Computer Education and Third Age Universities: A Systematic Review

Abstract

An aging population and a digital society are realities. There is a need to equip older people with knowledge and computer skills so that they can participate in society, without feeling excluded or being marginalized. Third age universities are organizations around the world that specialize in teaching and learning for senior students in a more informal and more integrated way than other educational institutions. The objective of this study was to identify the existing quality publications that deal with the subject of computer education at senior universities. The SCOPUS and Web of Science databases were used, and 18 records were found according to the adopted criteria. It was found that these articles, depending on their focus, can be divided into four groups: educators, organizations/directors, students, and conceptual/review papers. Through these articles, it was possible to draw a picture of what older people’s computer learning is like, what barriers exist for students to not be able to attend these classes, as well as tips on how courses should be organized and the pedagogical methodologies that must be adopted. It is intended that this article is used as a good tool for people who work in teaching information technology to the elderly, and especially for course directors who intend to create or reformulate courses of this type for this specific age group.

Impact of a culturally adapted digital literacy intervention on older people and its relationship with health literacy, quality of life, and well-being

“…In addition, in the current context of technologization of social and health services, OP have lower levels of literacy, health literacy and digital literacy ( Xie, 2011 ; Handtke et al, 2019 ; Ghorbanian and Nikou, 2021 ) requiring these skills to understand the information available on digital platforms, adequately solve a health problem ( Norman and Skinner, 2006 ; Stormacq et al, 2020 ), and access quality services ( Ghorbanian and Nikou, 2021 ; Shi et al, 2021 ; Sobral and Sobral, 2021 ; Ghorbanian et al, 2022 ; Lee and Tak, 2022 ; Sriwisathiyakun and Dhamanitayakul, 2022 ).…”

“…These programs can improve the quality of life of participating seniors by enabling them to access online services, such as shopping, virtual healthcare, government paperwork, and banking services ( Mirmohammadkhani et al, 2020 ; Aggar et al, 2023 ), which can be significantly important depending on the mobility and self-esteem difficulties they suffer. Otherwise, it also improves physical health ( Ghorbanian and Nikou, 2021 ; Shi et al, 2021 ; Sobral and Sobral, 2021 ; Sriwisathiyakun and Dhamanitayakul, 2022 ), favors active aging, finding that highly digital seniors have a better healthy life ( Mizrachi et al, 2020 ), along with decreasing the negative effects of aging on health such as memory decline ( Chan et al, 2016 ; ChePa et al, 2023 ) for example. In addition, greater use of the internet is associated with a better quality of life ( Boz and Karatas, 2015 ).…”

“…Considering the definition of subjective well-being as people’s evaluations of their own life, which can be judgments, such as life satisfaction (cognitive), feeling-based evaluations, including moods and emotions (emotional) ( Pavot and Diener, 1993 ; Diener and Suh, 1997 ); regarding these components of psychosocial health of older people, digital skills deficits and poor understanding of health messages are related to adverse effects on well-being ( Stormacq et al, 2020 ). Generally, OP who master new technologies have a good level of psychological well-being due to the feeling generated by being able to achieve it, which helps to improve their position in the eyes of their family and even in society ( Hasan and Linger, 2016 ; Cardozo et al, 2017 ; Shi et al, 2021 ; Sobral and Sobral, 2021 ; Sriwisathiyakun and Dhamanitayakul, 2022 ; Aggar et al, 2023 ), in contrast, the secondary outcomes of Ngiam et al (2022) included improvements, however, they were not statistically significant in the personal well-being score ( Ngiam et al, 2022 ). In turn, Hasan and Linger (2016) report that the increase in digital skills increases social well-being in the dimensions of social participation and involvement, occupation, control over daily life and dignity.…”

“…Under the conceptual framework that defines social support as “the set of expressive or instrumental provisions – perceived or received – provided by the community, social networks and trusted individuals, provisions that can occur in both every day and crisis situations ( Lin, 1986 ), it has been stated in the evidence that the development of technological skills and competences in this age group favors their social interaction ( Shi et al, 2021 ; Sobral and Sobral, 2021 ; Sriwisathiyakun and Dhamanitayakul, 2022 ), helping to address social isolation and loneliness in PMs by applying various technologies such as ICTs, video games, robotics, personal reminder information and social management system, asynchronous pairs, chat support and telecare among others ( Khosravi et al, 2016 ).…”

Fall risks and the related factors for the homebound older people with dementia: Evidence from East China

“…The elderly can participate in education in the higher and local government education systems together with the individuals of other ages as ordinary adults, as well as in the education specifically organized for them by voluntary groups. The UK's third-age universities have an extremely significant impact on the older persons' global education ( 14 ). China's older people industry started late compared with the foreign countries; moreover, most of it has been directly managed by the government agencies.…”