ICT Learning for Older Adults

The continuous evolution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) causes the need for people to acquire ever higher levels of digital literacy in order to maintain their sense of inclusion, especially the older adult population. It can be argued that digital literacy is a set of skills associated with the use of ICT that each individual must develop in order to function in a computerized society. The purpose of this research is to describe the experiences, needs and learning styles of older adults (over 60) who participated in Digital Literacy Workshops - both face-to-face and mixed. This study had the participation of 98 adults aged 60 or over, including 72 women (68.5 ± 6.9) and 26 men (73.3 ± 7.4). The results reveal that the learning needs of the participants are related to the constant practice, usefulness and perceived ease of use of new technologies. On the other hand, the learning style most adopted by older adults is multimodal (69%), which means that they process information in more than one way. In addition to the fact that their learning processes are related to their life experiences, it is necessary to apply different teaching methods in the instruction of older adults.