Dennis Senior Center

WANTED: Volunteer Aide Computer Classes

Dennis Senior Center needs an Aide for Beginner PC Class 

Mondays & Wednesdays from 10:30am-12pm beginning September 5th, 2007.

Instructors and aides are all volunteers.  5 students.  No lesson preparation or presentation, just monitor students and assist as needed to help them keep up with the instructor's directions.

Please  Call Judy at 508-385-5067 or e-mail at denniscoa@verizon.net.

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Free Open Labs - Air conditioned - 5 computers - WiFi

The Dennis COA computer classroom is open to all from Noon - 2PM Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. 

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Computers for Seniors Meeting

Computers for Seniors (CFS), a non-profit, Cape Cod based, all volunteer organization, offers computer education for Cape Cod residents ages 50 and up including a selection of several courses, workshops, and tutorials in a fully equipped computer lab in downtown Hyannis. They also have monthly meetings on the first Thursday at our Dennis Senior Center.

Visit their website here.

Tomorrow's topics are: "What's New in Digital Photography" and "Defragging your Hard Drive"

There is also a "Swap Table", bring in computer equipment no longer needed and perhaps pick up something useful. The rule of thumb for the Swap Table is that if the item cannot be carried by an adult senior woman, it is not eligible. If your item is not picked up during the meeting, you must take it home and wait for next month's meeting to exchange it.

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Blogito ergo sumo...

Blogito ergo sumo

(I blog, therefore I am a big fat wrestler)

But I haven't been able to communicate  to our senior computer users the attraction of bloggging.  We've tried to demonstrate blogs more than once in our computer classes and at our weekly computer club.  There was absolutely no interest whatsoever.  Maybe it's due to my presentation style (or lack thereof).  Tried to point out usefullness for families, clubs, any group to communicate with all without multiple emailings, reply-alls,etc.  Also, the journal/diary aspect of it .  There is a long tradition of journal writing: think Anais Nin, Anne Frank, Courtney Love, Samuel Pepys, and on and on.  (There ought to be some abbreviation convention for "on and on", implying not only that there are more (et seq) but it's a long list ( ad naus.)). 

I'd like to think it wasn't a matter of being too difficult, although I do find b2evo blogistics trickier to use than, say, Blogger.  I've suggested to management here the possibility of a Workshop, or Training Camp, or Blogger Forum  - - mebbe something will come of it.  Anyone else interested in such?  Understood that CCT is a commercial site,  and the free blogging helps to generate traffic (eyeballs? clicks?), but mebbe our blogs would be more widely read  and have more varied appearance, and include graphics, etc if more of us knew how, and tips, and tricks, and workarounds, or mebbe there would be more new bloggers. 

Anyhow, I am indeed eagerly looking forward to next Wednesday (no, not disgusted voter syndrome - - my social security comes in the second Wednesdays)

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Computer Training Encouragement - Catch 22

While at the Senior Center we try to encourage and enable seniors to use PC, it is almost a classical Catch-22 to try to do so here in this blog.  If you can read this, you are already computing!  Maybe some of you readers here might think of the Senior Center as a computer resource  for family (grandparents do just fine in our classes), neighbors, or friends who think of approaching computers with  fear and trembling.  We are gentle with the truly timid and technoligcally terrified.  Our classes and coaching are are not geeky, and we can relate to our demographic age-group peers.

Also there are issues of accessibility - such as poor eyesight, shaky hands, which deter from taking the first step to computing.  These are also addressed both technically and sympathetically. 

And we don't card anyone or check addresses (that is, not restricted by age or residence).

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Blogging from the Senior Center

This blog started as a class exercise demonstrating blogging.  At the Dennis Senior Center we offer small (5 student) classes, beginner, intermediate, internet, and more.  Also a Wednesday COmputer Club every Wednesday 1-3 no fee, no advance registration ( http://mysite.verizon.net/denniscoa/ ).  We'll post the occassional piece of news about the Senior Center, but the primary focus is on Senior Computing.  There is a Computer for Seniors group in Hyannis that meets at Dennis the first Thursday of each month ( http://cfscapecod.com/index.htm ), we're not that one.  There is an online Senior Net ( http://www.seniornet.org/php/default.php ), we're not affiliated with it. 

We'll try to post more often here, and include occassional personal computing tips, references to other useful resources for PC help, as well as thoughts and ideas about home computers for seniors, the homebound, and those with accessibility issues. 

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FREE EBay Familiarization

E-Bay Familiarization: Dennis Council on Aging as part of its Computer Club is offering two free sessions on E-Bay, October 11 and 18 at the Dennis Senior Center.  Call 508 385-5067

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Retired Greyhound Beauty Contest

September 29, 2006, Friday 1:30 pm

at the Dennis Senior Center, 1045 Rte 134 (at the corner of Satucket Rd.),  So. Dennis

Grande Parade   -    Contest    -    Prizes   -   Music  -   Press Coverage

Learn about Retired Greyhound Adoption of Cape Cod

Prior registration required at the  Senior Center or phone for a registeration form by mail and for rules & regulations.

Admission $1.00 per person

SENIORS AND PUBLIC ARE INVITED

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A Bit About Blogs

Today's topic at the Senior Center Wednesday Computer Club is  "A Bit About Blogs".  A basic primer overview, some hints on searching blogs, and just the beginnings about starting one of your own.

• No Fee
• No Advance Registration
• Just Come in

Maybe we'll start our own Wednesday Club blog, using Google's Blogger.  To me at least, it's a bit easier to use than this capecodtoday blog function. 

And there's a whole lot more to learn about Google.  Next Wednesday's (September 6th) topic is  "The G-Spot:  Ga-Ga Over Google  - So much more than just a search engine".

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Dennis Senior Center Computer Education Announced

There are many and varied activities at the Dennis Senior Center, as suggested in earlier posts referencing the Cranberry Scoop newsletter.  This blog is just one of the activities of the Dennis Computer Eduction for Seniors (DCES) at the Center.  Naturally, since it's computer related,  who else would  start it? 

Among our computer activities:

Old dogs can too learn new tricks!

Classes, in a small (5 student) classroom, with an instructor and at least one aide.

Call 508-385-5067, ask for Judy.

Most classes are two 1  1/2 hour  days a week  for four weeks.

• Beginning PC/Windows
• Intermediate PC/Windows
• Internet

A no fee, no registration Wednesday Computer Club, 1pm-3pm.

Other classes can be arranged include:

• A very basic beginners course for the technologically terrified and truly timid
• Intro to Digital Photography
• Web Site Construction & Maintenance
• Microsoft Word

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