The History of SeniorNet

SeniorNet is a San Francisco based nonprofit organization that began, in 1986, as a research project by Mary Furlong, a professor of educational technology at the University of San Francisco and the author of the book "Computers for Kids Over Sixty." Ms. Furlong, who has since started Third Age Media, a Web site for older adults, toured retirement communities with a computer in the trunk of her car. She found the residents both receptive and capable. 

Thus began a venture, funded by International Business Machines and other corporations, to teach technology to the elderly, using instructors of a similar age in a user friendly environment tailored to the adult learner. It was begun with five teaching sites and has since grown to over 220, serving 100,000 pupils in 35 states. The organization's latest venture is SeniorNet at Sea, where seniors cruising to such destinations as Alaska and Australia can mix education with pleasure to assure that they are not "being left by the side of the road on the information superhighway". 

The SeniorNet Learning Center of Poughkeepsie was founded in the Spring of 1998. Our sponsors were IBM, who provided funds for staff training and the purchase of computers, and Family Services, Inc., who provided us with a classroom. Two Introduction to Computer classes were taught that first season. We have grown considerably since that time, and currently offer over 50 classes a year on a variety of subjects, including Computer Fundamentals, Word Processing, Windows, Manage Your Finances, E-mail and the Internet, AOL and Advanced AOL, Computer Safety and Security, Graphics, Genealogy, and Digital Imaging. Our Learning Center is completely staffed by non-paid volunteers, which currently number over 60. While the Learning Center receives continuing assistance from the Family Partnership Center through our classroom and other support services, the only source of direct funding is class fees. This funding allows us to upgrade our hardware as newer and faster computers are needed, and to provide teaching materials. The national SeniorNet organization, as supported by your membership payment, also provides us with varied assistance, such as software upgrades and teaching materials. The Center is still growing, and learning, and is looking forward to continuing its role in helping older adults to become members of the computer generation.

Last Updated by Alan Eisenstein on: