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ABOUT
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Mission Generations on Line is dedicated to enhancing communication among generations by promoting Internet access and literacy to elders. Aimed at the large population of older Americans who cannot afford or choose not to enroll in computer or Internet training, Generations on Line will:
Generations on Line (GoL) has simplified the Internet for seniors. GoL has created, tested and developed a software program that provides on-screen, step-by step instruction to help people over 65 use the Internet. GoL makes this program and its adjunct materials free to seniors through places where they live and congregate, such as nursing homes, HUD subsidized housing, retirement communities, senior centers and public libraries. These sites receive a subscription to the web-based software, a coach training kit, and ongoing telephone technical support. Philadelphia, where Generations on Line began, has one of the highest concentrations of senior citizens in the nation. GoL was tested in 7 independent facilities for four months in the Philadelphia area, and introduced nationwide at a national press conference held at the Philadelphia Senior Center, led by then Secretary of Commerce, Norman Mineta and Mayor John Street. Today, the program is in more than 1900 facilities in 49 states and Canada, is in both English and Spanish, has won the major award from the American Society on Aging - for innovation in older adult learning - and has helped more than 90,000 individuals and their families.
Although Internet sites, computer classes, books, computer training centers and school initiatives targeting the elderly are available, the focus of Generations on Line is different. Generations on Line provides web-based software and support materials for senior centers, public libraries, continuing care retirement centers, retirement homes and low income elder housing. The software guides novices step-by-step with onscreen instructions on every page in large type, plain English and a clear, uncluttered interface with friendly icons. It is free to seniors NEW! There are four applications and Help pages:
On the PC training program, there are four applications and Help pages:
From
interview by Northwestern University researcher in Chicago:
Mr. Pope is 72 years old. For the past nine years or so he lived alone in a Chicago Housing Authority Senior Building, on the south side of Chicago. Mr. Pope was born in Alabama, and some of his brothers and sisters still live there. He was a cab driver for over 22 years, and drove a truck as well. "Well really, I just like to stay in touch with the fellas -- the guys that was in prison (in Korea) with me. It is about five of us still living and I just love to stay in touch with them, because when we was in Korea we was there in that mud hole 29 months. So they are very important to me, and they are very dear to me and close to me. And I love just being able to just say hi and a bye to stay close. And then I think of my not having a computer, these reunions I have missed. I have missed being there. A lot of them in these nineteen years, when they started them, a lot of them has passed on and then I would have gotten the chance to see them before then or whatever, you know." Mr. Pope has a few words of wisdom to share with other seniors, to encourage them to give the computer a try. "Well, you could be a little hesitant until you start to use it...It is like taking a shave, you know, shaving hair off your face. You know, once you start you say, 'Oh, I look bad.' Once you get the hairs off you look better, so if they use it more it will come more. They just have to get started. If they can be motivated a little, then that's it." An
email from Mrs. Robinson at age 105: Report
from an activities director in Milwaukee: Note
from a nursing home in Florida: Note
from a peer coach: Tobey Gordon Dichter, M.Ed., founder and CEO, founder and CEO, was named One of the 50 Most Influential People in Aging by PBS news in aging service Next Avenue in October, 2015. Ms. Dichter is the former Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs and Executive Committee Member at SmithKline Beecham Healthcare Services (now Glaxo SmithKline), a worldwide healthcare company. She was known for the first corporate television news program for employees worldwide, and later as the founder of the Drug Testing Index and repositioning Pap Screening from a finite test to a screen. Ms Dichter left SmithKline in 1999 to pursue Generations on Line. She has served on the Boards of The Free Library of Philadelphia, Maternity Care Coalition, The Philadelphia School, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, The Wilma Theater, and The Philadelphia Film Society. Ms. Dichter is a frequent speaker and consultant on the digital divide. She is a full-time, unpaid chief executive of the organization, responsible for strategic direction, partnership development, finance, and Board and public relations. Vasil J. Pappas, Jr. MBA, founder of Precision Media Works, a Philadelphia-area producer of print and electronic communications. He is the former vice president and general manager of United Press International's business news and financial information division, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, and the founding editor of the National Business Employment Weekly. He is an officer and board member of the Harvard Business School Alumni Association. As COO, Mr. Pappas is responsible for strategic planning, security, and oversight of Generations on Line service. Michael Pierce, M.Div., Director of Training and Service, has been in computer technology and training for 17 years, with a multigenerational focus. As the Director for Information Technology for the Association for Education of Young Children, a nonprofit youth agency, and a Pastor, Michael brings the unique combination of training and counseling, troubleshooting and communication to seniors. He holds a BS in Religion & Philosophy with a Minor in Computer Science and a Masters of Divinity. Mr. Pierce serves current clients with the GoL Help Desk, conducts training seminars, publishes the GoL bulletin, and creates the software for special projects. He is a recognized speaker at national aging network meetings. Katie Burke, M.B.A., Administrator, Formerly with Chilton Research Services, as market research project director. She holds a B.S. with concentration in marketing from Villanova University and an MBA from Villanova University. An active community volunteer, Katie has chaired and coordinated events and raised significant funding for a range of church, school, health and childcare projects. Ms. Burke manages project flow, database, client relations and market research.
