Seniors Strive to be Computer-Savvy

By Darren Brown, News9.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Learning how to use a computer for the first time can be difficult.  It can be even more difficult for seniors.  Many times children and grandchildren seem to be talking an entirely different language when it comes to computers.

Georgia Spitler has been there.  She has three grown grandkids, all pilots.

"They talk computers even about the airplanes," Georgia said.  "And I don't understand half of what they're sayin'."  

Laura McMurtry hopes to change that.  She teaches computer literacy classes at Integris Southwest Medical Center.  Over the six years she has taught it, she's seen a wide range of students, but claims seniors are by far the largest group. 

"For people that have grown up with computers and been around computers, it's almost second nature," McMurtry said.  "But for most of these seniors, there were no computers when they were growing up." 

McMurtry instructs students on the basics: how to log onto a computer, the difference between hardware and software, and computer terminology, but it's that pesky little mouse that seems to cause the most frustration for her students.

"Some people have never touched it before," McMurtry said.  "People just expect them to know how to handle the mouse when they've never even been in contact with it."

Spitler is convinced she'll eventually master the mouse,and she already has plans to take McMurtry's e-mail class when the current class is over.

Integris offers a wide variety of computer classes each month. For more info, call 951-2277 or visit www.integrisok.com.