In this paper, we report on the exploration of how an ‘open learning context’ can be designed to support elderly people to empower themselves using technologies. The research problem rests on the observation that elderly people are living in a time of social and cultural transformation which threatens to ‘leave them behind’, yet, elderly people have a lifetime of skills in problem-solving; they have resilience and resourcefulness which can be applied to this perceived problem, and to others they face.

The research on which we report is a strand of CoCreat, a lifelong learning project funded by EACEA which seeks to investigate new solutions for promoting creative collaboration in terms of new and  innovative learning models based on social media and mobile technology.

Blackwell, Wilson, Street et al (2009) emphasise that a means of achieving innovative solutions is to give collaborators the freedom to redefine the problem, which implies that the outcome of creative collaboration can be more innovative when there is flexibility about the terms of the problem.They show that creative ideas and innovative solutions are frequently achieved by bringing together people who have different, even contrasting perspectives, and supporting their collaboration through approaches that are informed by theory. Using these insights, and with a question of our own in mind (whether technology can support a collaborative process amongst elderly people that will foster the sense of competence, purpose, and growth that contributes to successful aging (Fisher & Specht 1999) we designed a workshop programme involving people aged (60 to 82) living in a remote area of Finland (1.57 inhabitants per m2) to come together to learn to use iPads.

Many contexts for learning use a model of teaching and learning that is common in schools, yet elderly people, who have a lifetime of experience, may feel ill at ease in the role of novice. Further, technology is frequently expected to provide an alternative to face-to-face encounters between tutors and fellow students. We recognized these aspects as potentially problematic for people and our principles were that a learning context should be face-to-face, based on collaboration, and with equal partnership between members.

We report on the steps we took to establish a culture in which people felt free to experiment, to ask, interact freely with the tutors and one another. Using transcribed interviews with the elderly participants, we show how they took up the technology and used a variety of media (text, image, video, and communication), finding ways of incorporating it into their everyday activities and hobbies that they valued. We show how they used the iPad as a tool for communication and an object through which communication with others could be increased and enriched. We conclude the activity empowered people to achieve their own solutions, and supported ‘successful aging’ through promoting a sense of purpose, competence personal growth, interactions with others and autonomy. We show that the success of the project is in the design and implementation of the learning context and in sensitivity to people’s experience with technology.

Blackwell, A. F., Wilson, L., Street, A., Boulton, C., & Knell, J. (2009). Radical innovation : crossing knowledge boundaries with interdisciplinary teams. University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory Technical Report No. 760 Retrieved from http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/techreports/UCAM-CL-TR-760.pdf Fisher, B. & Specht, D., (1999) Successful Aging And Creativity In Later Life Journal of Aging Studies, 13, 4, 457-472.