Computer class targets senior citizens

By: CATHY REDFERN - For The Californian | Thursday, November 23, 2006 7:42 PM PST ∞

TEMECULA ---- The computer is a tool so easily taken for granted these days, but it can be dauntingly confusing to a person who has never used it.

It's used often in the classroom and the workplace, but many senior citizens have little to no experience with a machine that's become a staple for the rest of society. So it's not surprising that computer classes targeting older residents are regularly held throughout the area.

In Temecula, there is a lengthy waiting list for computer classes at the Mary Phillips Senior Center.

One such three-week class taught by Jack Konen of Temecula recently wrapped up.

Konen and his wife, Tomoko, volunteer their time teaching senior citizens to get over their fear of computers ---- and then how to master some basic skills.

If students get over that initial trepidation and return, they are usually hooked, he added.

Ellen Henriksen, 66, said she enrolled after her husband died, as he had been the computer operator in the family. She said she wanted to be able to use e-mail, among other things, because her children and grandchildren live in Orange County and in Florida.

"I'm so happy I came," she said. "The first thing they taught was not to be intimidated. It was very confusing at first, but the confusion went away."

The Old Town senior center has three computers with Internet access in a small room also used as a library. They can offer computer classes for six students at a time, and have about 40 names on a waiting list, recreation assistant Joan Adkins said.

"There is a constant demand for the classes," Adkins said. "We need teachers, computers and more space."

During a recent class, the Konens used a projector hooked up to a laptop computer to demonstrate how to download photographs from the Internet, size them and e-mail them.

Students practiced on desktop computers.

Jack Konen, 67, worked in international business and moved from Tokyo to Temecula when he retired in 1999. He also volunteers his time providing free tax counseling to people with moderate incomes.

"I love to work," he said. "But I don't want a job."

He said it is rewarding to see people overcome their fear of computers. He mentioned a woman who came to one of their classes in Murrieta earlier this year, insisting that she only wanted to know how to type her memoirs and print out the pages.

"But at the end of the sixth class, she was so happy she had stayed to get all the information," he said.

The 18-hour set of classes covers terminology, word processing, how to conduct Web searches and send e-mail, basic spreadsheet use and how to use flash drives and burn CDs.

Elizabeth Dang of Murrieta said she programmed mainframe computers years ago in Los Angeles. She said sitting at the other end of the process after so much evolution in the industry is a whole different animal.

"It's definitely, definitely different," she said. "I have to get into other people's brains. But I appreciate the teacher; he is very precise, and I'm going to learn as much as he can teach me."

As the recent afternoon class wrapped, Henriksen gathered her notes and thanked her teachers.

"I haven't started with eBay yet," she said, smiling. "But I have to practice."

Another class, to be taught by Jim Grattan of Murrieta, begins Monday. That class is full, but those wanting to take a computer class can call the senior center at (951) 694-6464 to be put on the waiting list.