Seniors enjoy simplicity of the Internet
By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

John Darnall knows how to get around on the Internet. He's been researching his family's genealogy for years.

But when it comes to using the word processing program or any of the other more basic functions on his laptop computer, the 94-year-old Camarillo resident said he needs a little help.

To learn to navigate the world of computers, Darnall is one of a growing number of seniors who take part in free computer classes held in the senior center at the Camarillo Community Center.

"They are very beginning classes for seniors that want to learn the basics of turning on the computer, using the computer and manipulating the mouse," said Jane Raab, interim director of the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District.

Darnall, who brings his own laptop to the class, is considered one of the more advanced students.

Raab said the point of the program is to help make seniors more comfortable with the computer "so they know it's not a foreign object."

Made possible through a partnership between the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District and the Camarillo Council on Aging, the classes offer basic instruction about the ins and outs of personal computers.

To better serve the growing number of seniors who want to learn about computers, the Camarillo Council on Aging recently took possession of six computers donated by Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long.

Walt Robbins, chair of the Camarillo Council on Aging, said he wrote to the supervisor's office explaining that class size was limited because the senior center only had four computers for instruction.

There is a waiting list to join the program, according to park district officials.

Through a deal between Long's office and the Ventura County Agency on Aging, the senior center received the halfdozen computers to expand their program.

The computers currently in the class are seven years old and are not Internet capable.

Robbins said he will look at the recently donated computers to determine if they are Internet ready. If they are, he said, the computer classes will include lessons on surfing the Web.

That's a plus, Raab said, for most seniors, who realize the Internet is an easy way to stay connected with family members, especially grandchildren.

"It's a very relaxed atmosphere, and they're not highly technical, and that appeals to a lot of people. It does to me," Darnall said of the classes. "They make it easy for you."

Classes are Mondays at 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. and Tuesdays at 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. They are held in the senior center at the Camarillo Community Center, 1605 E. Burnley St.

For more information, call (805) 482-4881.