has been a Girl Scout for about 12 years, from 1st Grade to 12th Grade. She loved Girl Scouts and all it offered her, and was mostly well known alongside her troop for their crazy cookie sales.
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Tara was a top seller for 10 years, meaning she had to have sold over 750 boxes a year at least, in total selling around 20,000 boxes.
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She is thankful for her time with Girl Scouts and how it helped shape her as a person, as she wouldn't be who she is today without the organization.
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She plans to use the leadership skills she learned from Girl Scouts throughout the rest of her life.
Seniors Connect!
A Girl Scout Gold Award
A Guide to Learning How to Use a Smartphone
