Effective Online Learning for Older People

This chapter examines the cognitive constraints related to older people in learning, particularly in e-learning, and proposes a new design approach that: (1) assists the instructional designer and Web development in identifying issues related to older people’s involvement in e-learning; (2) helps reduce the mental load in designing and developing e-learning for older people; and (3) uses heuristics to systematically support the designers in making decisions about meeting the needs of older people in their learning and searching for information online.

Internet Use among Older Adults

Older adults (65 and above) are the fastest growing population to use computers and the Internet in their everyday lives. The primary purpose of this chapter is to use a Lifespan Developmental Perspective to examine both the constraints and the opportunities of Internet use among older adults. Given age-related changes in physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional processes, older adults may encounter different constraints in Internet use from younger adults. The Selective Optimization with Compensation model is used to explore opportunities for older adults in using the Internet to improve quality of life. Future product designs and training programs should take into account older adults’ physical and cognitive limitations, as well as their socio-emotional needs. It is also recommended that social policies should help older adults overcome these constraints in order to reduce age-related digital divide and promote quality of life for older adults.

Instructional Design in Digital Environments and Availability of Mental Resources

In this digital era, the gap between the elderly and younger generations in their use of computer-based technology is wide, and many researchers in behavioural and social sciences, along with educators, welfare workers, and policy makers, are concerned about this disturbing phenomenon. However, it is not clear whether this discrepancy is due to a lack of previous access to information technology or declining mental ability in the course of aging. The purpose of this chapter is to consider the aged subpopulation’s needs and their ability to use digital technology from the perspectives of human cognitive architecture and the principles of instructional design guided by cognitive load theory. The authors focus on the following critical issues: a) the evolution and formation of human cognitive architecture, b) cognitive functioning as influenced by aging, c) compatibility between elderly people’s available mental resources and the cognitive requirements of digital equipment, and d) guidelines for human-computer multimedia interactions derived from the accumulated experimental evidence on effective instructional design and delivery.

Implicit Memory and Aging

There is clear evidence that aging has an effect on memory. However, not all memory processes suffer as one ages. In the current chapter, the authors review the distinctions between explicit memory (i.e., effortful storage and retrieval of information) and implicit memory (i.e., learning and memory that do not require conscious effort). They then review the evidence indicating that implicit memory does not decline at the same rate as explicit memory. They authors then discuss the possibility of using implicit memory processes (e.g. procedural memory), to aid explicit memory processes (e.g., declarative memory). Finally, they discuss the need and the opportunity to incorporate information and communications technologies into the lives of older adults in order to support memory and learning.

E-Health for Older Adults

e-Health has become a major focus for research in healthcare, with significant funding and political support at an international level. Older people stand to benefit more than others, as e-Health aims to facilitate provision of care at a distance and promote independent living for as long as possible. However, barriers remain including an immature evidence-base; questions about risk and safety; and variable rates of uptake in this population. This chapter explores these issues and reviews the literature on e-Health for older adults. Successful clinical trials are identified and the e-CAALYX project is described in detail as a case study. E-Health has presents many exciting opportunities but needs further development and guidance.

Technology as a Bridge between Health Care Systems and Older Adults

The authors explore the role of technology in supporting collaboration between health care providers and older adults. They focus on two technologies that help link patients to their providers by giving them access to health information and services: 1) patient portals to Electronic Health Records, and 2) Personal Health Record systems. Theories of distributed cognition and common ground are used to frame a review of the small but growing body of research that investigates which older adults use or do not use these technologies, and why. The findings, while sparse, suggest that older adults with lower levels of health literacy stand to benefit the most from this technology, but they tend to have fewer cognitive, literacy, and other psychosocial resources needed to take advantage of the technology. This discrepancy is due in part to systems that are not designed with older adults’ needs and abilities in mind. The authors conclude with recommendations for improving the use of these tools to support patient/provider collaboration by making them easier to use, and by integrating them with other communication media to support the broader context of the patient/provider relationship.

Using Technology to Reach Caregivers of Veterans with Dementia

Caregivers of persons with dementia experience higher levels of anxiety, depressive symptoms, and other mental health problems, as well as increased rates of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and premature mortality compared to their non-caregiving peers. They also face significant challenges in accessing support from local, state, and VA resources. Several empirically supported treatments have been developed to assist these caregivers. However, accessing these interventions can be difficult given the extent and demand of their caregiving duties. To address this problem, the authors developed a psycho-educational caregiver intervention for use with in-home digital technology that is currently underway at three Veteran’s Health Affairs (VA) health care centers. The chapter provides: 1) a brief summary of the background and rationale for intervention development; 2) an overview of the project; and 3) the issues and lessons learned from developing interventions using digital technology for use with older adults.

Design for Aging

Modern technology incorporates a wide range of digital technologies, including those created specifically for everyday tasks typically operated in stand-alone mode. Yet, innovations in mobile technologies and the Internet influence design and adoption of these everyday technologies by introducing new interaction techniques and by providing access to information and people that facilitate effective use. This chapter describes best practices and challenges for enabling older adults to adopt everyday technologies transformed by technology innovations. First, the authors define everyday technologies and known factors influencing successful use including environmental support and context of use. Then, they discuss issues and challenges of design for everyday technologies and summarize the factors that influence everyday technology use in a conceptual diagram. The authors also present recommendations for specific constituents that may improve technology adoption by older adults. Lastly, they discuss future opportunities for enhancing everyday technology use with good design, useful support, and appropriate innovations.

The Use of Gesturing to Facilitate Older Adults’ Learning from Computer-Based Dynamic Visualizations

The present chapter describes the role of gestures in instructional design from a cognitive load theory perspective, addressing in particular how this might benefit aging adults. Healthy older adults have to cope with several cognitive changes related to their working memory, such as a decline in: 1) the ability to deal with interference, 2) cognitive speed in response to unimodal stimuli (e.g. visual information), and 3) the ability to associate and integrate information elements. Cognitive load theory, with its focus on adapting learning formats to the limitations of working memory, provides a promising framework to address learning in older adults. Research inspired by cognitive load theory has shown that attentional cueing can reduce interference during learning, presenting instructions in a multimodal format can make more efficient use of WM stores (both auditory and visual), and the manner of presentation of information can aid integrative learning. Interestingly, studies using gestures in instruction show that gestures accompanying verbal information improve learning in similar ways. However, not much research has been done in applying the instructional guidelines of cognitive load theory and the use of gestures to older adults’ learning. In the present chapter, the authors will discuss possibilities of gestures to improve multimedia learning in older adults using some important guidelines proposed by cognitive load theory.

The Internet and Older Adults

This chapter examines older adults’ adoption and experience of using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in particular the Internet. The main arguments are based on the experiences of a group of older people, all already users of ICT, in a collaborative, relaxed, and self-managing environment—the virtual campus of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (an online university). Older adults adopt ICT with a personal project, sometimes as a tool to for achievement; therefore, ICT use has to be done on their own initiative, with a positive attitude, and under their control. Based on the Selective Optimization and Compensation (SOC) theory of adaptation processes, the authors believe that introducing ICT through selection and optimization strategies can be a successful means of assuring effective adoption of these technologies.