Seniors get tech savvy with the help of some new friends.
Shura Eadie, 89, used Skype for the first time to speak to her grandson, his wife and her great-grandchildren, who live in Bermuda. Eadie is part of the Cyber-Seniors program that pairs teens and seniors to teach them how to navigate the World Wide Web.
Staff Photo/LISA RAINFORD
Unaware of the snow falling outside her Bloor Street West apartment window, Shura Eadie was glued to her computer screen last Friday afternoon.
Eadie, a Grenadier Retirement Home resident, might as well have been sitting in the same room as her grandson, her granddaughter-in-law and her two young great-grandchildren. In reality, more than 1,700 km, another time zone and a warmer climate separated the family members on Feb. 10. However, through the magic of Skype, the voice, video, and instant messaging Internet service, Eadie was reunited with her great-grandchildren, toddler Benjamin and baby Daniel, who live in Bermuda.
"Look how big you're getting, you're a big boy, eh?" Edie said to Benjamin before he scampered off screen.
For the first time in her 89 years Eadie was learning to Skype, having only a few months earlier been introduced to the Internet.
By her side was 20-year-old Max Schellenberg, one of the instructors of the Cyber-Seniors program. Pairing students with senior citizens to teach them how to use the internet, Cyber-Seniors was the brainchild of sisters Kascha and Macaulee Cassaday. The teens created the program as a school project. They were inspired after witnessing their own grandparents' lives transformed by cyber-communication.
Since September, more than 30 seniors and 15 students have been working alongside each other at two seniors' homes, including the Grenadier and Christie Gardens, as well as in several private residences.
At one of the twice-weekly meetings at the Grenadier, Eadie confessed that with help from the web, she had solved an 82-year-old mystery.
"I've always wanted to know how to make spun sugar nests. Ever since I went to a birthday party when I was seven years old," she confessed. "I have a recipe for it now."
Not only did she learn how to create the glossy sugar strands used to top pastries, but Eadie also relies on the Internet to keep in touch with relatives on Facebook.
Frances Jerry, another Grenadier Retirement Home resident, said she uses the Internet to find photographs for her clay modelling designs.
"It's easy to find images," said Jerry, who added she also looks up Toronto Transit Commission maps to get around town.
Resident Fred Atkinson admitted that becoming comfortable with the Internet has been challenging.
"It's not easy - I have to work at it. My short-term memory isn't that good," he said.
Capturing their journey to Internet savviness is a documentary film crew helmed by Brenda Rusnak.
"One of the goals of the documentary is to inspire young people to teach someone older," said Rusnak, whose daughter Saffron is directing the film - it was her other two daughters who created the program.
Once complete, Rusnak says they hope to sell the documentary to a Canadian and American television broadcaster and show it at film festivals.
Grade 11 student Julia Marrocco, who is instructing as a way of collecting community service hours as part of the high school curriculum, said she enjoys interacting with the seniors.
"It's not a chore - it's nice to talk to them about their stories," she said. "I didn't realize how difficult it is to teach anyone. To me, using a computer is like picking up a pen and writing."
Marrocco said she has been using a computer since kindergarten.
Although the program is at peak capacity, the filmmakers say there is always room for new entrants who have a sense of adventure and a passion for learning.
Email info@cyber-seniors.ca or join the Cyber-Senior Club on facebook: www.facebook.com/CyberSeniorsClub or www.cyberseniorsdocumentary.com for further details.