{"id":206,"date":"2014-02-10T21:31:12","date_gmt":"2014-02-10T21:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/?p=206"},"modified":"2014-02-12T19:40:21","modified_gmt":"2014-02-12T19:40:21","slug":"ipads-for-ollis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/ipads-for-ollis\/","title":{"rendered":"iPads for OLLIs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by\u00a0Suzanne Zack, and Shelley Goldstein
\nReprinted from UConn Libraries Newsletter, published December, 2013<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n

iPads and technology will be the theme of outreach initiatives\u00a0at the Waterbury library this academic year thanks to a $4,670\u00a0Library Services and Technology Act Grant for Services (LSTA)\u00a0that was awarded by the Connecticut State Library Board (CSL).\u00a0Funding enabled Waterbury to purchase 10 iPad Minis, provide\u00a0instructional sessions, and through its partnership with the Osher\u00a0Institute Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Connecticut\u00a0(OLLI), offer a community outreach event.<\/p>\n

\"ipad\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The LSTA Grant, funded by the Institute of Museum and\u00a0Library Services, the primary source of federal support for the\u00a0nation’s libraries and museums, is awarded annually by the CSL\u00a0through a competitive process that seeks to identify innovative\u00a0programs at all types of institutional libraries. Campus Library\u00a0Director Shelley Goldstein partnered with Brian Chapman, Director\u00a0of OLLI in submitting a proposal entitled iPads for OLLIs<\/i>. The\u00a0program will be launched in the spring.<\/p>\n

“It is a collaboration that effectively combines librarians’\u00a0skills set with OLLI’s captive audience and ultimately serves to\u00a0enhance knowledge of iPads, social media, and “apps” to adult learners – a group that is often left out of\u00a0the technological loop,” Goldstein said.\u00a0The proposal cited Pew Center data\u00a0indicating only 54 percent of older adults\u00a0are using the web, as compared to 80\u00a0percent of the general population.<\/p>\n

“Resistance to new technology is typically linked to unavailability\u00a0of training opportunities and lack of awareness of its utility,”\u00a0she adds. The choice of promoting iPads was based on research\u00a0which showed that it is easier for older adults to navigate with a\u00a0swipe and a tap than maneuvering a mouse, especially when adjusting\u00a0text size. Goldstein also fell back on personal experience\u00a0in noting how intuitive it was for a 91-year-old friend to expertly\u00a0use an iPad to play games, read the newspaper, and occasionally\u00a0peek at grandkids’ photos online.<\/p>\n

In seeking to expand library services to older adults, the library\u00a0focused on the pilot program launched in 2009 in collaboration\u00a0with OLLI. Librarians have been offering a series of weekly workshops\u00a0and introduced approximately 300 older adults (from age\u00a050 to 90-plus) to browsers, web evaluation\u00a0strategies, and social media. “We encountered\u00a0nothing less than enthusiasm,” said Chapman. “The workshops quickly filled to capacity\u00a0with extensive waiting lists. The only negative\u00a0comment that consistently came up during\u00a0assessments was that there weren’t enough\u00a0sessions.”<\/p>\n

As part of the grant agreement, there is a\u00a0service match of 25 percent, which is comprised\u00a0of instructional sessions from librarians\u00a0and administrative support from OLLI staff\u00a0who will market the program. In addition, OLLI\u00a0purchased textbooks for use during instruction\u00a0(iPads for the Older and Wiser) <\/i>and is\u00a0sponsoring an event featuring the author Abby\u00a0Stokes of A Computer Handbook for Late\u00a0<\/i>Bloomers, Technophobes and the Kicking &\u00a0<\/i>Screaming.<\/i><\/p>\n

“The OLLI program is thrilled to be able to\u00a0benefit from the LSTA grant,” said Campus\u00a0Director Dr. William J. Pizzuto, adding that “it\u00a0falls in perfectly with our mission to provide\u00a0learning experiences for older adults who\u00a0want to engage socially and intellectually.”\u00a0OLLI is primarily a volunteer-run program, with\u00a0more than 700 members from 80 surrounding\u00a0areas. Members attend classes and events at\u00a0the Waterbury campus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by\u00a0Suzanne Zack, and Shelley Goldstein Reprinted from UConn Libraries Newsletter, published December, 2013 iPads and technology will be the theme of outreach initiatives\u00a0at the Waterbury library this academic year thanks to a $4,670\u00a0Library Services and Technology Act Grant for … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206\/revisions\/211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}