21st century is the Information Technology age where everything has something to do with computers. Then came the Internet which only needed a few years to change people's lifestyle. Imagine a few years ago, nobody knows about Google. But now, nearly everyone is using Google.

Except for some of the older generation people who are being left out. My parents, for example, are not computer-literate. My mum is a housewife whereas my dad used to be a banker who only knows how to use the bank software. Still, that does not mean they cannot learn about the latest technologies or even the simplest form of computer operations.

Here are some ways which I use to teach them.

Introduce the important parts of the computer

This is very important and must be the first thing you teach your parents especially if they are not familiar with a computer at all. Show them how to use keyboard and mouse, and how the mouse behaves on the screen. Also, tell them about the few important keypads such as the "enter", "delete", "spacebar" etc.

Help them set up

This is actually the simplest thing you can do. Help them to set up things such as email addresses and setting the default landing page to Google. These 2 will be useful enough for beginners like them. Also, explain to them what are the functions in the emails such as the Compose, or Inbox. If it's not about Internet, then it'll be helpful if you place "shortcuts" on the desktop. This is to save them the troubles of going through layers after layers of software in order to find something they need.

Write a guide

Prepare a step by step guide for a certain operation. Write these guides on a notepad so that they can access it easily. Label these guides accordingly too. Also, try to make the instructions as simple as possible and avoid using jargons such as "format" or "cache" or "cookies". You will be surprised how useful these guides will be to them, especially when you are not around.

Never be afraid

I think the most important lesson of them all is to teach them never to be afraid of technology. Let them do whatever they want with the computer and assure them that they will not screw up the system. Be brave to explore and play around. However, you must also ensure you do not teach them things like "Shift + Delete" or assign them an Administrator account. That way, you can still save your files and system in case they do something wrong.

Get reading resources

Last but not least, find and buy those simple books on computers and Internet. I recently bought a few Dummies book for my father since he's interested to learn. It does help him a lot since he can go through all the steps in the book during his free time. Some of the books are not cheap, but I feel they are worth the price I'm paying for them.

Remember, be patience. It's hard for them to embrace such drastic changes in technology but it'll be even harder for them if you don't help them out. Guide them slowly and I'm sure they will be able to find their ways sooner or later. Good luck.