• Free AARP TEK Workshops with translation support expanding to more cities in 2015
AARP TEK offered free, hands-on digital device workshops with translation support in Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Hindi, and Korean in San Diego as part of its Ideas@50+ National Event and Expo. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
WASHINGTON, DC — More than 300 people attended workshops designed for Chinese, Filipino and other Asian American and Pacific Islander communities on how to use personal technology at a recent “ideas exposition” in San Diego, California.
AARP TEK (Technology Education and Knowledge), a comprehensive technology education program specifically geared towards older adults 50 and older and aimed at closing the technology gap, held the workshops at the retired persons’ organizations’ Ideas@50+ National Event and Expo.
The workshops were held in English with translation support available in Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Hindi and Korean.
As with the inaugural translation-supported workshops delivered in Boston earlier this year, the San Diego workshops were offered at no charge.
As AARP TEK continues to provide more workshops with translation support, AARP trainers are learning how to better present and integrate multilingual content and materials within the program to better serve Chinese, Filipino and other AAPI communities.
“After the hands-on training, the smartphone was no longer as intimidating or irrelevant to their lives,” said Daphne Kwok, AARP Vice President of Multicultural Markets and Engagement, Asian American and Pacific Islander Audience.
“Transformations were occurring in the two-hour session as participants learned basic tools to stay connected with family and friends, including how to Skype, text, send emails, take photos and ‘selfies,’ use maps and more,” Kwok reported. “A 95-year-old Chinese American woman traveled from Los Angeles to join us! What great spirit!”
AARP TEK offered six free workshops at the San Diego Convention Center, the CCBA Senior Gardens (Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association) in San Diego, and the Loma Verde Center in Chula Vista.
This year, AARP TEK has visited seven cities—Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Jacksonville, New York, San Antonio and San Diego—with the intent to expand significantly in 2015.
Sessions being offered include “Intro to Tablets & Smartphones” and “Staying Connected with Apps,” among others.
Additional information on AARP TEK workshops and online tools and resources can be found at www.aarp.org/aarptek.