November 6, 2009
Sharing Photos with Family – Picasa
[Kay Fontana, "The Grandcoach," is our featured guest writer today. Kay helps baby boomers overcome the challenges of raising grandchildren. She is a former teacher, certified coach, mother of 3 and grandmother of 7.]
Spending time with your grandchildren is a gift and a blessing. For grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, they receive the gift of time every day.
For grandparents who live far away or do not have the opportunity to see their grandchildren often, the joy of seeing them and them seeing you, still exists with the use of modern technology, specifically, audio, video and digital photos. Today, I would like to focus on digital photos.
The 3 basic steps to sharing photos on the Internet
- Selecting the camera to use
- Selecting the photo viewing program to use
- Importing the pictures into the photo program
Selecting the camera
If you do not have a digital camera yet, I encourage you to do so. Digital cameras now range in price of $59.00 all the way to thousands of dollars. The inexpensive ones work very well and serve their purpose. They are actually higher quality and less expensive than they were 10 years ago.
Look for a camera that uses a memory card that fits into your computer. On your computer, you may see something like Compact Flash, Micro Drive, SD*MMC*MS, Pro*XD, or something similar to that. Your computer’s owner’s manual can help you select the correct media storage device. Most cameras also offer the option of downloading the picture using a USB cable. If you are shopping online, the product details should give you all the information. Just make sure your camera’s storage device can be used in your computer, or your camera can be connected to your computer to import the pictures.
Selecting the photo viewing program
There are several online photo services that let you organize, edit and share your photos. Many are free. The 3 that I use are Picasa, Flickr and Kodak Gallery. Today, I will focus on Picasa.
Picasa is free photo editing software from Google. Enjoy this two minute video about Picasa.
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If you have a Google email (gmail.com) account, the Picasa service can be accessed by your Gmail account. If you do not have a Gmail account, you can create one for free at Google.com.
You will also need to install the Picasa program on your computer, which is also free. If you don’t see it as an option on the Google home page, just enter picasa.google.com in your browser to bring it up, and click “Download Picasa 3.”
Importing photos
Once you have created your Gmail account and installed Picasa, you are ready to download (or import) your pictures from your digital camera. Once you have set up the Picasa application and have downloaded pictures from your camera, the Picasa program should automatically open every time you insert a media storage device in your computer (or connect via USB cable).
Once you have downloaded the pictures from your camera, you can click on “Web Albums” on the top right portion of your screen, which will take you directly to your Google Web Album in your Internet browser.
You can also access your web album by going to www.google.com to log into you Gmail account. When you are in your account, click on “Photos,” which is located on the top left portion of the page. If you don’t see it, then click on “more” and it will be under that.
It takes a little time to maneuver around Picasa, but it is my favorite one to use. When you become familiar with the program, you can sort photos into different albums. You can also set up privacy features on your albums so only your family and friends can view selected items. Google also has a lot of nice features that are great for sharing with your family, such as calendars, blogs and groups, but more on that another time.
If you don’t have a digital camera, or have one and haven’t set up an account online to download your photos, I encourage you to do so. Picasa is free to use, and once you set it up, you can have your family upload photos to your albums for your whole family to enjoy.
Warm regards,
Kay Fontana
“The Grandcoach”
www.CoachingForQuality.com
[In future posts, GrandparentsTLC will review more ways of sharing photos online, including Apple's Macintosh iPhoto application and MobileMe.]
Have you used Picasa or another photo sharing program? How has it enabled you to connect with your family and grandkids? Please share your comments. We enjoy reading about your experiences.
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Filed under Cool Websites, Tutorials by Kay Fontana
October 2, 2009
Three steps to get grandparents online
[Editor's note: Grandpa Shayne Packer is also a columnist for GRAND Magazine's new Cyber-Savvy GRAND column.]
“You’ll never get me on one of them newfangled computers!” Have you ever heard a grandparent say that? Are they intimidated by the Internet? Not willing to give today’s technology a try? We’ll show you what you can do to get them online.
