Supporting and sustaining effective use of ICT in later life

Supporting and sustaining effective use of ICT in later life

David Sloan@sloandr

20 de Abril 2012Congreso Internacional sobre

Inclusión Digital y AprendizajeMadrid

Overview

• The importance of supporting ICT use by older people

• Difficulties experienced by older ICT users• Best practices in designing for older people• Challenges for digital content providers

David Sloan, 20 April 2012 2

It’s nice to be here!

http://goo.gl/hIIm

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Older ICT users:a significant population!

Population increase in UK – projections for mid 2008-2033Source: Office of National Statistics

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Use of ICT by older people

• 4 million Internet users in UK aged over 65; 1.3 million new users since 2009

• Over-65s “fastest growing Facebook user group”

• 20% of new iPad users are over 55

Figures quoted with reference to original sources in: Getting On - A manifesto for older people in a networked nation (Race

Online 2012)

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Opportunities ICT brings older people

• Mobility Barriers eased• Cost savings• Wellbeing• Independence

From: Getting On - A manifesto for older people in a networked nation (Race Online 2012)

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But – non-use is still an issue• Reasons for Internet non-use amongst retired people in UK

(source Oxford Internet Survey 2011)

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# Never used Gave up using

1 Just not interested Just not interested

2 Do not know how to use Computer no longer available

3 Not for people of my age Not for people of my age

4 Computer no longer available

Never figured it out

5 Too expensive Privacy worries

Profiling typical older ICT users?

Photo credit: Chris Spencer

http://goo.gl/1e8JB

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Age-related factors affecting ICT use

• Chronological age is not a reliable indicator of capability or performance.

• Also consider:– Capability (and related accessibility issues) – Aptitude (technology experience)– Attitude (anxiety, perseverance)

Chisnell and Redish (2004) Designing Web sites for Older Adults: Expert review of Usability for Older adults at

50 web sites.

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Ability and age-related capability change

Capability issues are highly individual and dynamic, in terms of:– The resulting accessibility issue(s) a person may

have– The way in which these issues were acquired– The rate that these issues change in severity– The impact of these issues individually and in

combination

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Age-related capability change

1. Sensory: Vision, Hearing2. Motor: Dexterity3. Cognitive– Fluid intelligence (relating to processing and

reasoning, aptitude for learning, working memory, visual attention)

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Age-related capability change

• Some capabilities are less prone to decline over time:– Crystallised intelligence – knowledge acquired

through learning and life experience– May help explain older people’s relatively high

success levels in ill-defined search tasks

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Attitude and aptitude

Could be affected by:•Current technology– Complexity and change

•Support networks– Availability of help

•Life experience – Education– Technology generations

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Technology generations

Lim (2010) Designing inclusive ICT products for older users: taking into account the technology generation effect

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Designing usable ICT for older people

• Following principles of inclusive design• Lots of guidelines!– From gerontechnology research studies– From usability/human computer interaction

research– From web standards/web accessibility

• Sometimes there’s conflict…

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Some clarity - from W3C WAI-AGE

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http://www.w3.org/WAI/older-users/

Some research and development challenges

• How can we better develop and provide ICT that is sensitive to the needs of an ageing population?

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Special technology? Or raise expectations of usability

• Some commercial ICT products focus on providing “simplified computers”

• But when will YOU decide you need a simplified computer?

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“tout-et-un” Ordissimo tactile 24”

Challenges for user profiling and older ICT users

• Attitude to and awareness of impairments– Self-denial, assumption of others’ perceptions of

one’s capabilities– Result may be rejection of accessibility solutions

• A “Hierarchy of impairments” – means reducing cognitive demand most important?

• Collaborative use of ICT:– Whose accessibility needs are accommodated?

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User-centred ICT research with older people

• Involve older people in ICT policy, research and development activity

• But may need to modify Human-Computer Interaction activities:– Methods– Time, location, study materials– Managing expectations of research outcomes

• Be aware of limits of applying results of a specific study to “older people” in general

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Sustaining ICT use over time

• Strong government focus on “Getting older people online”

• But how do we limit disengagement with and abandonment of ICT by older people?

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Example: SUS-IT project• Developing an adaptation framework to

accommodate dynamic capability change– Giving the right help at the right time

• Approach:1. Monitor user activity2. Identify potential signs of difficulty3. Propose (or automatically apply) relevant adaptations4. Enable undo and redo

http://sus-it.lboro.ac.uk/

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Entertainment? Or saving lives?

• Perceptions of older people on ICT and quality of life – having fun rather than surviving!

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Example: Worthplay project

• 2011-2013 – CSIC funded project between UPF, IIIA-CSIC, Dundee, Agora, Wake Studios

• What makes digital games worth playing by older people?– Ethnographic study of older people as digital game

players– Participatory design, development and evaluation

of a novel digital game

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Innovation in usable interface design

• Taking advantage of the crystallised knowledge of older web users

• User interface paradigms and metaphors that are recognisable and appropriate

• Help and error recovery more tailored to techniques used by older ICT users

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ICT for older people: a tool for social inclusion!

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Summary• Older ICT users are not a homogeneous group– may have accessibility needs – but may not know it or have

the appropriate technology

• Follow inclusive design guidelines…focus on reducing cognitive demand on browsing

• Focus on quality of user experience rather than just “solving accessibility problems”– Involve older people in a user-centered design process

• Look at the opportunities of new ICTs• And remember…

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…we are designing for our future selves!

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Acknowledgments• Sergio Sayago, Alan Newell, Peter Gregor, Paula

Forbes, Anna Dickinson, Vicki Hanson (photos; inspiration, insight from ethnography with older web users)

• The Dundee User Centre – the real experts!• Prof Leela Damodaran and Wendy Olphert (SUS-IT

project )

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GRACIAS!

email: dsloan@computing.dundee.ac.uktwitter: @sloandr

blogs: www.58sound.com --- blog.dundee.ac.uk/eaccessibilitywork: www.dmag.org.uk --- www.computing.dundee.ac.uk

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