By Betty Beier
MnSF volunteer

Steve Benson's mission is for all 875 members of the University of Minnesota's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute's to use computers - eventually.  As executive director of OLLI, he believes that a "community of learners" needs to communicate using the best tools available to them. So far, about 69 percent of the older adults who sign up for OLLI classes use computers. He wants to reach 100 percent.

And yet, he says, his brother-in-law, who is younger than he, is a "technophobe." "He won't even use a phone unless it has a cord," says Benson.

On the other end of the spectrum, Minnesota Senior Federation member Marnie Hensel, 75, says if she didn't know her way around a computer, she couldn't function. Studying for her master's degree in Health Coaching at the University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality and Healing, she says her professor gives take-home exams via computer, and she must e-mail the exam back to the professor.

Hensel adapted computer tools about 13 years ago when she tried phoning her granddaughter at college at noon and woke her up. "I knew then that e-mail would be the best way to keep in touch with all 11 of my grandchildren." So she got a personal instructor and a PC and the rest is history.

While e-mail was her entry to computers, searching for the best Medicare Part D plan for herself was what honed her skills to a fine point. After writing a term paper about Medicare Part D for a class at Vital Aging Network, and attending a Federation training session on Part D, Hensel volunteered with the Minnesota Area Agency on Aging to show other Medicare enrollees how to find the least expensive Part D plan for themselves. Visiting ten Metro libraries in the last couple of months, she used Medicare's website to help those who crowd around her computer demonstrations. How did she locate all of those metro libraries? She breezes through the MapQuest website for driving directions.

Hensel finds the Medicare website is challenging even for an experienced user like her to use. "It's absurd to think that every senior could work through comparable policies easily on the website, since 99 percent of these people had no idea how to use a computer." 

How does that percentage compare with research? A 2005 Pew survey (Internet and American Life) found that about 31 percent of people 65 to 69 use computers. After age 69, only 17 percent use computers. But among 50 to 64 year olds, there's a striking change.  Because many recent retirees had used computers at work, computer usage is higher for them: 67 percent.

The Internet can be a great place to find information for anyone at any age: about health issues, genealogy, travel discounts, hotel fares, hobbies and politics. It can let you share photos and news with friends and family. Or invest or pay bills online. It can help you shop for bargains.

If you believe you'd like to join the 14 million older adults who are online (according to a 2006 Harris Poll), you can take classes for beginners or for more experienced users. Check out some of these contacts:

OLLI computer classes in St. Paul: Call 612/624-7847 for a course catalog and membership information.

SeniorNet offers computer environment for those 50 and older

SeniorNet - A non-profit organization of computer-using adults, age 50 and older, with discounts on computer products and services. Members learn and teach others to use computers. In the following locations:

Duluth: Lakeshore Lutheran Home: Ron Hon at 218/625-7813

Grand Rapids: Itasca Community College: Kay Zimmerman, 218/327-4465

Maple Grove Community Center:  Kris Orluck, 763/494-6514

Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Damaris Fredell, 612/659-6253

Rochester Senior Center, Jamie Miller, 507/287-7154

MnSenior Federation: 651/645-0261 or 877/645-0261 for details on TIES Internet access dial-up for $8.95 per month (a membership benefit).