HUD - NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORKING FOR SENIORS IN MEMPHIS TENNESSEE

BACKGROUND

The MECCA K-12/Senior Connection

For the past year, MECCA has been working with both of the senior citizen sites named in this plan. Seniors from each of these locations were enrolled in a one week Summer Workshop (July 1995) with an equal number of K-12 teachers, which taught them how to use the computers and networked computers as communication devices. The primary objective of this program was to create an atmosphere of cooperation and communication between the teachers and seniors so that a project oriented network interface could be established between seniors and k-12 students in our community. The participants of this program learned to use e-mail, surf the World Wide Web (www), use Fetch (ftp), Telnet, and write hy pertext markup language scripts for information delivery via a web server.

In September 1995, a MacIntosh Performa, networked to the Internet via 14.4 Kbaud modem through the MECCA T1 connection directly to the MCI POP (Point of Presence) was connected at each senior site (P lough Towers and St. Peter Manor). Network connections are established using MacPPP to an asynchronous router (Cisco 2509) connected to the MECCA ethernet. Each participating senior has been provided with their own MECCA account which provides them with www server space and a server connection to the Internet. These computers are also equipped with a CD-ROM player, and ample hard disk space. Each computer came with numerous software volumes pre-installed. These include software such as Claris Works for word processing, spread-sheet utilization, database construction, Quicken for personal accounting, etc. In addition to the pre-installed software, public domain programs such as Fetch (Mac ftp), NCSA Telent, Netscape, NIH Image, POPmail have been added.

Weekly tutorial computer classes have been provided by the Co-Director of MECCA for the original participating seniors at each location. Additional seniors are being trained by the experienced seniors at each of these locations. With the current minimal facilities, it is necessary to limit instruction to two students (preferably one) per senior instructor. As a general rule, students are taught the basics of using the computer to navigate in www created cyberspace. Students who show more interest are continued in more advanced training. Those senior students who express an interest in working with children, and who are interested in continuing their computer training are provided with an e-mail account on the MECCA server, and they are taught to use various computer communication utilities.

Seniors at each of the above locations have produced web pages for each site as well as personal home pages which describes their own histories and interest. These seniors have also started communicating with K-12 youth in conjunction with other MECCA educational initiatives located at LeMoyne-Owen College with students from a variety of sources including the Boys and Girls Club of America, the Girls Academy at LeMoyne-Owen College (teenage girls from the LeMoyne Garden public housing area), WICS (Women and Infant Children Services), and ORDIS (One Room Drop In School) located in LeMoyne Gardens public housing. A MECCA computer classroom is located in the microcomputer lab at LeMoyne-Owen College. The MECCA classroom consist of ten MacIntosh Performa computers connected via ethernet to the campus backbone which, in turn, is connected to the Internet via a dedicated 56Kbaud line to the MCI POP. Two computers provided to the ORDIS program by MECCA are currently being networked via ISDN connections to the main computer center on the LeMoyne-Owen College campus.

Current and future MECCA programs for seniors include network connections to the Delta Area Agency on Aging to help provide networked senior citizen social service and volunteering information. Construction of networked computer resources at the Douglas Senior Citizen Center which will provide for senior training and a direct interface with K-12 students who attend the Cypress Middle School located with the Senior Citizen Center. Intergenerational activities will be enhanced by allowing these seniors to function as network navigators and guides through history for the students at Cypress Middle School. These seniors will be developing their own web presence for the Douglas Center, and they will also be using the network to communicate with students at other locations, and seniors who are already connected and those who will be connected via the Neighborhood Network programs.