Teen Technology Tutors and PCLS Senior Services Blog Isabelle Fetherston Pasco County Library System

From the “Generations 2010” Pew Report

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We have a bilingual teen who teaches in English or Spanish. Story – Teen - “I love this program” Seniors – praising their tutor and asking to have the same tutor again Seniors – get over nervousness about teens Teen - bonding with Seniors Parent – It is nice to hear these Seniors praise my son for his good work!

The teens will rise to the occasion and do an excellent job The teens will rise to the occasion and do an excellent job. They will surprise you!

Don’t have to wait a month to get into a class Benefits of the Program for Seniors Don’t have to wait a month to get into a class Makes learning computers less stressful – due to one-on-one help Social interaction Positive interaction with teens

Lots of volunteer hours Benefits of the Program For Teens Lots of volunteer hours Positive praise for a good job – self confidence Can make a real difference in someone’s life Teaching/tutoring experience for résumé Teen Comments – “I love this program”. “I really like the couple I tutored - I will miss them when they go back north.” They enjoy the praise they get for their efforts. Even the parents of the teens are pleased with the program – they like the compliments about their child. for Bright Futures and other scholarships, Nat Honor Society, IB program, clubs, or church

More Seniors can be taught computers Less staff time is required Benefits For Librarians More Seniors can be taught computers Less staff time is required Helps local teens Great for recruiting teens into your Teen Advisory Board and teen programs. Teen Comments – “I love this program”. “I really like the couple I tutored - I will miss them when they go back north.” They enjoy the praise they get for their efforts. Even the parents of the teens are pleased with the program – they like the compliments about their child. for Bright Futures and other scholarships, Nat Honor Society, IB program, clubs, or church

Teen Training Powerpoint Stresses that the teen needs to be a “personal trainer” and cheerleader for the Senior Describes psychological obstacles for Seniors Describes physical challenges, such as arthritis

PCLS Senior Services Blog was recommended in the ALA publication: “Keys to Engaging Older Adults @ Your Library”

PCLS Senior Services Blog General statistics/reports about aging, their demographic, aging-in-place Promote positive image of aging and fight ageism New online resources and websites for seniors. Positive features and youtube videos about active seniors and healthy aging – singers, artists, athletes, etc

PCLS Senior Services Blog promote Social and Educational Events Library Events and Local Community Events

Filter news to provide a stream of up-to-date and relevant news articles. I use Google reader with custom keyword search, docuticker, AARP articles, etc. to find articles, then save them to a Delicious account. The delicious links automatically add to a feed widget on the blogger design page.

PCLS Senior Services Blog Create Content You can be a “custom info provider” Filter news to provide a stream of interesting articles and combine information to create useful short articles with links to more in depth information Try to post at least once a week. Pace yourself to avoid burnout.

Teen Training Powerpoint: Links Teen Training Powerpoint: http://www.slideshare.net/pclslibrarian2/teen-technology-tutors PCLS Seniors Blog http://pclsseniors.blogspot.com/ “Keys to Engaging Older Adults @ Your Library” http://www.ala.org/offices/sites/ala.org.offices/files/content/olos/toolkits/oat.version.FINAL_re.pdf

Contact Info: Isabelle Fetherston isabellef@pascolibraries.org 813-788-6375