Tech Tutors for Grandma
Teaching his grandmother how to text, use FaceTime and use apps on her cellphone inspired Kaden Macor, a junior at Notre Dame Preparatory in Scottsdale, to teach local residents at Vi Living at Silverstone how to use their electronic devices.
“My grandmother lives in Canada, so we don’t see her very often. She kept asking for help with her phone and her calendar,” Macor says. “I thought if she needed help, others might too so they can communicate with their kids and grandchildren.”
Kaden Macor assists Betty Zimmerman with her new camera.
Last September, Macor looked for a retirement community close to Notre Dame Prep that would allow him to come in and teach residents how to use their devices. He contacted Vi and set up his first class. The result was more than he had anticipated.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” he says.
When he arrived for the first time, 15 “students” were waiting for him. “I was surprised at how receptive and enthusiastic they were about learning,” Macor says.
He did his best to help all 15 people in the hour he was there. “He’s terrific,” says Vi resident Betty Zimmerman, who needed help with her new camera. “It’s very important for us to learn how to use these things.”
With demand high, it was apparent that Macor would need help if he was going to assist 15 or more people at each visit. NDP juniors Julian D’Aloia, 16, and John Byrne, 17, answered the call.
The Tech Tutors visit Vi twice monthly to hold classes and give one-on-one instruction on how to use anything from iPads and cellphones to digital picture frames and mobile printers. The boys formed immediate bonds with their senior students. “We established instant connections,” D’Aloia says. “We grew up with technology, and they didn’t. It’s cool to listen to their stories.”
Vi resident Mary Jo Brown needed help sending a message from her iPad. “I’m Technology 101 or less,” she says. “Julian was very patient, and he taught me how to text.” On Jan. 20, Brown sent her first-ever text message to her brother who lives part-time in Mesa and part-time in Boseman, Mont.
The residents were interested in learning to use Uber, Facebook and Twitter, and in playing games on their devices. Among the senior students, the most popular mobile games are bridge and Words with Friends.
“We taught a woman who was 102 years old how to play, and then she taught her friends,” Macor say. He has plans to expand Tech Tutors to other retirement communities in February.
Macor is looking for easygoing NDP students who are willing to help retirees set up and use their electronics. The boys say they try to remember the kindness their teachers show them and to teach the same way. “We have become the teachers, so we need to be patient and help those who have trouble with technology,” D’Aloia says.
Opened in 2002, Notre Dame Prep is a Catholic diocesan college preparatory high school with a co-ed enrollment of 932 students.
PHOTOS COURTESY NOTRE DAME PREPARATORY
