Computer education and third age universities: a systematic review

Abstract

An aging population and a digital society are realities. There is a need to equip older people with knowledge and computer skills so that they can participate in society, without feeling excluded or being marginalized. Third age universities are organizations around the world that specialize in teaching and learning for senior students in a more informal and more integrated way than other educational institutions. The objective of this study was to identify the existing quality publications that deal with the subject of computer education at senior universities. The SCOPUS and Web of Science databases were used, and 18 records were found according to the adopted criteria. It was found that these articles, depending on their focus, can be divided into four groups: educators, organizations/directors, students, and conceptual/review papers. Through these articles, it was possible to draw a picture of what older people’s computer learning is like, what barriers exist for students to not be able to attend these classes, as well as tips on how courses should be organized and the pedagogical methodologies that must be adopted. It is intended that this article is used as a good tool for people who work in teaching information technology to the elderly, and especially for course directors who intend to create or reformulate courses of this type for this specific age group.