*USA* John
Beilenson *H.E.
Broadbent, Ph.D. Humphrey
Chen Adrienne Cohen, B.S. Debbie Ellen Dalecki, MSW, Doctoral candidate, abd, Individual and Family Studies with a concentration in Gerontology, University of Delaware Resident Services Coordinator, Ingleside Retirement Apartments, Ingleside Homes, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware *Tobey
Gordon Dichter Brian Duke Cecilia Garcia, Benton Foundation Senior Advisor, B.A. *Kathy Gosliner M.B.A.; M.Ed. Anne
Hagele Kathryn Jedrziewski, Ph.D. Jeremy
Kramer *Michael Marcus, Ph.D. ABD, MSW Co-founder and Creative Director of Jay Social Web Design firm *Bruce
Melgary David
Nevison Sandra Raghu Grahame Richards, J.D. Project Coordinator National Association for Hispanic Elderly
*Sean
Wechter Ann
Wrixon
Generations on Line is committed to protecting and ensuring the privacy of people using the Generations on Line web-based software. The following describes the steps we take to carry out this commitment. Information Collection and Use Generations on Line (GoL) software does not collect, store or dispense individually identifiable information about its users. Our registration form requires only facilities to provide contact information which allows GoL to send administrators information and updates about GoL and our services. We use the IP address of a facility's computer(s) to verify that the facility subscribes to GoL and to help diagnose problems with our server or to administer our program. Generations on Line does not collect, and therefore does not intend to sell, rent or share information about individual users. It may collect aggregated data about application usage within the program to monitor traffic, better understand the needs of the users and thereby enhance our program. Registration In order to use the Generation on Line software, provided through the Internet, an institution must qualify as a setting where older people live or congregate. To do so, an administrator or representative of a facility must first complete the registration form. During registration, the administrator is required to provide contact information (such as name and email address). This information is used to contact the facility about the program, monitor its effectiveness and respond to future needs or requests. Public forums Individual postings within "Memories: Generation to generation" may be monitored to ensure that individuals users are not abusing the service by posting inappropriate or offensive messages. Individual users posting such messages may be barred from the service. Individual users posting to "Memories, Generation to generation" should be advised that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information, and users should exercise caution when deciding to disclose personal information. Links The Generations on Line program contains links to other sites. GoL cannot be responsible for the content or the privacy practices employed by other sites. Surveys From time to time our program may request information from users for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of this program. Participation in these surveys is completely voluntary. Security The GoL web-based software has password protected security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control.
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your dealings with Generations on Line, please contact: Generations
on Line Administration Center Tobey
Dichter, CEO Katie
Burke, Administrator VJ Pappas,
COO Michael
H. Pierce, Director of Training
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. With directions on every screen, no need to remember the instructions. With simple language in large type and age-friendly icons, practice in simulation offline, the older and wiser learn in a safe and comfortable space. Once comfortable, new users go directly online within the tutorial.
have become essential in reconnecting the generations. 
. Interests don’t change just because we add years to our lives. These exciting new tools and searching the web enable older adults to pursue life long learning, hobbies, and connections with family, friends, and the world around them.
history.
After school classes of 9 and 10-year old students, under a
teacher's supervision ask questions about the past, in four
categories: Origins and History; Inventions and Transportation;
Sports and Entertainment; and "When you were my age." The responses
by seniors are manually filtered each day; the teacher guidelines
and categories are based on Fourth grade studies. The children
involved with the program to date have been enormously interested.
They are guided by a well developed curriculum to first think
about older people, discuss their impressions, perceptions,
and biases. 
returned
in simple responses. Because the program is web-based, the users
are connected and linked to the full World Wide Web. The multilingual
search has empowered immigrant populations, like 73-year-old
Gin Qao, who spoke no English, but reads China News online every
day for two hours; and Spanish, Russian and other Asian immigrants
seeking ties and information. 
1-step
registration, guidance and directions on every page, reminders
how to make the "@" sign, and the concept that email is more
like an old fashioned post card than a private letter. Each
user has his/her own email address and can received email on
any computer in any library or facility that subscribes to Generations
on Line. The current version also accepts family pictures; it
does not allow for internet photographs or other attachments,
to prevent viruses and unwieldy downloads on public computers.
popular
websites for the elderly. These include newspapers from around
the world, clean health portals, and senior entitlement pages.
