Free Program Toolkit: Teaching Older Adults and Seniors How to Listen to Podcasts
Back in April of 2019, I put the word out on Twitter that I wanted to teach seniors how to listen to podcasts while I was home in Maryland for a month. The lovely folks at the Carroll County Public Library answered the call and arranged for me to teach a dozen seniors at a retirement home in Westminster. The session went really well, and I’ve been meaning ever since to put together a little toolkit of handouts and tips for anyone else who wants to try the same thing. A little belated, but here it is. I also think these materials will be useful for teaching adult learners of any non-digital-native-age how to listen to podcasts.
Why Teach Older Adults and Seniors How to Listen to Podcasts?
Increasingly, seniors own and use smart-phones. These folks grew up listening to radio. They have time on their hands. Why not? I taught my mom how to find and listen to podcasts a few years ago, and she has become quite the podcast consumer. Often what’s holding older adults and seniors back from enjoying podcasts is just a very small technology barrier, but as podcasts become more popular, apps are getting easier and easier to use. And now, all phones come with either Apple or Google Podcasts pre-installed.
Suggestions for Teaching Older and Adults and Seniors How to Listen to Podcasts
When I led the Carrol County session at a retirement home, there were just over a dozen seniors who had expressed interest. They were asked to bring their smart phone or tablet if they had one. Those who didn’t were able to use some educational iPads that the retirement home provided. I was helped by a few librarians who were interested in repeating the workshop at their branches. It’s a good idea to have a few “floaters” who can check in on folks and help them as one person guides the group through the app.
We arranged everyone in a circle and I used a microphone (important so you don’t have to repeat yourself as often), to explain briefly what a podcast was, what kinds of shows there were out there (every topic), and what we were going to teach them. But first I asked if anyone already knew what a podcast was and complimented those who did on being tech savvy. It’s very important when teaching any tech-thing to be very encouraging and acknowledge that it can be very confusing for anyone.
After some research and playing with different apps, I believe Stitcher is the best app to use for this kind of workshop/seminar. It’s super easy to use, and it can be used on any smart phone and a desktop computer (the latter without downloading any programs).
I prepared handouts with clear step-by-step instructions for Stitcher on a computer, Stitcher App, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. These will be linked below. If anyone was already using Apple or Google, I gave them the appropriate handouts. Otherwise they got the Stitcher one that matched their device.
Crucially, the instructions I gave matched the handouts so that they could refer back to them later and not get confused by any contradictions. I would recommend doing the same thing. Going step by step as a group and referring to the handout so folks know where to look if they’ve forgotten.
I used my own podcast, Museums in Strange Places, as the example for them to all find and subscribe to together. Use whatever show you like, but I found it helpful for everyone to try one show together.
Then, it was about helping them discover what shows to listen to. I put together a long list of shows they might like organized by topic. I’ve included that as a Word document in the Toolkit so you can add and edit as you need. Because these folks in my workshop were from the Greater DC area, a lot of them wanted to listen to Diane Reams and Kojo Namdi. So we helped them locate those. If there are popular public radio shows in your area, they are probably also in podcast form. You might also look for some shows about your sports teams or local history to add to the list.
We also asked folks what they were interested in or what celebrities they liked. Today, almost everyone has a podcast. So if they like Oprah, look for her podcast, if they like a newscaster, they probably are on a podcast. If they like a sports team, there’s probably a show about that team. Ask them about interests, like cars or knitting or British history or true crime and help them type those in the search bar. Some folks may even be adventurous and want to try audio dramas! If they are older, they may have grown up listening to fictional radio programs, so the new audio fiction shows could be a fun thing to explore.
[I had one tech-savvy gentleman at the workshop ask about making his own podcast! For that, I gave him a copy of my book, Your Museum Needs a Podcast. It’s aimed at museums, history organizations, and other cultural nonprofits, but it’s the simplest comprehensive set of instructions out there for lost cost podcasting.]
The Toolkit
I’ve included PDF handouts and a Word Doc version of the Podcast Recommendations handout in a Google Drive folder. You are free to download these, print as needed, put them on slides, do whatever you want. My company logo is on them as attribution and I always appreciate a shoutout for my podcast, Museums in Strange Places. If you want to add to any worksheets or see edits/improvements that you want to help make, I’m happy to make those or send you the Word doc versions so you can update them (just please leave attribution on them). Just send me an email for any requests, questions, or comments: https://www.betterlemonaudio.com/contact
More Suggestions/Caveats
I’ve written this with US museums and libraries, etc in mind. If you are in the UK, Stitcher probably won’t work as well since a lot of British shows aren’t on there.
Depending on your audience, you may want to consider teaching folks how to use Spotify to listen to podcasts, but I don’t think it’s likely that many older folks will have that app already on their device.
If you do work up any extra handouts using my model or otherwise and want to share in the toolkit, I’m more than happy to include extras with your attribution. Please just get in touch. And if you use this tool kit, please do let me know how it goes.
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Thinking of starting a podcast at your cultural nonprofit? You came to the right place.
Better Lemon Creative Audio is the podcast production company of Hannah Hethmon. We specialize in all things podcasting and creative audio for museums, history organizations, and other cultural nonprofits. At Better Lemon, you’ll get personal, tailored services and advice from folks who understand the challenges facing GLAM organizations.
