A Wealth of FREE Online Education Awaits Boomers

Reading my most recent Temple Review, the alumni magazine for Temple University where I received my journalism degree so many years ago, I came across this quote from Nancy Henkin, executive director, the Intergenerational Center at Temple. Talking about Boomers she said,

"Essentially, we have added a new stage to  life. But for most people it's not about what stage you are in; it's about the overall journey."

Henkin's statement made me think about my journey and the journey of others around me, and how technology has changed that journey.

As you all know, I went back to Pace University for my master's degree in publishing a few years ago, and with luck and perseverance, I will finish it this December. I took about half of my courses online, and I wrote about that experience previously. I know others who went back to school recently, life long academics who are returning to school to be retrained, to take up new interests, to do something different.

However there are Boomers out there who just want to learn as much as they can about different topics, who want to exercise their brains, and who aren't after a degree. Unlike the scarecrow in the Wizard of OZ, they don't need a diploma. As the Wizard said:

"We have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have. But they have one thing you haven't got: a diploma." 

And there are those of us with enough degrees already. Recently, my husband --a very accomplished man with several degrees, not in science-- became interested in the topic of Biology and Evolution. At first he found several PBS Nova TV  shows online about the topic, but that wasn't enough. He wanted to delve into the subject deeper. My son pointed him to the wealth of university lectures available online, and for the last week or so, he has been watching and listening to lectures on this topic given by a professor from Yale University.

Just think about that, Boomers! We may not be the first generation of people to return to school after their children are grown. (I had an uncle who consistently audited college courses after he retired.) However, we are the first generation to have such a wealth of free educational materials available to us online. We are the first generation that doesn't have to travel to enrich our lives with education. You can have arthritis, be a shut in, and still benefit. My uncle had to travel to the campus to take his course, he had to enroll in classes, even to audit them. However, if you don't care about getting a degree, you don't have to enroll. You don't have to pay anything--except the cost of a broadband or even a dial-up connection-- to get this education.

And it's not just any education. We can see lectures from the best educators at the best universities. If you don't understand the subject matter the first time, you can listen to the lectures as many times as you want. How wonderful is that? And how powerful?

How do you find these lectures?

Go to Google and type in "University Lectures Online Free" and your search results will come up with a number of choices.

A trip to Yale's Open Courses  at www.oyc.yale.edu brings you to this page or one similar. The featured courses change frequently:

If you click on the Courses tab, you'll find the whole list of courses offered online. It's quite extensive, but Yale is far from the only college that gives away its education for free. YouTube has many lectures given by university professors posted as does iTunes. In both of these websites, all you have to do is search for "university lectures." Some lectures are available in video form, some can only be listed to as an MP3 or a Podcast. You can listen to a lecture on the Economic Crisis and Globalization, or one about the Geography of US Presidential Elections, or Art History and English lectures. Whatever your desire, you can dabble in these courses, and if you are very interested, you can listen to the entire series.

A while ago, I posted about brain games for Boomers. Playing games that are difficult for you and require you to learn a new way of thinking is definitely something Boomers should do. Scientists speculate that playing games help you create new synapses and help keep your brain young. But so does learning any new skill or concept.

For enjoyment, I highly recommend online courses by great lecturers. I believe you will find listening and viewing rewarding and also strangely compelling. Once you start being bombarded with new ideas, you'll want to keep going.

Happy learning, Boomers!

Blog Basics for Boomers

Ideas for this Tech and the Baby Boomer come from a number of places.  About a week ago, my brother-in-law said he wanted to start a blog, but didn't know how to begin.  So in this entry, I'll talk about the mechanical part of how I started my blog and give some good references for people who want to start one. I'm assuming that Boomers and others reading this have a good idea for a blog, and want to try it out.

I know there are many competing, free, blogging "platforms" that people can use, but I wanted something that could be up and running within minutes and felt intuitive to use. After watching my daughter post her blog,  I chose Blogger, Google' s blogging software, hosted on their site. For the most part it has been easy to use and not intimidating at all.