Who should read this
- Grandparents who are privileged to have one or more of your parents still living.
- Parents who would like to facilitate a healthy relationship between your children and their grandparents and great-grandparents.
- Anyone who knows a grandmother or grandfather who is reluctant or afraid to dip their foot into the internet.
Technophobia: the fear or dislike of advanced technology. Why doesn’t everybody welcome new technology? Fear of the unknown? Afraid they will ruin or break something? They don’t understand and don’t remember?
One problem is that many senior grandparents just don’t know what they are missing — photos of the grandbabies, emails, family blogs, Facebook, text messages, video chats, sharing their life story. They are not enjoying all the new opportunities to communicate with their families; sometimes from their own stubbornness.
The benefits outweigh the fear
A friend shared a story about a coworker, a grandfather who refused to learn to send text messages using his mobile phone. My friend encouraged the grandfather to learn so he could send text messages to his grandchildren. “Just try it.” Two weeks later, the grandfather reported that he was having a wonderful time texting with his grandkids.
Grandparents need to keep up with the times and communicate with the younger generations on the media the kids are comfortable using. This will enhance the quality of the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren when they may not actually see each other for many months.
Grandparents should realize that being “computer smart” is a way to get closer to their grandchildren. Also, the World Wide Web is a wonderful way to find ideas of things to do with grandkids when they visit.
My oldest sister is a great example of someone who has embraced internet technology to connect with her family. When her daughter recently encouraged my sister to get Facebook, she quibbled, “Why would I want on Facebook?” Here daughter simply replied, “Because that’s where the photos of the grandbabies are!”
So her daughter got on the computer and set up a Facebook account right then. Now my sister has really enjoys Facebook, as well as other websites, email, etc.
God gave us loving grandchildren as a reward for all our random acts of kindness. ~Janet Lanese
3 steps to get grandparents online
1. Sit together at the computer and give them a tour around the Web — all the fun family stuff they’re missing out on. First, you drive. This is especially important for the reluctant grandparent. Do this before you let them know you intend to help them get online. Let them get hooked first.
2. Set up one website at a time for them, and let them know what you are doing (in simple terms). See the Recommended websites below.
3. For each website, put them in the driver’s seat. Let them try things one click at a time. Go slow. Be patient. Go through it twice: first for comprehension, second to create written step-by-step instructions. If needed, go through it a third time to help build their confidence.
You can help enrich a grandparent’s life. Now go do it!
Enjoy! – Grandpa Shayne
Action Items
- Help them choose a computer. I recommend an Apple Macintosh laptop because it is so easy to use and comes with cool, free software.
- Set up a free gmail account.
- Collect a list of family websites and blogs.
- Create accounts on Facebook or other sites where the family posts stuff.
- Create easy-to-remember login names and passwords, and write them down.
- Bookmark all websites. Show them how to access these bookmarks.
- Set them up a free blog or their own on WordPress.com or Blogger.com. (optional)
- If they have a digital camera, show them how to post photos online.
Recommended websites
More resources
- Our other blog posts about connecting with grandchildren
- Another post “How to help grandparents get online“
- Many senior centers, libraries, colleges, etc. offer classes in basic internet and computer use.
If you know someone who is not online, please print and mail this to them.
Do you have more ideas for helping more grandparents get online? We welcome your comments.
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Filed under Connecting, Cool Websites, Grandparents, Internet by Grandpa Shayne
[Editorial note: This week at Grandparents TLC, we are pleased to welcome our featured guest author, Grandma Edna Henke. She is an author and popular blogger, who enjoys the instant gratification technology brings to stay connected with her grandchildren.]
There’s a tiny little plaque sitting on my shelf that reads:
If I’d have known that grandchildren were going to be so much fun, I’d have had them first. ~Bill Laurin
Grandma Henke and family
How much better can it get than having 17 grandchildren? Being a grandmother has been the best thing since the invention of penicillin … not that I was around that long ago … but you get the drift. It took about a minus twenty seconds for me to be madly in love with the squirmy little bodies that came to this earth yelling for their NaNa. But, of course, with all the good there had to come some bad and that took place when two of my children moved from Utah to Seattle with half of my litter. I don’t think I would have survived the empty feeling in my heart had I not had the powers of the Internet, cellular phones, and a new digital camera that didn’t even take film!
