Bringing with them a lot of patience and persistence, a group of 11 Marion residents took advantage of a free technology instruction group, offered at the Elizabeth Taber Library on January 11, designed to teach novices the basics on how to use their iPads and iPhones.
Tech Expert Jacqui Pinto, the guest speaker from Instructional Technology Support at Brockton Public Schools, taught some less-than-tech-savvy residents how to perform basic functions like using and organizing applications, creating folders, and how to search the Internet using Safari.
Pinto walked the students step-by-step through each task until the “ah-has” outnumbered the “uh-ohs,” and the frustrated frowns transformed into satisfied smiles.
“I’m impressed,” said Pinto. “You guys are doing great.”
Whenever the students appeared overwhelmed, Pinto talked them through it, even giving some one-on-one attention, until everyone was on the same page and ready to move forward with the next lesson.
“This is wild,” said one student when she finally figured out how to make her iPad speak after giving it several tries.
“We want to make the apps shake,” Pinto told the group during an app organizing drill exercise. “Choose an app and hold your finger on it until it starts shaking … No, don’t shake it!” she told one man who was literally shaking his iPhone, eliciting a chuckle from the students.
The students said things like “Oh, my goodness!” and “Look at that!” as they discovered what they could do with their devices with just the swipe of a finger.
“I could use email and text and use it for basic things,” said Sandra Smith of Marion about her iPhone and her iPad, “but I knew there was more I could do with this. I just didn’t know how.”
A second beyond-the-basics iPad/iPhone tech group will be scheduled later for the month of March. Space is limited and registration is required.
By Jean Perry
