In a time of self-isolation and due to COVID-19, many of us turn to technology to connect with friends and family, but we often forget about those who didn't grow up with what we use to communicate today.
Now there's a new platform that seniors can use to learn technology at their own pace.
GetSetup is a website that offers technology tutorials.
They're taught by people aged 50 and older to people in the same age range.
The Co-Founder of GetSetup, Lawrence Kosick said, "We train them, many of whom are retired educators, who then teach other seniors via online video how to use the most popular apps and services to live more healthy, connected, and productive lives."
The online classes cover things like shopping online, setting up rideshare apps, learning how to uses an email account, signing up for Medicare, finding online exercise classes, and learning how to uses different types of social media.
The classes can be taught one-on-one or in group sessions and they're done over Zoom.
If someone hasn't used Zoom before, GetSetup says they're ready to help seniors figure that out too.
"It is truly a part of our job to help people figure out how to get Zoom installed and if we have to get on the phone to do that, if we have to use live chat to do that, if we have to help them via FaceTime to install Zoom, we oftentimes have to do that," said Kosick.
Each class is about an hour long and they're different from just putting a senior in front of a YouTube video.
The classes are interactive, so they have to practice the skills they're being taught in real-time and the person leading the class can answer questions on the spot too.
There's a mix of free and paid online classes on GetSetup, but most of the essential skills do not cost anything.
