Since retiring, Jim Cochrane has never been busier. For the past three and a half years, the 71-year-old electrical engineer has taught residents of Lenbrook, the Brookhaven retirement community where he lives, how to use a computer. He and several residents also started and man the “Geezer Squad” to help residents when their computers go on the fritz. One recent Saturday, Cochrane, a Georgia Tech grad who developed new product for Bell Laboratories, sat in a Lenbrook common room surrounded by six computers purchased by the resident association. He talked about the rewards — and the challenges — of his first stab at teaching.
Q: Who are your students?
A: The average age is in the upper 80s and the entrance age is in the higher 70s and lower 80s — most people wait a long time to come to Lenbrook. I did one class and the oldest student was 93 and very successful by the way.
Q: Your students have gone without a computer for a long time. Why start now?
A: The big success stories are those motivated to do e-mail to stay in touch with their grandchildren. We have very nice lady in her 90s who e-mails her kids and grandkids every day. Another woman had a daughter who is a surgeon stationed in Iraq. The woman was having me type her e-mails and printing the responses for her. Then she wanted to learn to do it herself — and she did. She is not able to handle her keyboard anymore but her helper does it for her.
Q: Is it hard for an older person to learn to use a computer?
A: Some people give up and say, this is too complicated. It is all in the motivation, not in the age.
Q: What is the biggest barrier in learning to use a computer if you are older and motivated?
A: The hand-eye coordination between the mouse and the cursor takes some practice. Following the cursor with your eyes and smoothly moving your hand to get where you want doesn’t come automatically to someone who has never done it before. The way to teach that is to play solitaire on the computer. After an hour or so students get it.
Q: Are your students interested in anything other than e-mail?
A: Getting information — that is an evolving area. The third step is shopping. We had a resident teach how to find financial information on Yahoo! Finance, which is a very powerful information tool. A lot of people were interested in that.
Q: Can you talk about the Geezer Squad?
A: About six months after starting the classes, I realized that we needed to form a support group to help residents with specific problems. The name Geezer Squad is a play on Geek Squad. We have three to four active members. We are free but we do not do complex things. If we can’t fix it, residents have to call someone who knows what he is doing, the IT person on site, but residents have to pay him.
Q: You have never taught before. Do you ever get frustrated?
A: I try not to have any great expectations — that helps keep you calibrated. Some of the people will just throw their hands up. I enjoy working for the ones who are motivated.
The Sunday conversation is edited for length and clarity. Writer Ann Hardie can be reached by email at ann.hardie@ymail.com.
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