Back in the day, when we knew less than what we thought we knew, if you just wanted to learn about a subject, or because the homework assignment is due on Friday!, there were textbooks, local libraries, or the Encyclopedia Britannica your parents bought for you.
But now, with access to the Internet (90% of adults 65 and older use the Internet, according to the latest Pew Research Center data), you can learn about whatever you want: how to live longer, stay healthier, run faster, be smarter, and look better; what to worry about, what not to worry about, what to do, and what not to do; and who is mad at whom, and all the exciting things your friends are doing — and you’re not!
Today, if you want to use the Internet to learn about a specific topic, I have found two websites designed specifically for older adults that can help you stay mentally active, socially connected, and confident with technology.
First is Senior Planet from AARP, which offers a wide range of topics across various subject areas. I’ll give you some examples that might interest you.
• Technology: AI Image Generators, Safe & Savvy Smartphone Habits, Intro to Managing Your Privacy.
• Health and Wellness: Easy-to-Follow Tai Chi, Stronger Bones, Gentle Kung Fu.
• Social Connection: Getting Started on Facebook, Instagram Basics, Holistic Wellness Discussion Group
• Life and Culture: How to take Virtual Museum Tours, Online Travel Sites, Digital Storytelling.
Senior Planet includes live Zoom classes and recorded sessions you can watch at any time. And if you get stuck, there is a tech support hotline to call.
The second website, which I recently discovered, is GetSetUp: an online learning community also designed specifically for older adults. It was launched in 2020 and is still growing.
It offers live classes, on‑demand videos, articles, and social groups that cover multiple subject areas: Fitness, Technology, Lifestyle, Creative Arts, Food, Health and Wellness, Money and Jobs, and Travel and History. Classes are taught by older adult instructors, so the teaching style is friendly, patient, and relatable.
Another website, you might be interested in, although it’s not specifically for older adults, is Google Arts & Culture, which features content from leading museums and archives that have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world’s treasures online.
And if you want to challenge your brain by learning a new language, there are Duolingo, Babbel, Rosetta Stone, and Memrise websites.
Also, as my wife reminded me when she was watching a video on how to control blackberries, I shouldn’t forget YouTube, where you can learn more than you ever wanted, including the irritating pharmaceutical commercials with a listing of all their side effects.
Since the World Wide Web was adopted in 1993, with the first popular web browser and dial-up modems, the Internet has exploded with information. You can’t believe everything you read online, but if you are diligent, you can find reliable information that will answer all your questions — or confuse you even more.
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Brain Tease: This week, it’s time for a logic and deduction puzzle, which I find to be the most challenging.
From the following statements, determine who are the truth-tellers and the liars.
On a committee sit Ellen, Frank, and Grace. Each is either telling the truth or lying. Ellen says, “Frank is a liar,” Frank says, “Grace is a liar,” and Grace says, “Ellen and I are the same type.”
Who is telling the truth and who is lying?
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The writer, public speaker, and pioneer of self-improvement classes, who wrote “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” is Dale Carnegie. I received correct answers from Stephen Woolpert, Donna Mollet, Bruce Johnson, Doug Nelson, Lana Tepfer, Pat Evenson-Brady, Dave Lutgens, Rose Schulz and Julie Hoffman, who is this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket.
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Last week, while lip-syncing “I’m a Believer” by the Monkees, I missed Rebecca Abrams, Pat Evenson-Brady, Nancy Higgins, Tina Castanares, and Mike Yarnell.
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Known as “The Man of a Thousand Voices”, he is considered the greatest and most influential voice actor of all time. For this week’s “Remember When” question, who was this voice actor best known for providing voices for many Looney Tunes cartoons, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Sylvester the Cat, Yosemite Sam, Wile E. Coyote, the Road Runner, and many, many more? Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-980-4645, or send it with his class picture from the 1927 yearbook of Portland’s Lincoln High School.
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Well, it’s been another week, trying to adjust to the early morning light. Until we meet again, don’t forget to smell the roses, and the lavender, and the lilacs and …
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“If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive.”
— Dale Carnegie
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Nutritious home-delivered and in-person meals throughout the Gorge, are available at noon Monday through Friday, unless otherwise noted.
Seniors of Mosier Valley (541-980-1157) — Wednesdays with music on second and fourth Wednesdays; Dufur — Wednesdays at noon at 320 NE Second St. Hood River Valley Adult Center (541-386-2060); Sherman County Senior and Community Center (541-565-3191); The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels (541-298-8333). For meal sites in Washington, call Klickitat County Senior Services at the Goldendale office (509-773-3757) or the White Salmon office (509-493-3068). In Skamania County, call Senior Services (509-427-3990).
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