Although the Computer Tutor Program is only three quarters completed, I can see that it has been a very worthwhile experience for all three groups of participants.

      Personally, I have viewed seniors in a different light. Previously, I had lived vicariously via my mother who is in her 70's as I  assisted in her quest to become technologically literate.  Having had that experience, I have greater patience and empathy for our "students."  I also value their many life experiences, many of which have been shared either directly with me or indirectly by way of my student tutors.  I see them as a wealth of knowledge and hope to tap into that wealth by having sixth grade students interview the seniors for a writing experience.  This will be a logical extension of  the Learn and Serve grant for next year.

      While preparing my students for the teaching experience, I learned that I needed to consider even more factors:  first, there was the "clueing in" for the tutors as to what it is like to work with a senior versus an adolescent.  There were the physical limitations which might cause a challenge, whether it be visual, auditory or mobility issues.  The task of manipulating a mouse put even the most patient tutor to the test!  What seems natural for an adolescent is not necessarily so for a senior and the tutors said it was difficult at times to leave their hands off the mouse to enable the senior to complete the task.  The concept of knowing when to double click or single click was a constant theme during the instruction.  Lastly, the physical features of the room were examined.  The monitors when placed on top of the CPU's were too high for those wearing bifocals or trifocals.  The tipsy chairs on wheels were of concern and we decided to bring in stationary chairs for the seniors and let the tutors handle the wheels!

     The seniors, for the most part, were like sponges soaking up every bit of knowledge provided.  They left each class wanting more and are anxious to know when the next class sign-up will occur.  With the exception of only one senior, the hands down favorite style of teaching was the one-on-one attention as opposed to having one teacher instructing the class.  Comments ranged from "If I had a problem, I didn't have to wait for help" to "We could move at our own pace" to "The help was right at the station."  The senior who preferred a solo teacher doing the instructing complained she had difficulty understanding (hearing) her tutor.  However, the advantage afforded me was the fact that I could stand back and observe the interactions.  Many times, I saw things my students did not see because they were caught up in the teaching moment.  It has caused me to think about how much gets by me in my teaching! 

      In conclusion, our success rate has been punctuated by the fact that so many want to return for the next topic of instruction.  In fact, we plan to offer more classes next year.  Another gratifying point in time has been the comments from the tutors:  "Just helping our was my best part about doing this."  "Teaching was kind of hard, but this was worth it."  " I like when we taught about using the mouse, because if reminded me of the first time I used one. "  "I liked feeling that I had helped someone who needed my help."  And lastly, how rewarding to hear "In order to teach them you must have a lot of patience."