Now most people are enjoying “smart life” like online shopping, online registering and mobile payment, but a large number of the aged are confronted with “digital gaps”. Since the beginning of this summer holiday, Haiyan College (Haiyan Radio and TV College) of Open University for the Elderly of Zhejiang has taken initiative measures to conduct technological training in communities, rural cultural auditoriums, etc., on how the aged use smart phones to build a bridge over the “digital gap”, and till now more than 8,500 of the elderly have benefited from the training.

At present, the county has established a three-level intelligent technology promotion network for the elderly with the College as the core, branch schools of the College of nine towns ( sub-districts) as the framework and teaching spots of each village (community) of the College as the base. Backed up by “1+9 Open Education Community for the Elderly”, 56 long-term classes for the aged have been set up in all nine towns and sub-districts of the county since 2022. Meanwhile, the College has cooperated closely with local large enterprises to establish “Zhongda Training Class” and “Nuclear Power Training Class” for the aged to extend the intelligent technology training for the elderly to enterprises.

In order to help the aged to take the home-based study of intelligent technologies in the summer vacation, the College conducted the training online eight times on the live streaming platform “Haixuehui” for the elderly to meet their desire to learn smart phone applications at home, benefiting 1,165 elderly people. For example, 42 ones of Wuyuan Sub-district have received the textbook “Daily Digital Life Application Technologies for the Elderly” compiled by the College and learned how to make a reservation registration, etc. “In the digital age, seniors can’t get ‘off line’ ”, Zhang Guobao, a senior citizen, said with a smile.

Conducted by the College and the Community Education Center of Wuyuan Sub-district respectively, “Digital Training for the Elderly in Cultural Auditoriums” and “Basic Knowledge Training of Smart Phones and Use of WeChat App” have been recommended respectively as one of the quality education training projects and quality courses of “Helping the Aged” Project of the Ministry of Education of the P.R.C. in 2022.