How do you get granny and grandpa into electronic shape? You send them to Bootcamp.

As one of the programmes under the Silver Infocomm Initiative (SII), IDA has partnered with Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC), People’s Association Active Ageing Council (PAAAC) and 15 schools to jointly organise the third Constituency Intergenerational IT Bootcamp from 17 to 20 March 2014. More than 300 seniors aged 50 and above were aided by student “cyberguides” to learn IT skills.

Workshops were held in English and Mandarin at the 15 schools, with topics like basic computer usage and surfing the Internet, eEntertainment such as online music, videos and games, social networking and sourcing for online health tools. The senior participants were either grandparents of the students or active seniors from five Community Clubs (CCs) in Tampines GRC, who were given one-on-one student tutoring in learning IT skills.

Madam Lai Yau Ngoh attended the Bootcamp with her grandson at East Spring Primary School. The 67-year-old had never used a computer before, but she already had an inkling of its usefulness. “I can put up pictures and find movies,” she suggested when asked how she would use the Internet. “I can find what I want to buy – if I need a bag, or clothes, I won’t have to walk around to shop.”

Her 12-year-old grandson, Koh Shin Kiat, found teaching the older generation relatively easy, despite having to translate English terms into Mandarin for her. “I used the dictionary in my phone, and then explained it,” he said. “She’s a good student, and focuses when I’m talking. She tries her best when I ask her to do something.”

It is early days yet, but Madam Lai intends to brush up on her English and eventually hopes to keep in contact with her friends electronically.

Mr Heng Swee Kiat, Minister for Education and Adviser for Tampines GRC Grassroots Organisations, toured some of the Bootcamp sites on 19 March 2014. He commended the scheme. “We need to create many more opportunities for senior citizens to lead active, healthy lives, and have a spirit of learning, regardless of age and education.”

Such an attitude, he noted, will create a more vibrant society, giving citizens a fuller life.

Jonathan Soh, a 14-year-old student from Dunman Secondary School, guided a 74-year-old man in setting up email and Facebook accounts. “My teacher told me about the Bootcamp, so I volunteered,” he explained. It was slow-going as English was an “alien” to the senior citizen, but with patience, he learnt how to set up his own Facebook account. “He’s now busy playing Candy Crush,” said Jonathan.

Keesha Maria Shakur was apprehensive about helping someone more conversant in Mandarin to pick up computer skills, but the 14-year-old student from Dunman Secondary School figured the experience would be handy if she had to teach her own grandmother. It turned out that playing a teacher role rather than a student was fun, and the senior coped “much better than I expected”, learning how to set up her own Facebook account.

50-year-old cashier Ms Doris Poon, heard about the Bootcamp from her Residents’ Committee (RC). She had played some games and watched some videos online, but needed other people to access the materials for her, and she wanted to learn how to work it out herself. “My friends were asking me, ‘Why can’t we find your Facebook account?’” After attending the Bootcamp, she is now connected and contactable via social media. “Now I know how to take photos and put them up on Facebook,” she said, brandishing her account on her handphone. “The student told me, next time when I have a nice dinner, I can take a picture and put it up.”