To get to blogger, I went to Google's home page, and looked for the listings at the top of the page. I pressed "More."

After that I pressed the "even more" tab at the bottom. That opens up a screen with a vast array of options, including ones under Communicate, Share & Save.

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 Here you'll find a connection to Blogger, Google's blogging platform. When you click on Blogger you'll find a page that looks like this:

You can sign into Blogger with your free Google account, and create a blog. As you can see Google has many tools for  you to use to understand how to start the blog. You can take their Quick Tour or watch a video about how Blogger works.

If you don't have a free Google account, you'll be asked to sign in to the account, create passwords, and accept Google's terms of service.

After you've filled in the form, you are ready to pick a name for your blog.

And after you've selected a name, you'll be asked to select how you want your blog to look from a few simple designs.

Choose one of the Templates, or designs, offered. Once you select one of the templates, you'll see a note that your blog has been created. If you want to start posting, you can, by hitting the Start Blogging button.
You'll be taken to a page that looks like this:

You can start blogging right away, but I'd suggest taking some time to take a look at the Settings page. Here is where you can decide if you want your blog publicized to the entire Internet, or if you want to keep it to a limited number of selected individuals. If you only want the members of your community --a club, a group, your friends, your family --to see the blog then select the appropriate settings.

 

Once you've selected your settings, go back to the blank blog entry, take a minute and decide on a title for today's post, and write. If you want to see how what you are writing or posting looks before you publish it hit the Preview button. You can go back and make changes before you publish. If you hit the publish button,and then want to make changes to your post, you can, just by selecting the Edit Posts tab.

That's pretty much all there is to it to get started in blogging. Of course, once you get started you might want to consider issues like how many people are reading your blog or how to make money blogging.

In this post, I gave you a step-by-step overview on how to use Blogger, and I hope it helps any Boomers out there who might want to take their first baby steps into this online world.  Blogging can be therapy, it can be a way to share ideas or pictures with a select group or a wider audience, it can be an online diary, or a way for you to share expertise with an audience. Frankly, I think more Boomers should get into blogging and I hope this post inspires you to do it.

Here are some additional resources beginner bloggers can use to learn about blogging:

Here is a link to the  Google YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU4gXHkejMo

Here are a couple more articles about starting a blog:

http://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-Blog

http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/11/10/the-easiest-instructions-for-how-to-start-a-blog/

Reading on the Beach for Boomers --iPad Vs. Kindle

I was very lucky that this summer ran into fall, and our family had a beautiful, sunny Labor Day weekend, as they say here, "down the Jersey shore."  The first thing I want to tell you  is that my Jersey shore is nothing like the TV show. We go to a beautiful little family-oriented town, calm and peaceful, with a great beach.

The second thing I want to tell you is this: reading on the beach with the iPad is not an experience I'd recommend. The glare of the sun on the iPad screen made reading very difficult. Yet, I wanted to try it out, and try it out I did, squinting through an entire book. My family was somewhat amused, especially those who vow not to give up paper reading.  I must admit that I didn't realize that you could change the background color to sepia, and that reduces the glare a bit, and you can adjust the brightness of the screen.

Still, walking out into the bright sunshine today I see that it really doesn't solve the problem. Since the iPad has a touch screen, each time you touch it you leave fingerprints. Normally, you don't see them. Under the glare of a beautiful beach day, or even a sunny fall day, you see every one. Yet my iPad has been so good for almost everything else I've wanted to do with it, I'd never give it up now. 

Another drawback, but one that applies to all e-readers, is that others can't tell what you are reading. My sister-in-law saw how much I was enjoying my book, and had to ask me what I was reading. That's because e-books have no covers to show the world. The covers appear inside the iBook application, for the reader's eyes only. Publishers have long used cover art for marketing their books, and when you are walking down an airplane isle, don't you take a peek at what others are reading?  One day, I'm sure, iBooks and all of the other e-readers, will have a way to tell the world what you are currently reading, if you want them to, and everyone will benefit from this. Maybe the answer will be a second screen on the back of the device, to display the cover of the novel that so engrosses you.


