Electronic Health Information for Lifelong Learners (eHiLL)
Free Computer Training for Older Adults to Find Reliable Health Information on the Internet: A Brief Introduction to the eHiLL Project
Who are we?
Our project team consists of faculty and graduate students of the School of Nursing and the School of Information of the University of Texas at Austin.
What is our intent?
We want to help older adults (ages 65 years and older) to learn to use computers to find reliable, health-related information from the Internet.
How do we do it?
We collaborate with local organizations (the “sites”) to provide free computer classes focusing on learning to use online resources provided by trustworthy organizations like the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Is there a fee?
No. Our project is funded by funding agencies such as the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the NIH. Older adults who participate in our computer training classes, as well as the sites where classes are taught, will not be charged with any fee.
What is expected of a site?
A site needs to have at least 6-8 computers with Internet access available for the classes. Computers should be clustered together in the same space and are preferably located in a lab separate from other areas of the facility. Also, a designated staff person will act as the site coordinator to help promote the computer training classes to older adults in their community (e.g., posting the flyer in the facility) and coordinate the logistics.
Who teaches the computer training classes?
Graduate students in the School of Nursing or the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin will serve as the instructors.
What curriculum will be used?
A training curriculum designed by the National Institute of Aging of the NIH, or by the faculty and graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin focusing on trustworthy online health information resources, will be used.
What is expected of the older adults who participate in the computer training?
We expect interested older adults to commit to participating in the training class. We also expect that these older adults are willing to complete questionnaires before and after the training class. This will help us assess the impact of our training classes and design better instructional strategies and activities in the future.
Interested in becoming a site to offer these free computer training classes at your facility?
Please contact the Project Director Dr. Bo Xie
email: boxie@utexas.edu