Help senior citizens learn how to communicate on a computer or a mobile phone to reduce their loneliness and enrich the quality of their lives.

The information highway has passed many senior citizens by leaving them frustrated and unable to use the tools available to them to stay in touch with grandchildren, research medical procedures, be prepared in times of disasters, or enjoy the songs of their youth.

Preparation Instruction:
IMPORTANT: Because this is considered an independent project, please confirm approval from a teacher who supports you in this activity and will grant you the hours if you meet the objectives.

You need to identify a manamko in need of communication assistance. To be a service learning project, you need to show that you have helped your community, so go outside of  your family. Most villages have a senior citizen center and perhaps your service could be presented there. Your church is another possibility.

 

Activity Instruction:
Once you have found a manamko student, determine their skill level and their access to their technology devices. Do they want to skype with grandkids?  Create a musical library on phone? Sign up for a cooking webinar for diabetic meal prep? Arrange tutoring sessions with an end product of a new skill attained. Take pictures or make a video of the experience. Post it on social media using hashtag #guamservicelearning #manamkolearnsskype (or similar).
 

Reflection Instruction:

In order to earn service learning hours, a reflection needs to be turned into a teacher who can input the hours into Power School. (Since this is an independent project, go back to the teacher who agreed to support you in this.)

Include in your reflection: What did you do? How many hours did you spend on this project? What did you learn? How was this a service? How do you think you made a difference? I would hope that you gain confidence in teaching something valuable to a frustrated senior and helping them to connect to their family and explore their interests. Also, that you will gain new understanding of how important communication skills are for vulnerable people. 

Learning Standards/Objectives:
I want to connect young people'a akilla and energy with those in our community who have not been able to keep up with the flow of the information highway. There are many seniors who are lonely and living isolated lives and they could become happier if they could reach out and connect more fully with the world. Using technology to improve the lives of our manamko showcases our culture and respect for our elders. It also allows them to lead richer and safer lives, too.

Educational Technology Standard 2: Communication and Collaboration

Students use digital media and resources to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.9–12.2.1 Interact and collaborate with others using a variety of digital communication tools (e.g., peer review and editing, debate, joint data collection) to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

  Name: Carlotta Leon Guerrero

 Phone: 4733003

  Email: [email protected]

Organization/Agency/Business Name: Ayuda Foundation