All that being said, I'd like to tell you some of the features of the iBook app that I really like.  I like looking at my books on the library shelf. That's where you see the covers of the books you've downloaded.  As you can see, I don't have a lot of books on my shelf as of yet, since I wanted to try the device out in various environments.

I  also like that the book has a clear table of contents. Here is a sample of the Contents from Hangman, by Faye Kellerman.

I really liked that Apple's format tells you how far along in the book you are and how far in the chapter. A little note comes up at the bottom right of the page saying something like "there are 15 pages left in this chapter."

 
It's amazing how much I missed those measures--the equivalent of flipping through the pages--on the Kindle I tried last year. They definitely help me figure out if I'm going to have enough time to finish the chapter before I start something else.   The new Kindle app for the iPhone says what "location" you are at and what percentage of the book you have finished but it doesn't  give quite the same feeling as the Apple app does.

So the dilemma still remains: do you go for an excellent single use device like the Kindle or a Nook, or do you go for a multi-use device that has some serious drawbacks? The prices of the dedicated e-readers have come down, and you can now purchase a Kindle for as little as $139 and a Barnes & Noble Nook for as little as $149. I've seen some other e-readers advertised for under $100. Those numbers look really good compared to the $499 starting price of the iPad, but then the iPad does so much more.

I've made my choice, Boomers, but you may make a different one. I've seen the ads for the Kindle, the ones showing people sitting on the beach, reading comfortably, and I can say, if all you want to do is take your device to the beach to read, then maybe the Kindle or any other e-reader made with e-Ink is for you.

Boomers Will Like the Interactive RollingStone 500 Greatest Song Issue

In my last blog post, I talked about RollingStone Magazine's interactive issue, which users can download for the iPad through the Zinio app. What sets this magazine apart is the clever way it is designed to take advantage of the interactive features of the iPad. Here's how you get it. First download the free Zinio App from the App store. When you open the Zinio App, you'll find a "store" inside. Inside the store, there is a listing for interactive magazines. Choose the RollingStone 500 Greatest Songs of All Times Issue.

You'll have to give Zinio a credit card number to get this app, but once you download it and pay the $9.99, a  hefty price for an app, you get a magazine chock full of information. There are a couple of feature stories such as this interview with Leiber and Stoller,

and short articles about each of the songs and artists chosen, as well as a way to listen to 30 seconds of each song.

 
The number one designated song in the magazine is  Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan, and next to it are icons for reading about it, listening to 30 seconds of it, and buying it.

In fact, many of the top 500 songs will be familiar to Baby Boomers and come from artists we know and love like the Beatles, John Lennon , The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and The Beach Boys. The app easy to use and fun to listen to.

What's significant about the magazine is the spirit of discovery that it encourages. You are only wasting 30 seconds of your time if you tap on an unfamiliar song and don't like it, so you keep on tapping. That's when I found out that all hip hop wasn't created equal. Number 51 on the list, right next to The Tracks of My Tears by Smokey Robinson, was The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. I listened to 30 seconds of it and I liked it. If I choose to download it, it will be the first hip hop song ever on my iPod and iPad. And that's exactly what Apple, Zinio, and RollingStone are counting on.

Going through these 500 songs will be a journey of discovery for many of us. If you are like me, you missed some of the songs of the 80s and 90s. By that time I had ventured into Jazz and other venues. But I am open to all kinds of music. So if I find something I like in this journey, I'll probably buy it from the iTunes store, which is conveniently linked to the app. You do have to re-sign in to the iTunes store to purchase the songs, but actually, it's genius. Once again Apple has found a way to part me from my money! I'd definitely like to know how many songs were processed through the iTunes store from people who bought the RollingStone magazine. I'll bet it's impressive!

Download those Magazines Boomers!

