Teaching Older Adults

I've always enjoyed working with and teaching older adults.  I think that is one reason I've continued to offer courses through the University of Minnesota's OLLI.  OLLI, also known as the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, is a community of older adults looking to expand their knowledge and grow intellectually.  "Founded in 1995 as the Elder Learning Institute, OLLI at the U of M joined the national network of lifelong-learning institutes supported by the Bernard Osher Foundation in 2004. Today the organization has more than 1,200 dues-paying members and offers around 300 stimulating courses each year. OLLI course leaders come from a variety of backgrounds. Some are retired professors who are experts in their fields; others are people with a strong passion for particular subjects. All course leaders are eager to share their knowledge and love of learning with OLLI members. There are no tests and no grades—just the excitement of learning and discussing something new."  

Over the past several years, Minitex ROI has offered classes via OLLI, including topics like Web 2.0, Google, and of course, the Electronic Library for Minnesota.  Each course offers a chance for us to teach inquisitive adults about all of the amazing library resources that Minnesota has to offer like Minnesota Reflections, the MNLink Gateway, and ELM.  Unlike many younger learners, who are oftentimes required to attend class, the OLLI members are a refreshing group who are in class simply for the sake of learning.  As an instructor, teaching to a group of like-minded adults who are genuinely engaged with the course content is extremely rewarding.  If you're interested in reading more about Osher and lifelong learning, the New York Times recently published a web article at http://goo.gl/Ft6frx titled "Older Students Learn for the Sake of Learning," by Harriet Edleson.