Recently, GRAND Magazine had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Rick Phillips, Ph.D. founder of The Digital Middle Age.
GRANDMagazine: Dr. Phillips please tell us about The Digital Middle Age.
Dr. Phillips: Oh please, it’s Rick. My wife is a Radiologist, she’s the real doctor. I’m just a Middle-Age geek.
GRANDMagazine: OK Rick, please tell us about The Digital Middle Age.
Rick: It refers to the terrible gap which exists between ownership and utilization of digital technology by people of middle age. People of my age often have the means to put an entire array of nice toys in their proverbial digital toy box. Unfortunately, most of these devices go terribly underutilized because their owners just don’t know how to properly use them.
GRANDMagazine: So what’s the solution?
Rick: Well, training of course. But not just any training. Adult learners expect their training to come to them in a more refined format. It needs to get right to the point and provide real world, day-to-day benefits without a bunch of jargon or wasted time.
GRANDMagazine: Sounds interesting, what are the options?
Rick: The digitalmiddleage.com has just released an entry-level course entitled “Fundamental Computer Skills for the Digital Middle Age” which aims to provide just this type of training. The course was just released in early June and we already have learners from 70 countries. We’re really very proud of it and the impact it is having on the world. So far all of our reviews have been 5-of-5 putting us in pretty rarified air.
GRANDMagazine: What about the cost and time commitments?
Rick: The course runs about 2¼ hours and is divided up into a number of online, video-based sections each of which can be viewed independently and reviewed as many times as the learner wishes. As to cost, the goal was always real simple – keep it affordable so we reach as many people as possible. We’re offering the course for just $20.
This concludes the first portion of our interview with Dr. Phillips. Stay tuned for Dr. Phillips’ discussion of The Digital Middle Age’s upcoming course entitled “From Photo to DVD – Preserving those Precious Memories.”
Watch this video and then click here so you don’t get left behind.
The Digital Middle Age provides high quality, online technology training to middle-aged individuals seeking to more effectively connect and communicate with their children and grandchildren via technology. Courses run about an hour, contain numerous real-world examples, are free of techno-jargon and cost only $20-25. Click here to learn more or reserve your space.
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Are you able to effectively utilize Skype, Facebook and email?
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Do you know how to best save, touch-up, and then build slideshows from your digital photos?
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Can you convert your old dusty analog photos and videos into entertaining DVDs to be enjoyed by family and friends for generations to come?
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Are you able to safely surf the internet without fear of hackers or viruses ?
- Do you keep your household budget on an electronic device?
If you answered “no” to any of the above, Dr. Phillips can help you. Click here to turn those “no’s” into “yes’s”.
About the Author
I received my Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in Visual Psychophysics with a minor in Computer Science. I worked my entire professional career within the computer industry specializing in relational database design and large-scale international databases.
Right out of school I went to work for VeriFone the credit card people as a programmer. I started as employee #36 but saw the company grow to thousands of employees and billions in revenue. At the time of my departure from VeriFone, I was their Database Design Manager and oversaw a very large technical staff.
I subsequently served as MIS Manager for Family Health International, Database Manager for A4 Health Systems, and CTO for Castle Worldwide. I retired from Castle in 2014 at the age of 55.
Since retirement I have been searching for a means to keep my hands in technology and teaching through Udemy has provided an excellent venue for me in that respect. I enjoy creating the courses and interacting with the students.
I am a huge advocate of life-long learning and love this opportunity to share that passion with others.