Understanding and Helping those without computer skills or who are afraid of the computer:

Some experiences and suggestions from Consultants:
From:  Janet Ballingham, Farr West, Utah:

I recently had an experience that taught me a lot about people and computers.  I teach classes at the FHC on Open Office which for those that don't know what this program is, it is a suite of programs that you can download for free.  It has replaced MS Word in at least our FHC and I understand is being used on all of the computers in the churches.

Anyway, as I was teaching the word processing class I had several things that went wrong with the program and with the computers for some reason or another, one of those unexplainable things.  This only happened during one particular class.  I had taught the same lessons in other classes and they worked very well.  The class goes for 5 weeks and each week something different happened.  Each time we were able to recover, redo and continue.

The next to the last class one of the sisters in the class said I want you to know this has been the best class I have ever taken.  Now that really confused me.  The class had been very frustrating for me and I wondered if anyone had gotten anything at all from it.  She continued, I have been so scared of computers, you have taught me that it is not a total disaster for things to go wrong and they can be fixed.  Her son is buying a computer for her birthday this week and now she felt she could really use it and not break it.

This sister needed this lesson more than she needed the word processing lesson.  So maybe in helping someone who is afraid of the computer, teaching them that problems do occur and are more common than we like, there is a way around it, that things have not been lost as long as you have been saving your work, you can pick up and go on and you haven't hurt the computer either.

From: Terry Turner in Krugersdorp, South Africa:
Find out what switches her on---example: recipes. Show her the vast number of recipes available on the internet.

Does she write a lot of letters? Show her how cheap email is, and how instantly it works--across the globe in seconds.

Show her skype and cheap long distance/international calls.

Show her how to share photos of her family (children, grandchildren etc.) via the net.

Show her how to share and update her family history via the net.

Does she have a calling which she could magnify with info off the net (like this consultant's list!)

In short, show her what's in it for her.

From: Mary Scott, Northville Ward, Westland Michigan Stake

 I agree wholeheartedly that there have to be computer classes to help people become familiar with the computers -- long before we can expect them to sit and type in their family information on PAF. Some public libraries offer computer classes for seniors, as do community education and enrichment classes.
   
  Before family history consultants can adequately teach a person how to use PAF, there are some basic lessons for computers which need to be done. Surely there is a need for these lessons in many wards and stakes. Such lessons would not only be helpful for family history but also to help people in their callings, employment, and just to enjoy learning something new.
   
  My own experience with a similar situation -- almost 10 years ago, we knew an elderly gentleman in our ward. He was in his 80s and he wanted to do some family history work. This was particularly true after his non-member wife of 60+ years had died.
   
  We used to sit together at the computer and work on his family records. He'd give me the information and I would type it into PAF. We met several times together because we were moving rather slowly in the process.
   
  After we entered his names, we then prepared them for TempleReady. We also prepared a family group record so that he and his wife could be sealed together, as well as to their parents. My husband and I then took our friend to the Toronto Temple with us. We worried because of our friend's age and because it was such a long distance (5 hrs one way) to take him.
   
  This was one of the sweetest experiences I ever had as a family history consultant. My husband was his escort for the day (he'd never been endowed because his wife was so much against the Church during her life). 
   
  I was thrilled to help my friend and deeply honored when I was the proxy for his wife at the Toronto Temple. One of the best days of my life was because I had helped my friend.
   
  My friend may not have been able to use a computer but his friendship and kindness to my family was worth a fortune to me. I loved hearing his stories of growing up in Kentucky and how he & his father had joined the Church. My friend died a few years ago and I still think of him with fondness.
   
  Sometimes we hurry so fast to submit names that we miss some wonderful experiences. If we do take time to help our family members and friends who need us, we also receive blessings.
   
  Sometimes YM or YW could be paired up with someone who doesn't understand computers. One grandmother in our stake does the research and her grandson types it into PAF. This partnership would also work if there was a YM or YW willing to help someone. In return, perhaps they could count the hours of assistance towards service in the YM or YW organizations.