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How learning theories can be applied to support older adults’ acquisition of digital skills?
5Views:92Digitalization of public services affects daily life of older adults since adequate digital skills are required in using the digital devices and services. Many organizations have reacted to the growing need of older adults to receive support in using digital services by offering guidance in digital skills. The knowledge of how older adults learn help in successfully organizing digital skills guidance.
In this presentation we will introduce the variety of concepts and theories concerning digital skills learning of older adults. We will also share results of peer guidance sessions of older adults from the viewpoints of three different learning theories.
Data is collected from eight focus group interviews (N = 42, 62-79 years old). Data was analyzed using theory-driven content analysis.
According to the results, peer tutors applied all three learning theoretical approaches in digital skills guidance. Furthermore, peer tutors paid attention to characteristics of ageing that affect learning. At best, peer tutoring sessions were constructed as shared learning practices of both tutors and tutees. Results provide new information about how to support older adults in peer tutoring sessions. Research results can be used in educating peer tutors and teachers of older adults as well as in developing support systems in implementation of digital public services. This research is a part of ACCESS project in which digital skills learning of older adults is investigated in four European countries.
The ACCESS project is funded by EU Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) “More Years, Better Lives” The Potential and Challenges of Demographic Change.
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„Learning my age” Improving interactive curriculum for the eldery generation’s active lifestyle and related topics
116-118Views:82Approaching the learning of the third age, the question is no longer whether the elderly can be taught or retrained, but for how long and for what purpose? Deviations from the learning paths that individuals have developed over the decades are unlikely in old age. Non-formal learning becomes more important and plays an increasing role, and less constrained forms of leisure learning for entertainment become more important. Mental freshness is largely supported by books, online courses and programs provided by senior universities.
In my presentation, I introduce an interactive curriculum as a possible new form of learning. I have combined e-learning solutions in old age that affect everyone as a new learning method. I would like to introduce the 50+ age group to the possibilities offered by microlearning. Most of us read, learn things after we have engaged at some level. I would like to prevent this step. I am also looking for answers to questions like, does the 50+ age group have the right skills and motivation to effectively adopt an online course or e-learning curriculum In the process of aging - can an e-learning curriculum be a good motivation for course participants because it touches them or prevents them? The lessons of the experiment, both positive and negative, are presented.
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Changes in digital skills of seniors during and after covid-19
115-125Views:69Since 2014, the Senior Academy of Pécs helps people over 60 with tools for active and successful aging. The activity of the academy was cut short by the COVID-19 epidemic, our work was relegated to the online learning space. Our research examined how the digital skills of our seniors changed during and after the quarantine, in 2021 and 2022. The study was carried out by online questionnaire (n=118, n=123). The survey revealed that the digital skills of 45% of the respondents improved, mostly in online shopping and administration. Most of the seniors learn ICT knowledge from their family members or friends. During the quarantine our students spent their time mainly reading and learning online, watching TV takes only 4%. 10% of them clearly experienced the epidemic situation as a loss: "the daily rhythm is missing". 6% of the respondents considered the current situation to be an advantage: their attitude towards learning improved, they were more forced to self-directed learning. The advantages of online education: flexibility in space and time, participation is safe, lectures can be watched any time. The most typical negatives are: the lack of community and discussion, and the fact that online education does not reduce loneliness.
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Meaning for the years – thoughts about the social and human science gerontology
13-25.Views:163The study consists of a theoretical and a practical part. Relying on the relevant literature and
the practice of the world’s developed countries, the theoretical part outlines the social
problems arising as a result of the increasing life expectancy. At the same time it seeks to find
possibilities of solutions to these problems. It clarifies the notions of ageing and retirement
age, Life Long Learning, and within this, the beneficial health effects of language learning. In
addition, this part of the study introduces useful forms of activities that make sense and have
meaning late in life. The empirical part describes the results of a survey made in Miskolc
before the conference of gerontology in November 2017. -
University of the Third Age at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, the University of South Bohemia
45-46Views:56The goal of the paper is to present almost 30 years of activities of the University of the Third Age at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, the history of which started in 1992.
The first discipline called Care of Humans and their Health was opened by the University of South Bohemia in the academic year 1992/93. The elderly were offered an educational six-term health and social program, while three hours of direct lessons and two counseling sessions a week (“senior Thursday) were subsidized. The students had to sit for unmarked and marked examinations, and to process and defend a thesis at the end of their study. In July 1995, 28 graduates were awarded a certificate on an extramural education in a festive ceremony. The implementation of the discipline of Care of Humans and their Health confirmed that even a non—professional leisure-time education could be provided at an “academic” level. A comprehensive view of education enabled to identify areas that should be taken into consideration during the education of elderly adults. They include areas relating to computer and functional literacy, cultivation of leisure time, culture of the interpersonal mutuality, and the human being (looking for the sense of life and higher goals).
