Strategies for teaching older people to use the world wide web

Information is increasingly displayed digitally, yet less than half of the population of the UK use the Internet. Older people are especially unlikely to be Internet users and the consequent risks of digital exclusion must be addressed. A training course in computers and web use for older adults took place at the University of Dundee, with 15 participants. The course approach was to simplify application interfaces and to ensure that basic skills were learnt before more complicated tasks were presented. As part of this process, there was a focus on learning to use the computer before learners were introduced to the web with its wide variety of content. The course outcomes were positive and the authors report them here in order to reflect upon the experience and help others who set out to provide training for older people in web use.