If you have an iPad, you may want to download some of the newest e-magazines that were designed just for this platform. Or you can get replicas of current magazines and read them in the iPad's format. Since the iPad is a beautiful venue for looking at pictures, magazine art stands out on the device.

Prior to a recent trip to the West Coast I loaded my iPad with a few e-magazines to see how I would enjoy them. Well, I did enjoy them, but I was unable to enjoy most of them on the airplane! Almost every e-magazine I tried had a downloadable or interactive component. That means that the same thing that keeps these magazines interesting, keeps people from reading them on an airplane where you can't turn on your cellular service during flight!  I learned a real world lesson about how e-magazines work on today's iPad.

As I said in a recent post, I do have a beef with Apple. Magazines need a category of their own in the App store. Not all of the magazines available come up if you plug in the keyword "Magazine" into the search engine. I understand that Apple and magazine publishers are feuding about subscriptions on the iPad. Magazine publishers want to offer them, but Apple just wants people to download each individual issue and pay the price. Maybe that's why Apple is being so user "unfriendly" about magazines on its site.


Anyway, I did manage to download some of the magazines now available and I also downloaded magazines from two what I call "gateway apps": Magcloud and Zinio. Magcloud and Zinio are magazine stands of sorts, and let you download issues, most for a price, although a number of beautiful magazines like some Life Magazine titles are free.

In a very interesting move, Rolling Stone just put out a $9.99 special issue through Zinio on the iPad that includes articles, but also plays 30 seconds of each and every of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."  You can also download the complete songs, for a price, if there is something you want to play on your iPad. I plan to download the magazine, and report back to you next time on how I liked it. Of course, this is a very clever, yet entertaining, way to part people from their money, since once you hear 30 seconds of those songs, you are probably going to buy them if you don't have them.

That being said, some magazine publishers have gone their own way and are issuing individual apps for the iPad. Here is an example of the app for the sample issue of Sports Illustrated and a screen shot of two of its pages, including one that tells you how to navigate through the app. I've also pasted a screen shot from the cover of the Vanity Fair app.

When I was reading through reviews at the app store, some subscribers to Glamour's free iPad app were  disappointed that once they downloaded the app, they had to pay for the actual e-magazine. And some subscribers to the print version were upset they they were being asked to pay twice for the same information.

If you do decide to give downloading magazines a try, let me know what you think both about the e-magazines you've read and what you think about the issues brought up by reviewers. If you have a subscription to the print magazine, should you have to pay for the iPad version?

My iPad: Essential, No; Fun, Yes, but Also Frustrating!

Since I got my iPad several weeks ago, I've been using it around the house a bit. Although I still find myself wedded to the computer in my office for most of my tasks,  I keep the iPad  in my bedroom upstairs near the TV. It has eliminated the need for a laptop up there, and now during commercials, I usually delete my junk email, do a couple of word games, and catch up on the New York Times and Washington Post articles I haven't read during the day.

I also downloaded my first book on the device from the Apple store, and since I have the Kindle application on the iPad I plan to put several more books from Amazon on the device. My family and I are planning a vacation and I want to have a lot of books on the iPad to take with me, plus several print books to pass around. Someone can read a book on my iPad, while I read a print book, and vise versa. I'm hoping it will work out nicely, reducing the weight of print books I take,  but I'll report back to you.

I've also been playing around with some of the apps I downloaded, particularly the Pages app. This is a word processing app that lets you create documents on the iPad and then email them to yourself or others.  I know that hard core Apple users probably don't see anything remarkable in the Pages for iPad app, but I am certainly enjoying the creative aspects this app inspires. I've been "fooling around" with making posters from my photo library using some of the templates, and they've been highly amusing, at least to me.

So here's the thing. The iPad makes me feel more creative, but I keep running into the device's limitations. I want to do more with it. For example, the iPad provides a more intimate photo viewing experience. I love looking at my photos on it,  but when I find one that belongs in the trash, there's no way for me to delete it. I want that option! I need a trash can in that photo app that then syncs back to my computer and iPhone and zaps those unwanted pictures for good.  No doubt I'll have that option in upcoming versions, but for now, it's a bit frustrating.

