I had a wonderful session with my mom last night, she’s really “getting it”. She’s surfing by herself, getting an idea of what’s available on the web. It’s a bit overwhelming. Her sound is still not right so we have to get the computer guy back to her place. Also, the keyboard’s been acting funky but it must be software because we sent her a new one and it’s very nearly the same. Also the printer isn’t working. It’s a good thing we have someone on her end that we trust to help her. Her tech is taking classes in Linux and is pleased to be working on a Linux system. Everybody happy.

I explained again what an URL is, an actual physical address for the page you’re viewing and suddenly it made sense, a big leap in understanding. Now she knows you can Google a subject and choose from the results or type in a URL to go exactly where you want to. This is progress!

I had her make a few more bookmarks in her Bookmarks Toolbar (FireFox personal links) to sites she visits often, to get her used to the idea of personalizing her computer. I had her browser set to keep no History, the same as I have mine. I rethought that decision for both of us. I had her set the Browsing History to her choice of 5 days. Once again, she made the decision so it makes her feel the computer is hers, not vice-versa. It also reinforces the idea that when she wants control over a function to go looking for how to make it happen.

The concept of tabbed browsing is beginning to sink in. I wanted her to learn it from the beginning. One of the most difficult things about surfing the web for me was keeping track of navigation. Not all sites are easy to navigate; getting back to a specific page can be very confusing, especially for a newbie. By opening new pages in new tabs, getting back to a specific page is no more complicated than clicking its tab.

Now this blew me away. She asked me if I’d heard of Wired Magazine and I said “Of course.” She had seen it in a doctor’s office and brought it home and read it many months ago. She didn’t understand anything but read it anyway, got a subscription and has been reading it for about 8 months. She just reads them and puts them away, hoping she’ll understand it someday. Now she can go back, read them again and glean more information out of them. I sent her to wired.com for the online version and had her make a bookmark, she was thrilled beyond words.

One last thing (as we always say after a couple of hours). She wondered what time it was and I told her to check the clock at the lower right-hand corner of her screen. The time was wrong so I had her reset her clock. I pointed out once again the inherent security of Linux systems-in order to do something even as mundane as changing the time, you have to type in your “root” password-establish your identity as the administrator of the system.

She told me a great story. She was in an auto parts store the other day and was chatting with the nice (young) clerk while looking for the item she needed. Of course she’s pumped about learning to use a computer and the talk gravitated to that subject. When she mentioned she had a Linux system, he said, “Oh, that’s old-fashioned stuff.” She proceeded to straighten him out on that subject and in short order he was asking, “Really, all the software is free? Anything you want?” That sounded really good to him, as it would to anyone. Even in this stage of her computer education, she’s a confirmed advocate of FOSS and PCLinuxOS.

That’s my mom *smile*

The computer tech, a nice (and handsome, by all accounts) young man named Brad went to my mother’s house, whereupon she called to have Don confer with him. The reason the computer wouldn’t turn on was because the plug had been slightly dislodged from the socket. When that was corrected, the tech found that the fan in the power supply wasn’t running. Don had him replace the power supply and it fixed the computer.

Brad commented that he was currently using Fedora and taking a Linux class so, knowing he was familiar with Linux we had him install Thunderbird (via Synaptic) before he left. Synaptic, in case you weren’t aware, is an incredible Package Manager which makes it extremely easy to find, install and/or remove software, all of which is free. Synaptic is a wonderful tool for a newbie, it will not allow you to install software that won’t work or is incompatible with your OS.

Some of the major stumbling blocks to becoming comfortable with computers is the fear that you will break this extremely expensive piece of equipment. By using older, slower, refurbished equipment you haven’t invested a lot. Today there are many more people who are able to service computers, either from a shop or in your home; that wasn’t true just a few short years ago. There’s a good bit of competition so the rates are reasonable and service is getting much better. Nearly everyone has a family geek and hopefully can be lured into visiting and tutoring. Generally, people love to share their knowledge with an appreciative audience. I’ve found home-cooked meals and cookies work well, too.

So, the computer was fixed. Then she got busy, (or timid, but that’s OK) and didn’t turn the computer on for a day-and-a-half.

The oddest thing happened. She sat down, turned on the computer and my Skype program-that I had turned on just on a whim-informed me she was online. I had just sat down at the computer myself! I gave her a call on Skype and she answered. We spent the next couple of hours talking, surfing, learning and generally having a great time. She visited Don’s and my website, the site that I made for the local Master Gardener Association, and did some Googling. Now she’s beginning to ask questions about specific things that she wonders about, she’s getting a good foundation of knowledge to build upon. We made a date for the next lesson and said goodbye.

The most valuable part of the problem with the power supply was the fact that she learned anything is fixable, it’s just a machine. Early on in her computer adventure, she found out how to do some rudimentary troubleshooting, poking around, checking to see if everything’s plugged in, finding out the name of various parts of the computer so she can describe things over the phone. When there’s a problem, whether it’s hardware or software, there’s a solution. With a tutor or a computer-savvy person to help, it’s usually not a big deal.

Stay tuned…

New project! My husband Don Crowder (aka eldergeek) and I are so excited.

My mother is in her late 70s and has never owned or operated a computer. Over the last couple of years we’ve been encouraging her to consider learning and since she’s been a lifelong learner, she decided she’d like to. We live in Central Texas and she lives in Central Florida, a bit of a logistics challenge, but not insurmountable, as you’ll see.

For some time now Don has been refurbishing old computers, installing Linux OSs in them and giving them to people who want a computer but have limited resources. This was the perfect opportunity to really do something tangible for my mom, get her started on the road to computer literacy. We sent her a working system, tested and tweaked in our home, last week.

Can any of you remember first placing your hands on a computer? I can, it’s only been 4+ years since I bought my first computer and it’s changed my life. I remember quite well setting it up, sitting down in front of this mysterious, expensive mechanism wondering what to do first, and what to do next, and please please please don’t let me break it. Fortunately, I learn well from books so with a couple of good ones in hand I was on my way. Things accelerated dramatically when I signed up for as many helpful ezines as possible. Don was the writer of an ezine I subscribed to and when I asked him some newbie questions he responded generously and we became friends. The rest, as they say, is another story.

Wouldn’t it be a great thing if my mother could receive real-time tutoring from the very beginning? Don installed PCLinuxOS on both computers so we’d be working with the same system. PCLOS 2007 is absolutely the prettiest, sleekest, most newbie- and intermediate- friendly OS we’ve ever seen (can you say plug-n-play?). I wrote a very basic tutorial and saved it on the desktop with the title “Hi, Mom! Double-click me!” We installed Skype on both computers and with the headsets we both have we’ll be able to talk to each other, long-distance, for free. A computer with built-in live tech support, how’s that for newbie-dream-come-true? I’d be interested to know if anyone else is doing this or plans to and how it works out.

Now-the adventure begins…