iPad for Dad, #1 – Getting the iPad Ready for Dad
If you like this post, read some of the other descriptions of our Father/Daughter iPad adventure. iPad for Dad, #1, iPad for Dad, #2, iPad for Dad, #3, iPad for Dad, #4, iPad for Dad, #5, iPad for Dad, #6, iPad for Dad, #7, iPad for Dad, #8, iPad for Dad, #9, iPad for Dad, #10, iPad for Dad, #11, iPad for Dad, #12, iPad for Dad, #13, iPad for Dad, #14, iPad for Dad, #15, iPad for Dad, #16, iPad for Dad, #17, iPad for Dad, #18, iPad for Dad, #19, and iPad for Dad, #20.
Today I purchased an iPad for my dad’s 87th birthday. I’ve played around and learned how to use it (very easy), and will deliver it to him tomorrow morning. I’ll report as soon as possible on how tomorrow’s first iPad lesson goes. Stay posted.
Applications that I downloaded:
- The New York Times
- WBGH Classical Music
- The Christian Science Monitor
- A newspapers app that allows my dad to choose newspapers by state
- An app called Free Books (lots of books out of copyright)
Books that I added:
- Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Cicero and some poetry
- The Bible and a Concordance (Dad is a retired minister.)
- Several Shakespeare plays
- John Milton
Bookmarks added:
- The Library of Congress
- Several magazine sites
- His colleges and graduate schools
- PBS news programs
- C-Span
- Washington National Cathedral
- The White House
- … and more
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Becoming A Grown-up Child…
One day in April 2007 my husband and I were the adult kids in our families — we are the only adult children
— and the next day we became what we laughingly call “real grown-ups,” helping first one, then two, and increasingly all three of our parents. It’s time to give back, and we do so willingly and happily. However the process is not easy, and it is not free from anxiety and tension. Check out the As Our Parents Age About page to learn more about the mission of this blog.
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As Our Parents Age by Marti Weston is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
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[...] for Dad, #3 If you like this posting, check out iPad for Dad, #1 and iPad for Dad, [...]
I am in the process of writing a review of the iPad for seniors and saw your post in Laurie Orlov’s Technology Watch, I agree this is a game changer – but still think there is a lot of room for improvement on the interface for seniors. A simple feature like being able to change the size of the icons (as opposed to the zoom feature) would be a big help. Apps like e-mail (great interface) could also use bigger icons within as well. I’ll include link on another comment when I post my review. Interested in any thoughts you would have on it.
- Michael
Hi Michael,
I am thrilled to hear about what you are doing! I agree with your comments and look forward to your review. In addition, one thing that is really needed for this age group is an old-fashioned users manual, or at least something that senior users can print out (preferably not with the words idiots or dummies in the title). I find my parents are great at following instructions, however they are a bit at sea when the expectation is the they will play around until they figure it out. This philosophy works for my generation but not theirs.
[...] posting on senior caregivers and potential iPad uses. As Our Parents Age has been featuring the iPad for Dad series over the past four months so other iPad information is always [...]
[...] (along with all of her other computer endeavors and now she is texting) and my Dad using his iPad (checkout my series iPad for Dad, now up to 13 installments) we are always in touch, and that’s [...]
I’m not 87 but I want one. This is a great device for reading just about anything. Would like it to be a little thinner though. It is one of the best selling products this year and ranked number one at http://www.casadegifts.com I would add the Skype app to your list of pre loaded software. Then you can stay connected.
[...] sat down with his iPad and wrote these thoughts about his time as a patient. You may also enjoy the iPad for Dad series on this blog. Read more of the Senior Parent Hospitalization series. [...]
[...] with all of her other computer endeavors and now she is even texting) and my Dad using his iPad (checkout my series iPad for Dad, now up to 13 installments), we are always in touch, and that’s [...]
[...] you like this post, and admire my dad’s advice, check out our iPad for Dad adventures featuring a retired minister/college professor and his adult daughter (who gave him the [...]