Inspiring Stories

Stories are meant to be told. They spread ideas and enable us to gain knowledge from others experience. However, even though each story spins a tale that pulls you in, some remain untold.

The Yes We Can+ project shed light on the untold stories of the Seniors whose the ICT training left them stumped and speechless.

You can discover some remarkable experiences from Senior Educatees in each partnership country below:

 

Czech Republic (age - 82)

I have grandchildren and also great-grandchildren. I wanted to approach them, learn to communicate with them online, but I was afraid of using a computer, entering my data and password. I also wanted to make life easier by online shopping. I was scared of using a credit card online, I was afraid someone would steal my money. We saw a presentation of examples of what could happen, what to look out for, how to work with passwords, and what not to believe. Real situation - it never occurred to me that this could happen, and what the youth have to deal with now. For me? For example, hoax, how to recognize it, how to verify it.. It was also very useful. At our age, many things scare us and we can't deal with all that information on the Internet. and then also security advice. I received a lot of new information. I'll have to think about them. Some made me sad - how cruel people can be behind the screen. My horizons have widened. I'm starting to understand
the enthusiasm of kids for PC games :) - but everything has to be limited. It's a different world, I have to get used to it, but I like to do it. After training, I feel more confident. With instructions on how to navigate the online world safely, I want to try shopping and communicating with my grandchildren, without fear of being robbed or misused of my personal data.
I think the whole training was focused on our needs (needs of seniors). It was conducted in such a way that we had time for questions and understanding. It was helpful to overcome my fear of becoming active in the digital world. We received a leaflet with information and some
other materials to help me find my way. I'm really looking forward to being in touch with the grandchildren who live far away. And because I'm older, I hope to be able to order the purchase of groceries that will bring me home. I will be more careful with emails I receive from friends and strangers with information that may not be true so as not to frighten me unnecessarily. Thank you for this opportunity to gain more insight into the world of the Internet. I now want to continue my education.

 

Greece (age - 61)

 

What problems were you experiencing before the Training, regarding your digital skills?

I was constantly nervous that someone had access to my phone, overlooking and tracking what I do and what I type. I got extremely worried when the other day the Calendar of my phone was filled with unknown spam reminders. It was really frustrating because when you feel incompetent and things like these happen, you're on the verge of quitting up.

What helped you the most from attending this Training? What was the most interesting part?

I built some confidence. Either you control it, or it controls you. That’s what I learnt from the training. And I have to persist because it’s becoming increasingly inevitable to stay away from the digital world. About the calendar mentioned earlier, it appears that I unknowingly subscribed to a
malicious calendar spamming me with pop-ups and obnoxious ads. Nothing to worry a lot about but becoming more vigilant can make you stay safe.

What results did you see after the Training? How will the proposed solutions and activities offered by this Training help you in their daily lives from now on?

I learnt a few stuff like “two-factor authentication” which seems to be a life saviour for my case. Having a multi-level security to access your sensitive info makes you feel safe. Fortunately, those digital phones are designed based on our needs, but you just must explore them. Things are simpler than they look at first glance. I learnt that “hacking” and “stealing” data is not a simple task for the offenders and they often use social engineering (like calling you pretending to be someone you know) to achieve their objectives. In a few words, they have to undergo a process where you can actually control and influence, like avoiding sharing key data, and it’s not like I had in mind that someone is sitting behind a computer, pressing few buttons and suddenly gaining access to your bank account with you not being able to do anything about it.

 

Turkey (age - 60)

 

What problems were you experiencing before the Training, regarding your digital skills?

Before participating in the training, I had very little knowledge of the use of the phone or other digital tools. Especially when I was looking for someone or when I needed to send a photo to someone, I could do this by asking the people closest to me. In addition, when I needed to obtain information on an important subject, I could not access that information outside of television. You can't access all the information on TV whenever you want, so I have to use the internet.

What helped you the most from attending this Training? What was the most interesting part?

When I was invited to participate in the training, I stated that I did not know how to use digital tools, so I did not have any tools. When the trainer told me that they would give me temporary devices that we could use during the training, I accepted to participate in this training. Because testing what we will learn on a device would ensure the permanence of the information. I was interested in the training because if I could really learn something, I would be able to do many things on my own through digital tools.

What results did you see after the Training? How will the proposed solutions and activities offered by this Training help you in their daily lives from now on?

After the training, I asked my children to buy me a simple phone to use. Especially the issue of making and answering calls has been very useful for me. In addition, I learned a feature such as voice information to search. Whatever I want to watch, I just click on the microphone icon and say it. After I say it, what I want is right in front of me. By doing this I learned how to cook many dishes.

At no point in my life have I been the one taking pictures, but now I can take pictures with the phone in my hand. The first photos on my phone are of my grandson. One of the things I had trouble with was reading from the screen. However, the trainer said that reading glasses would help in this regard and suggested that I get a reading glasses from the eye doctor at the first opportunity so that I can both write and read messages and follow the news. The trainer stated that similar training could be held in the future. He said that this time they will examine some applications on the device they call a tablet. When the classes open, I will definitely attend.