In the course of the thirty-year history of the University of the Third Age many activities have developed and the conception has extended. The new educational subject called Man in Health, Disease and Distress was transformed into a two-stage program offering the choice of the length and type of the educational program. The option A represented the choice of an integral and topically closed discipline while the options B and C represented the choice of the educational demandingness and inclusion in the European educational program called SoLiLL: Self-Organized Learning in Later Life. Furthermore, a conception of an extending program called Quality of life in the Old Age and other programs were offered to the elderly living in our region. As a part of the project activities, the elderly were involved in the projects of Phare a Interreg IIIA. The conception of the University of the Third Age at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences of the University of South Bohemia enables the applicants to complete an integral educational program, lecture blocks/cycles with various topics, and, at the same time, a unique research program called “Golden Path” focused on the Czech-Austrian border area can be completed. The uniqueness of the educational research program is evidenced by two translated monographs called “Wallern und Wallerer (Volary a Volarští - Volary citizens and Volary)“ and „Der Goldene Steig“ (Zlatá stezka – Golden Path) by the indisputably most important expert and researcher of the Golden Path, a historian living in Bavarian Waldkirchen. -
Everyone has a novel
181-201Views:58From among creative activities, this paper recommends writing for elderly people as ’one novel anybody could write’. At the same time, it is common knowledge that elderly people cannot be treated uniformly as every old person is different: therefore, this activity is probably suitable for just a more limited number. The introduction highlights some of the researches concerning old age. Mention is made of the ever increasing life expectancy and of how many different kinds of age we have (feel-age, look-age, do-age, interest-age). After a short overview of the special literature and literary works about old age, the components of meaningful old age is discussed: the issues of old-age learning, reading and writing. Finally, the paper makes recommendations for elderly people wishing to make records of their thoughts and ideas.
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Primary aspects of the elderly and information communication technologies
138-160Views:402In this article, we will briefly review information and communication technology (ICT), the most typical characteristics of the elderly age group, and finally, we will look at how and in which areas the elderly can connect to ICT solutions. It is not easy to navigate in a world of rapidly evolving technology even for those who do not have to think about how to learn using ICT. In a rapidly evolving world of technology, it is not easy for those who does not need to think about how to learn how to use ICT to adapt. Those who have not been in touch with ICT for a third or half of their lives start from a serious disadvantage, and this disadvantage can increase in old age. Today it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between the online and offline worlds, and this is unlikely to become easier in the future. Welfare states are characterized by an aging society, and the resulting problems have long been present in all areas, from health to economy. In our study we will examine and bring together relevant literature closely related to this topic, covering quality of life, overcoming loneliness, social inclusion and the health of the individual. Our aim is to explore the potential of ICT for quality ageing of older people, the factors that motivate them to use the tools, the difficulties that hinder their use and learning, and the future prospects. Our study covered the English and Hungarian language literature, publications published in Europe or research conducted in European countries, among people aged 65 and over, between 2011 and 2021.
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Spiritual care in Slovenian nursing homes: a quantitative descriptive study
29-30Views:91Introduction:
Spiritual care is an important component of holistic care in nursing. However, health care workers are not unanimous in who is responsible for the spiritual care of patients. It is likely that nurses are best suited to provide spiritual care because of the nature of their work, which requires constant contact with patients. Yet, meeting spiritual needs is not well defined in the role of nurses and is not always taught comprehensively in formal nursing education programmes. The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which nurses working in social care settings implement interventions related to spiritual care in their daily practise, how they perceive their knowledge of spiritual care, and the extent to which this dimension of care was included in their nursing education programmes.
Methods:
A non-experimental quantitative descriptive research study was used. In April 2020, 214 nurse assistants and registered nurses from 12 nursing homes in Slovenia participated in the study. The questionnaire used in the study included 12 statements related to 3 main areas: i) knowledge of the concepts of spirituality and religion, ii) implementation of spiritual/religious interventions in daily practice, iii) spirituality in nursing education. The individual statements were rated by the respondents on a 5-point Likert scale (1 - strongly disagree to 5 - strongly agree). The questionnaire had adequate internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.857). Data were described using calculated means, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman correlation coefficient. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.
Results:
Regular spiritual assessment of nursing home residents is rarely performed by nurses (x̄=2.73, s=1.03). Female nurses (U=2191.500, p=0.008) and nurses who described themselves as religious (U=3314.000, p=0.001) implement spiritual/religious interventions in daily practice to a greater extent; they also expressed higher knowledge of the concepts of spirituality and religion compared to the others (religious/non-religious: U=2920.000, p=0.000; female/male: U=1885.000, p=0.000). The implementation of spiritual/religious interventions in daily practice correlated positively and statistically significantly mainly with self-perceived knowledge of the concepts of spirituality and religion (r=0.495, p=0.000) and the extent to which the content of spiritual care was represented in their nursing education program (r=0.494, p=0.000). However, nurses emphasized that the concept of spirituality and spiritual care tended to be poorly represented in formal nursing education programs (x̄=2.76, s=0.89).
Discussion and conclusions:
Individual characteristics, particularly self-reported religiosity and gender, appear to have an important influence on the implementation of spiritual/religious interventions in daily practise. In addition, our study suggests that the level of knowledge about the concepts of spirituality and religion influences nurses' willingness to implement spiritual care with their residents. Therefore, nursing educators need to develop curricula that include strategies to increase trainees' awareness of spiritual care. Current international research efforts on perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care in nursing offer important contributions to understanding the role of nursing in relation to spirituality and to developing educational content and approaches for both undergraduate and lifelong learning in nursing.