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IPads and seniors: York company helps new users keep in touch [York Daily Record, Pa. :: ](York Daily Record (PA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 22--Mary Ann Kiser remembers the old days, when she stayed in touch with family and friends by mailing greeting cards for birthdays and Christmas. That was before she learned how to use an iPad. "I've found I'm keeping in touch a lot more," said Kiser, a resident at Normandie Ridge Senior Living Community. "For myself, especially relatives and friends communicate more often." The Administration on Aging estimates that by 2030, about 19 percent of U.S. citizens will be 65 or older, up from 12 percent in 2000. One York based company, Generation Connect, hopes to show some of those seniors how to stay in touch with family and friends using an iPad. Michael Potteiger, founder of the company, said that he conceived of the business after one of his grandmothers died. "My brother, sister and I worked as technology consultants, and we did a lot of traveling," Potteiger said. "We were pretty much on the road seven days a week. During that time, my mom's mom was diagnosed with lung cancer." Potteiger said that both of his grandmothers played crucial roles in raising him, and his grandmother's illness and death made him recognize the importance of communicating regularly with family despite being busy with work. That's when he decided he'd teach his other grandmother how to use an iPad. "She -- to my surprise -- fought me pretty hard on this," Potteiger said, adding that his grandmother had sworn off the internet a few years ago after her computer got a virus. But his grandmother's attitude changed after he helped her call her granddaughter using FaceTime, a video-based iPad and iPhone feature that allows people to see each other while they talk in real time. After a few more FaceTime sessions with relatives, Potteiger's grandmother asked him to get her an iPad of her own. "It was a little bit of a struggle to get her to learn to use it, but it was worth it to see the effect it had on her life," Potteiger said. On mobile? Click here to watch video Tablet devices such as the iPad, Kindle Fire and Samsung Galaxy tablet fall somewhere between the functionality of a personal computer and a smartphone. They have touch screens and can download apps like a smart phone, but their larger size makes them better-suited for watching video, reading text, surfing the web and playing games. In addition, add-ons such as a keyboard and mouse allow tablets to perform tasks like word processing and photo editing in a manner similar to a laptop. "It's more convenient than a computer," said Kiser, as she scrolled through player statistics for her favorite football team, the Baltimore Ravens. "Everything is there in an instant." Tablet devices, according to Potteiger, are also better than computers for older adults because tablets allow users who suffer from tremors or limited mobility to call up information and perform tasks using only their voice. Potteiger said that his company decided to use the iPad rather than a Droid or Amazon product because Apple, the company that produces the iPad, updates its software in a regimented way that allows most users to have a consistent experience. This consistency makes it easier for his team to develop and implement the training modules, which it must update every time Apple updates its software. Potteiger said it also chose the iPad because Apple is working with the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit medical practice and research group, to use the iPad as a health care tool. "We feel over the next three to five years mobile technology is going to affect a lot of other areas," Potteiger said, predicting that tablet devices will be able to monitor vitals such as blood pressure and blood glucose levels and share that information with healthcare providers. Potteiger said the training classes focus on three types of apps: --Social media apps like FaceTime, Skype, Facebook and email, which allow users to communicate with others; --search apps like Safari, Chrome and Google Search, which allow users to view websites and access information; and --media content apps like iBooks, Netflix and news reading apps. Mantz Miller, one of the Normandie Ridge residents at Potteinger's training session on Aug. 20, said he uses his iPad to "read the paper" and to look at medical information. His wife, Gloria, also at Normandie Ridge, had her iPad loaded with news apps such as CNN, USA Today and Associated Press. She said she'd resisted the new technology, but after using the iPad to send emails, she developed more interest in it. "The biggest challenge was probably my acceptance that this is the time we're living in and I had to get with it or be out of touch," Miller said. Art Wagenknecht, a retired industrial engineer living at Normandie Ridge, said he'd already used a personal computer for banking and checking stock portfolios. His familiarity with computers eased the transition to the iPad. "FaceTime is a good feature," said Wagenknecht, who uses it to talk with his 27-year-old granddaughter in North Carolina. George Foley, Jr., said he had a harder time getting used to the device. But with four granddaughters living out of the area, he has been able to use the iPad to stay in touch with family, read books, and browse the Wall Street Journal. Dr. Faina Caplan at WellSpan Geriatrics said that mobile devices could help maintain a resident's quality of life. "When I see younger elderly patients in the office that are sort of... looking into how can they age well, one of the things we talk about is that your brain is a muscle as well, and it can atrophy. You need to stay active. Need to be talking, learning new information, practicing skills you may not use anymore." Caplan said she often recommends programs such as Lumosity, which works on a person's attention and calculation. Often, her patients can't take her advice, since they don't use computers. Caplan saw no drawbacks to the iPad training sessions, and several potential benefits. "Mobile technology, much of it is very simple, and it makes things available for you that otherwise wouldn't be," Caplan said. "So you could be in a remote, isolated area and still have resources." ___ (c)2014 York Daily Record (York, Pa.) Visit York Daily Record (York, Pa.) at www.ydr.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |