OpenIDEO - Idea: ‪Gamifying Digital Literacy for Older Adults to Increase Autonomy‬

Ask Mabel is a playful SMS based subscription service that sends bite-sized lessons to older adults who wish to learn basics about digital technology. As per a study done by Pew Research Center, it was discovered that close to 2 out of 3 older adults feel low to no confidence when using technology. Keeping this in mind, Ask Mabel is designed to provide a practice arena, a play space for older adults to get familiar with technology and build their confidence. Mabel’s lessons are structured as concise, digestible bits of information followed by quizzes and rewards to reinforce learning. These lessons are intended to build autonomy and digital confidence among older adults so they can participate and thrive in our increasingly digital world. The solution is designed for low-income seniors, who, instead of downloading and dealing with the complexities of an app, will simply receive a text message, 3 times a week at their preferred time, to practice basic skills through a lesson link provided. The lesson will be then followed by a short game or quiz to help them practice what they learnt. To be as accessible as possible to the linguistically diverse population of New York City, our home-base, we have the eventual goal of offering Ask Mabel in 10 languages other than English and Spanish. We also intend to implement Ask Mabel in other cities upon a successful pilot in New York City. Ask Mabel was started by 5 determined fellows as a part of this year's fellowship topiced Digital Equity at the Blue Ridge Labs @ Robin Hood Foundation, NY, and has since undertaken extensive community centred and participatory design practices at its core.

Ask Mabel is a playful SMS based subscription service that sends bite-sized lessons to older adults who wish to learn basics about digital technology. As per a study done by Pew Research Center, it was discovered that close to 2 out of 3 older adults feel low to no confidence when using technology. Keeping this in mind, Ask Mabel is designed to provide a practice arena, a play space for older adults to get familiar with technology and build their confidence. Mabel’s lessons are structured as concise, digestible bits of information followed by quizzes and rewards to reinforce learning. These le