INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightsmartphonelessons.net/YouTubeImage caption
Five lessons a week are posted to YouTube
Senior citizens in Israel stuck in their homes by the Covid-19 epidemic are taking advantage of an online course on how to use smartphones
to overcome social isolation.Three technology innovators set up the free lessons, which begin by explaining how the WhatsApp video and Zoom
video-conferencing apps can help keep in touch with families and friends all over the world, The Times of Israel news site reports.Two of
the course founders - Gabi Arnovitz and Uriel Shuraki - were already running classes in person on smartphone use for the elderly in and
around Jerusalem when Covid-19 hit, then Uriel's cousin David Suraqui joined them to devise the online course, which Gabi narrates.All three
work from home to post five video lessons a week to YouTube, each lasting three to seven minutes, and accessible via WhatsApp.'A whole
curriculum'The clips show a phone screen and a moving cursor, while Gabi explains exactly what he is doing to install and operate apps
The initiative has already met with considerable success, as more than a thousand people have signed up for the course in a fortnight.Many
of the early joiners were from the Jerusalem area, but as news of the course spread people started signing up from Dimona in the south to
Haifa in the north."We have a whole curriculum, from WhatsApp and Facebook to Google Drive - we already have four WhatsApp groups, and we
keep opening more," Gabi Arnovitz told The Times of Israel.You may also be interested in:As to whether the remote lessons work, the team
says they tried a test by sending out two Zoom invitations to use the application
A total of 75 people joined up on the first invitation, and another 90 on the second."We talked and it was incredible!" said Gabi, adding
that many of the pensioners plan to see each other in person once the lockdown ends: "This is creating a community - people are saying
they'd like to meet when they finish."The course is only available in Hebrew at present, but there are plans to launch an English-language
version soon.Image copyrightsmartphonelessons.netImage caption
The course explains app use and security
Reporting by Martin MorganNext story: Icelanders lend sick farmers a helping hand
