Day 1

Yesterday, I went to Lutheran Services Society for my first service learning experience.  It was a church that had various classes offered to senior citizens.  I was in a computer class for beginners. The program has been operating since 2000 and it is part of Senior Net. The website for Senior Net is seniornet.org. Norm Mass the supervisor of the center said they only allow between 7-8 students at a time to ensure that everyone can be helped with one-on-one coaches.  The class had an instructor and two coaches that walked around the room to help assists students if they needed help.  The instructors and coaches all must complete training before working in the class this is why I can only observe due to the fact that it would take me more time then allowed.  Also Norm stated that they prefer to have seniors teach the class due to the compatibility with the students in terms of age.  They did let me come in to observe which is normally against their policy; for which I am grateful.  Students were given a handout which consisted of how to turn on the computer, how to use the mouse, and how to open/close a document, and how to play solitaire.  The class was focused on the very basic computer operating skills.  The class is two-hours long and students were given a 10-minute break.  After the break the instructor went over what was learned.  The learning environment was meant to be very relaxing, and when students asked questions their questions were put down but instead encouraged.  The instructor encouraged the students by stating that the questions were not stupid, and that is why they are here to learn.  He further went on to help students when needed.  The instructor’s background is in Firefighting.  I didn’t have a chance to ask a lot of questions due to time, and other matters.  Students do have a chance to come to open lab hours during the week to practice what they learned.  A couple of students stated they were retired teachers.  One was a speech teacher, and the other lady was a retired teacher from the University of Pittsburgh where she worked as a teacher in the education department.  The classroom itself looked very much like a regular computer classroom.  The instructor gave instructions on how to use the keyboard in case there were some students who couldn’t use the mouse.  One student had a hard time operating the mouse due to not being used to operating it.  The exercised were designed for this.

 

After the class was over, I did want to scream.  At the end of the class the instructor took wanted a picture of everyone, and they wanted me in it to.  I complied but I did not feel comfortable since it was the first time meeting them.  The lady that was the retired teacher from Pitt wanted me to help her with an online resume.  I felt I could not do this due to the fact that I was there to observe (not permitted to help out), plus time constraints (I had to go to class and I am very busy during the week), and I felt after the classes are over she should be able to do it for herself.  After I got home, I did feel a bit used, or like she was trying to take advantage of me, because I was there.  I would be glad to help, but I do have other responsibilities.  I immediately took my seventeen month old daughter for a walk just to clear my head, and relax. 

 

Reflection:  I am not sure why I felt used.  The class was like any other class I have been in.  Learning is learning no matter how big or small it may be. 

 

 

 

 

There is hope!

Today I received a call to observe computer classes at a senior community starting next week.  I was about to give up, but this is hopeful.  I will still go to Vintage when the program starts in November. The place I am going to next week is Lutheran Service Society in Bellevue.

Ongoing Service Learning Project

After contacting Vintage, the project will definitely start in November. Therefore, I have decided that I must start back to looking for a project.  I also need to broaden my focus group not just to senior citizens, but to other disadvantage people in the community who would like to have help in the area of computer technology.

Would really like to vent!

For this week I am not sure what I want to say.  What I really want to say I think I shouldn’t say due to it not being positive.  I would really want to vent or get off my chest about this week, and how certain events have made me feel.  The events of the week have me feeling discouraged, and I have had a lot of thoughts on why. The discouragement is partly on what some teachers have said about my work, and about the way I ask questions in class. The discussions have given me a sense that I am not quite good enough, or that I shouldn’t be in graduate school.  In an effort to turn the negativity around into something positive, I have decided to focus on my service learning experience. I keep thinking, about what kind of helper I should be.  I don’t want to be the type to discourage students in the learning process.  I don’t want the students to walk away feeling like they will never get it, or that they are just plain stupid. In my effort to understand where all the discouragement is coming from I looked up what a positive learning environment should be.  The following are just some things I found geared specifically for the adult learner:

 

ReproLine: Reading Room

 

http://www.reproline.jhu.edu/english/6read/6issues/6jtn/v6/tn0305trng.htm

The effective trainer helps to create the positive learning climate by using a variety of techniques for providing positive feedback. To provide positive feedback: 

• Give verbal praise either in front of other participants or in private 
• Use positive responses during questioning 
• Recognize appropriate skills while coaching 
• Let the participants know how they are progressing toward achieving learning objectives 

Be sure to treat the participants as individuals. To do this you can: 

• Use participant names as often as possible 
• Involve all participants as often as possible 
• Treat participants with respect 
• Allow participants to share information with others 

To maintain the self-esteem of your learners, you can: 

• Reinforce those practices and beliefs embodied in the course content 
• Provide corrective feedback in an appropriate manner 
• Provide training that adds to their sense of competence and self-esteem 
• Recognize participants’ own career accomplishments 

 

Camden County College:

http://www.camdencc.edu/teachLC/archive/Positive%20learning%20environment%20panel%20discussion.htm

 

To create a positive learning environment the instructor must create a learning environment where the students feel comfortable, non-threatened, stimulated, challenged and important.  They need to feel that they can ask questions without feeling stupid; they can laugh at their own mistakes and realize they can move on to discovery.  Certainly the instructor needs to make every effort to keep the classroom lively and certainly the instructor needs to present material that will challenge the students’ intellectual abilities.  Furthermore, they need to feel that they are important, that they have control over their outcomes.

Class discussion

This week I looked further into the Salvation Army for a service learning experience, but their equipment was damaged so there will be no classes coming up for the seniors. After class this week, Professor Shulman mentioned something about working at Vintage a senior citizen community. I contacted the person, and I am waiting for the class to start. The class is still in the planning stage, but hopefully will start in November.

Final thoughts on this week’s lecture:  The group discussion was great on internet access provoked an interesting discussion. While I was talking to another student, she happened to mention that all she knows is the internet, and she wouldn’t know what to do without it especially finding news worthy stories online.  I thought about it for a moment, and thought that without the internet, she could access television news programs, newspapers, magazines, and word of mouth to find out what is going on in the world. This does make a person think what will young people do without computers since that is all that most of them know?

Another topic that may not seem important right now is the health concerns related to long term computer use? Or is this topic not important as Digital Divide as of right now. Should we think about this after the Digital Divide is closed?

For Lucy’s talk, I am not sure I want to give criticism, because I feel at this moment that a person can drown in too much criticism.

But I am glad that we know were we stand on the readings; however, the readings are getting a bit tedious.