This is just a short(ish!) post where I want to talk a little about the need for repetition, practice and the concept of ‘rinse and repeat’ when it comes to learning to use, and remembering how to use technology. This is particularly relevant to those…I’ll just come right out and say it…those of a certain age. Today, in 2018, you often hear stories of kids as young as 2 using iPads, or 8-year olds who already have their own smartphone. Today’s generation are pretty much born into a world of technology and are inundated with it from a very early age. For those of a different generation this was simply not the case (as the technology wasn’t around then!)

For those new to technology – be it computers/laptops, tablets or smartphones, learning the ins and outs can be a struggle and something that takes time, patience, and often support from family members. Things that come as second nature to someone’s son, daughter or grandchild might take a little longer – be it sending a text message or email, or uploading a photo to Facebook – for an older member of the family to get the hang of.

An example from my own non-professional experience – up until 8 years ago, my mum didn’t know one end of a laptop from the other. She’d never sent an email, used Google and probably had never even heard of YouTube. Today, she wouldn’t be without any of those services. Sure, it took some patience and assistance from me over the first few months she started using her new laptop and got online, but above all one thing was clear to me. If you don’t use or do something regularly, you soon forget how it works. Especially when it comes to technology. Especially if you’re my mum’s age (sorry mum!).

I soon realised that giving my mum something she could refer back to, to help her with certain things – in particular how to use her email (in her case Gmail) was paramount. I wrote her a little reference guide filled with screen shots, about all the little facets and intricacies of the world of emailing that she seemed to struggle with as a beginner. It was then I realised that such reference documents were an excellent idea, professionally.

Since then, whenever I work with a client where my role is that of computer/tablet/smartphone tuition, I always follow up all sessions with a little reference guide covering the things we’ve been over. I add screenshots and little diagrams to make thing as easy as possible for each client to refer to whenever they might need to.

And at no extra cost, I hasten to add. All part of the service. ?

I’ve had plenty of positive feedback from past clients saying how useful these little guides are, and that they really come into their own if it’s been a few days or a couple of weeks since they used their computer or tablet/phone to do something particular, and are struggling to remember certain steps.

If understanding modern technology doesn’t come easily to you, and you need some help learning how to use a computer, tablet or smartphone and you want the added bonus of a help guide you can refer to afterwards, get in touch with us today.