I also downloaded a few of the magazines that were created just for the iPad, and have found them interesting to page through and read. I want more! And yes, I know they are pricey. I want the iPad version of all of my favorite magazines, but it's not happening fast enough.

And if any of you magazine publishing types are reading this, I'd like to see a comprehensive magazine stand category in the App Store. Am I missing something? Is there such a thing? I want to browse through all the magazine apps just like I do when I'm at the newsstand at Barnes & Noble or at the airport.  Why do I have to look in sports for Sports Illustrated and Entertainment for Vanity Fair?  I have to know what I want to buy to find these magazines.  Frankly, if I had my druthers I'd load up that iPad with so many magazines, I don't have time to read them, and then just take the iPad out and thumb through them when I'm on a plane. It would be fun to go through the new advertising models and follow links. (Well, I guess you can't follow the links on the plane because you are in airplane mode.) Anyway, I hope more magazines come out before my vacation.

[Just after I published the above paragraph--thanks to Precision Media's Bob Sacks -- I learned of a free app for the iPad called MagCloud, that will allow me to download magazines onto my iPad. I will download it and report back.]

A Look at the Computing Guide for Boomers from Microsoft

Thanks to Lori Orlov for noting that Microsoft has updated its Computing Guide, changing the name from Guide for Aging Computer Users to Computing Guide for Boomers.

This definitely sounds less condescending, and I'm thinking that maybe this isn't just a cosmetic change, but perhaps its a change in attitude by Microsoft.  While many of us Boomers are hooked on Apple products, many of us choose PCs too. After all, if you compare Apple to PC, PC always wins out on price.

Anyway, the first article in the Computing Guide addresses a problem that many Boomers don't want to discuss. "By the time we reach our fifties, two-thirds of us have vision, hearing or dexterity impariments that will impact our computer use." I know you don't want to be told this, but it's true, and someone has to address it.

Go to the link associated with that statement, however, and you get a long, involved article. Heck, Microsoft, if I'm having problems, get me to the right article, right away. So without more ado:  Here is the direct link for the the article about making the items on  your PC easier to see: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/setup/magnify.aspx.

Keep in mind that many of these tips work for Microsoft Vista and Windows 7 operating systems. Unfortunately those of us with older operating systems will have to make do. I tried changing the resolution on my Windows ME-based machine, and, while not difficult to do, frankly, it looked terrible. There was only one option. The newer operating systems have many more options from which to choose.

Microsoft points out that you can make the text and other items such as your icons, folders and mouse pointer larger. If you do this, however, some things won't fit on the screen.  They say you can decrease the size of the text and use the built in Magnifyer to see the text as you type. A video here demonstrates how you can do this.

If you just want to make the desktop icons larger and easier to see, right click the desktop, point to View, and then click Large Icons, Medium Icons, or Classic Icons. (Classic icons are the smallest size.) .Did you know that you can also use your mouse to increase the size of your icons? Just keep holding down the Ctrl key while you scroll over the icons with your mouse.

You can also increase your screen resolution to see sharper images. A video that shows you how to do this can be found here.  Microsoft says these are the steps you should follow to do this, but remember, you may find that some items "fall off" your screen when you implement this change. You can always change it back if this doesn't work for you.

•  Open Screen Resolution by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, and then, under Appearance and Personalization,  clicking Adjust screen resolution.
• Click the drop-down list next to Resolution, move the slider to the resolution you want, and then click Apply
• Click Keep to use the new resolution, or click Revert to go back to the previous resolution. 

I'll take a look at some of the other areas in the Computing Guide for Boomers in upcoming blog posts. In the meantime, I'm looking into iPad apps and am finding myself overwhelmed. If I can't figure out which ones are good for Boomers, how can I tell you about them? More on this next time.