The DOI matches its Crossref record; 60 of the 60 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Teaching digital literacy skills to the elderly using a social network with linear navigation: A case study in a rural area
Open accessAbstract
Abstract Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have considerably increased the information and communication channels, favoring the emergence of new models for social relations, such as social networks. However, for elderly users whose learning has traditionally been based on linear models of information such as textbooks, unfamiliarity with Internet can be a barrier. Moreover, elderly people living in rural communities face a lack of telecommunication infrastructures, which increases their difficulties in accessing ICTs. The aim of this study is to test a social network consisting of multiple applications with linear navigation as a digital literacy method for the elderly in rural areas. A sample of 46 participants between 60–76 years old with heterogeneous previous experience with ICTs participated in the study. They performed eight standardized sessions in an Elderly Leisure Center. Results showed differences in perceived usefulness between users with high and low ICT experience. After eight training sessions, the majority of the participants were able to independently use all the system applications, and positive results were obtained on the variables measured, i.e., learnability, sense of control over the system, ability to use the system, orientation, efficiency, accessible design, perceived ease, perceived usefulness, and intention to use. The participants with previous experience with other ICT methods preferred the linear navigation method because they thought it was easier than other ICTs. The results showed interaction differences when touch screens were used. Qualitative results showed that one of the most frequent emotions at the beginning of the ICT sessions was “fear” (related to breaking the computer or to making fools of themselves), but the continued use of the system improved the users’ perceptions of their own capacity to handle ICTs and their interest in ICTs in general. The main contribution of this work consists of exploring the usefulness of linear navigation and social network systems in the context of digital literacy for elderly users in rural areas.
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“elderly users show better performance on systems with linear navigation [32,46,47].”
From Designing ICTs for Users with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Usability Study (2020) · cites this paper as [32]
In the citing paper
“The results showed differences between the present study and the findings obtained from previous research with the same web design but a different population (i.e., people without cognitive impairment) [32,46].”
From Designing ICTs for Users with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Usability Study (2020) · cites this paper as [32]
In the citing paper
“All the items were obtained from a previous usability study with elderly users (see [32]).”
From Designing ICTs for Users with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Usability Study (2020) · cites this paper as [32]
In the citing paper
“The system has been developed following the guidelines of a software that has proven its usability with elderly users using linear navigation [32,46,59].”
From Designing ICTs for Users with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Usability Study (2020) · cites this paper as [32]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Castilla, D., Botella, C., Miralles, I., Bretón-López, J., Dragomir-Davis, A. M., Zaragoza, I., & Garcia-Palacios, A.
- Affiliations
- Universitat Jaume I (ES)
- University of Houston (US)
- Corresponding author
- Castilla, Diana
- Venue
- International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-10
- Volume
- 118
- Pages
- 24-37
- ISSN
- 1071-5819 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2805664907
- Semantic Scholar
- 20ad719ffb2238c4a728c16b4f56a565ad804917
- Cited by
- 159
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 9
- FWCI
- 21.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (publishedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Repositori UJI (Universitat Jaume I) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- Repository of Digital Objects for Teaching Research and Culture (University of Valencia) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Funders
- Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (PI13/00982)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Technology Use by Older Adults
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › ICT in Developing Communities
- Social Sciences › Education › Digital literacy in education
- Keywords
- digital literacy, older adults, rural elderly, social networks, ICT training, perceived usefulness, perceived ease, intention to use, accessible design, touch screen, technology anxiety
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