What I really , really love about computers, internet and indeed the world wide web is the ability to share valuable information without having to go out there and work your way against obstacles. I will tell you about the first time I fell inlove with the technology: back then, there’s no internet, just your simple desktop computer and few gigantic, impossible looking laptops. What amazed me was the convenient it had brought me while typing, saving my files and printing, not to mention a few selection of fonts you could play with.
Then came the internet. Although it was quite limited back then as compared to what internet has now become, still I considered it a breakthrough. I began emailing my friends, instead of writing them letters all the time—I still do that when I feel like it though. Now, I would like to call this phase as a “sharing era” when everything can be shared—and apparently, learned. There’s no limit now, you can find virtually everything over the internet. From your grandkid’s homework to your daughter’s Facebook to your neighbor’s famous apple pie recipe, they are all just a few clicks away. That’s not all, to top that, almost everything you can find over the internet is for free!
The latest trend however would be e-learning. For seniors who would like to learn something—anything—this late in their lives but are having a hard time figuring out how to go out of their houses and attend classes, e-learning is for you. E-learning usually doesn’t require anything for seniors to join. Some are conducted as formal classes where you listen to an instructor/teacher and throw questions at the end of each session. They can be in form of webminars—seminars that are conducted over the interent—or video recorded classes wherein you can view them anytime you want. Tests are also given to ensure you get the right feel and of course, to assess if you’re able to learn something from it. Tests are usually submitted through emails as well as correspondence between professors and students. Paid courses are usually credited and can be added to your resume, if need be. Some of the most popular courses are:  web animation, website design and web programming.
If you are interested in joining e-classes, there are some few things you need to get you started. First, you need a good internet connection—preferably fast enough for video and audio downloads—and a little know-how on clicking the play/stop/pause buttons. Seniors might also want to buy a separate USB stick to save files to as backup or to view them offline, although it is not required.