Error Recovery

"Error recovery first" is a relatively simple method: before introducing a new feature, we demonstrate how to recover from mistakes. This is always the backbone of our cycle because it takes the pressure off. We establish that mistakes are normal and that you can undo things. This approach is a great fit for community tech work with older adults, where confidence grows once safety is clear.

Error recovery is the idea that if you teach how to "undo" a mistake first, it takes off a lot of pressure, so we like to teach this first to show our seniors that the internet isn't such a complex scary place. What this looks like in our classes is teaching opposite interactions, we teach undo and redo, simple things like that so that our seniors always have a backbone if things go south. Personally I've seen the difference that this makes in our seniors myself, when we teach them how to fix their mistakes it leads them to be so much more comfortable, and it lets them take more "risks" (even though they're not actual risks, but it may seem like that to them) because they always are able to fall back on our error recovery lesson.

You may think that this is a stereotype or hyperbole, but believe me, a lot of our seniors are scared of messing things up. We saw this and devised our plan to combat it; we employ this idea of error recovery mainly to overcome, or at least begin to overcome, these fears. Often, just the thought of having a backup plan is enough for people to try things on their own, allowing them to explore the internet freely and without fear of "breaking" something.

Our goal here is to begin to ease into the sense that this isn't something super complicated. We begin by opening up a task and demonstrating the specific control that we're trying to teach. Next, we make sure to teach them the "opposite" command just in case something goes wrong. Finally, we can establish a general understanding of how everyone is doing.

Error recovery is the most important factor in helping these seniors develop the idea that the internet isn't something to be scared of, but rather something that can be really helpful and simple at times.