Usable Technology for Older People:
Inclusive and Appropriate
UTOPIA Newsletter 2 (Winter 2002)
“Design for us and you design for everyone!”
One of the aims of the UTOPIA project is to tell businesses that they need to design technology that older people want to use - which might mean larger print on buttons, or games that older people enjoy. We ran two workshops for industry people at the beginning of November, one in Edinburgh and one in Dundee.
There were various talks covering topics like the law on accessible website design and how to design usable websites, but the star of the workshops was Mrs Isobel Lindsay who told the industry representatives to design for her and others her age. If technology was more usable for older people, she argued, it would be more usable for everyone. Mrs Lindsay talked about the ways in which she had started to use computers and the way she uses them these days (everything from shopping online at Tesco to booking flights). Her presentation was undoubtedly the most popular of the day and she became a local media sensation with articles in the Evening Telegraph, the Press and Journal and the Courier!
The UTOPIA team would like to thank Mrs Lindsay for all her help
and support.
|
Did you know that...
11% of people over 65 in the UK use the internet ? |
Computer Attitude Scale for Older People
The project involves the development of a Computer Attitude Scale (Questionnaire), specifically for Older People. There are current computer attitude questionnaires being used in research which try to measure people’s attitudes to computers, however these scales have been developed using practically all student populations. We would like to develop a scale which is specifically related to older people’s attitudes towards computers. We're administrating these questionnaires in various organisations and centres which cater for older people. If you are interested in participating in this study, please contact Audrey on 01382-344787 or email her on asyme@computing.dundee.ac.uk
Utopia is also involved in several specific projects, some of which are described in more detail below. We're hoping to develop technology of particular use to older people. However, although we hope to produce working versions, don't expect to see them in the shops soon. Our aim is to encourage those people who actually make the products in the shops to think about and consider older people, and to show them how to do so. By developing some of our own ideas, we plan to learn more about how this is done. And, you never know, some of our ideas may well find their way into commercial products in the future!
Finding the way
- Joy
Have you ever been in an unfamiliar town and had no idea how
to get to your destination? Everyone gets lost sometimes.
But some older people may find it harder as their eyesight
and memory become less sharp than they used to be. We at
Utopia in Glasgow are hoping to help out in these kinds of
situations by developing hand-held devices to give directions
and information about the locality.
More Than Sweets
- Lachimi
I live over 10,000
miles away from home. I remember when mum had a small problem with the computer.
I tried to explain to her how to solve it over the phone. She didn’t understand
what I was saying. Recently, a friend of mine introduced me to something called
MSN Messenger, a chat messaging software, which allowed me to:
1 Talk to him by
typing out words
2 Have a free conversation with him if we both had a microphone
3 See him if we both used a webcam
4 Share a whiteboard which we could both draw
on together and see what we were doing
5 Exchange files up to a certain size
6
Take control of each other’s computer (if we gave each other permission!)
Feature 6 was what I had been looking for all along. I went home and installed MSN Messenger on mum’s computer and taught her how to use it. She still has trouble using it sometimes but we talk the problems through on the microphone and I can see and hear her. The best thing is that the last time she had a problem with the computer, I took control of the computer at home and fixed the problem for her. We saved so much on the phone bills. Isn’t technology amazing!
 |
 |
That was what gave me the idea (and speaking to everyone I have come into contact with at the various community centres, stroke groups, volunteers etc.) for what we’re thinking of creating here at Abertay University, something like MSN Messenger which allows us to show you how to use new kinds of technology you may not be familiar with. We hope this will encourage all of you out there to try out new technology if you haven’t done so already!
Jargon |
And finally:
Many thanks to all the individuals who have helped us by filling in our questionnaire. Also thanks to all organisations, who have distributed these questionnaires to their organisations members, such as Help the Aged, West of Scotland Seniors Forum, Anniesland College, Perth U3A, Dundee U3A, Voluntary Stroke Groups (Dundee), Glasgow Community Libraries, Dundee Neighbourhood Centres and Libraries (over 50 clubs), Cardonald College, Joint Dementia Initiative, West Glasgow Community Learning. We're receiving the last back this month, and then will be busy analysing them, so that we can present some of the results to you in the next newsletter.