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Still surfing
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Senior Surf Days
keep growing with demand
Despite three years
on the scene, there doesn’t appear to be any
ebbing of interest in Senior Surf Days. In fact,
waiting lists continue to grow with interested older
Minnesotans wanting to learn how to harness the
power of information and communication available
through the Internet.
"Minnesota was
the first state in the nation to use Senior Surf
Days," said Kelli Jo Greiner, Elder Health
Programs Specialist with the Minnesota Board on
Aging. And based on its successes from the first
three years, "this is a model that is now being
looked at for replication nationally."
It’s also a model
that’s being gradually adjusted to help reach more
senior computer surfers, Greiner added. In the past,
Senior Surf Days had been coordinated through the
Area Agencies on Aging. Now, the state’s 12
regional library systems, which oversees about 300
libraries across the state, will be playing a
greater role, Greiner said.
"We’re
hoping to work in collaboration with the libraries
in order to reach more people," she said. One
avenue is the offering of
"train-the-trainer" classes, which will
enlarge the pool of people available to lead Senior
Surf Days. Small grants are available to regional
library systems to offer the training if they
promise to offer a pair of Senior Surf Days at their
location before the end of the year. Over the past
year, other grants have helped fund equipment
upgrades and expansions at public libraries.
"We want to
build on those relationships with libraries to try
to expand the number of Surf Days that are held and
the number of libraries they’re held in,"
Greiner said.
Over three years
there’s already been substantial contact.
Minnesota Senior Surf Days have reached 1,500
Medicare beneficiaries. Medi-care is a focus for the
program since the Medicare Web site is a quick and
deep source of information without the need of
having to make a phone call. All people who are on
Medicare, even those who are disabled or are
caregivers, qualify for the free Senior Surf Day
classes.
Most Senior Surf
Day contacts are in small-group settings with lots
of one-on-one time between instructor and students
during the two-hour sessions. And students bring a
wide range of computer experience to the classes.
"We’ve had
people come to Senior Surf Days who have never typed
a word in their life," Greiner said. The Senior
Surf Day setting can be less intimidating for
computer rookies, she added, than other computer
classes that might be offered through community
education or community college classes. Sometimes,
Senior Surf Day students come back for a
second-helping of instruction.
Along with learning
their way around Medicare’s Web site, Senior Surf
Day students are also introduced to the MBA Web
site, learn how to set up an e-mail address and see
how to use the Internet to access information on
areas of their particular interests.
Those wanting to
learn where and when Senior Surf Days are offered in
their area can call the Senior LinkAge Line® at
1-800-333-2433.
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