The magic of those three items has taken an unbearable situation for this Grandma and sort of (not quite but sort of) erased some of those hundreds of miles that separate us.
When my son and his wife had their first little baby girl (six weeks early) while students at the University of Utah I was in the middle of an audit at work and there was no way I could dash up there in time for the welcome to our family celebrations. I sat at my desk anxious to hear everything was fine with mother and baby when I got a flash indicating I had mail. I clicked on the box and suddenly there before my eyes was a moving, true to life picture of our little girl kicking her arms and legs and crying loudly. I can’t begin to explain the thrill that went through me just before the tears of gratitude started pouring down my cheeks. I didn’t have to miss it after all.
Nothing thrills me more than to get a beep from one of my grandchildren – an instant message on my computer. The older kids and I have real life conversations. With the younger kids it goes something like this:
Luca: Hi Grandma, XOXOXOXOXO HAHAHAHAHA
Me: Hi Luca! I love you too, XOXOXOXOXO, HAHAHAHAHA
[XOXO = hugs and kisses] Luca then sends me all kinds of icons of smiley faces, dancing pigs, and broken hearts.
I love it … we are communicating and having fun. Sometimes we tell knock knock jokes.
My older grandchildren from Seattle have also talked me into adding text messaging to my phone so they could send me little messages. (They are now unaccustomed to talking on the phone as their fingers are so used to doing the walking). Typing on a cellular phone keyboard isn’t my favorite mode of communication but you have to keep up if you want to stay in touch with on the go teenagers.
We send photographs back and forth all the time, by email, instant messenger, or telephone. It keeps us in close contact and helps so much with the homesickness on both sides. I was unable to attend Luca’s 3rd piano recital after having been there for her first two. As soon as they got home her dad sent me the video and there she was … just as pretty and proud and smart as can be … playing her little heart out. I was so proud of her!
When my first baby was tiny my husband was stationed in Georgia in the Army. It took two weeks to send a letter and get an answer. I wished so many times Mom could see the cute and unique things he did every day. We took pictures but had to wait until we’d used the whole roll, then send them off to be developed … then make doubles of the ones we wanted to send. It wasn’t a very fast turn around. I feel so lucky to have instant gratification when it comes to staying in touch with my children and grandchildren. My motivation for learning about the new technology is because it keeps me close to my family but there are many other benefits as well. Nothing like trying to learn a new trick even if you are an old dog.
There is one more thing I do for my grandchildren that I probably would not do otherwise. I get on the Internet and find the cheapest airplane tickets I can find that will take me from here to there with no layovers.
Visit GrandmaHenke’s blog.
We want to here from you. What do you do for your grandchildren that you would not otherwise do? Please leave a comment below.
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Filed under Connecting, TLC by Grandma Henke
[Editorial note: This week, we are pleased to welcome back our featured guest author, Grama Barb, a popular "Lensmaster", who has authored over 150 articles at Squdoo.com.]
Reaching out to family through the use of the internet has been one of the biggest blessings of this age of technology online. All grandparents should be online just for the ease and speed of communication. The internet certainly is a big factor in my life for staying connected and reconnecting with family and friends. I am not a very good telephone communicator and therefore email has improved communications in my family whether it is just across town or half way around the world.
Sharing family pictures is a really important activity in my life as a grandmother, especially when you factor in the other piece of technology that is a must – the digital camera! That little camera is perfect for all photograph-fanatic grandparents. Now we can take 100 pictures without going broke developing them. And the best part – we can share them almost instantly on the internet. Case in point – my husband’s sister just became a great grandmother to twins. I already have seen an adorable picture of them!
Don’t forget that by being online, you are making it much easier for your children and grandchildren to reach out and share with you. A few weeks ago there was an open house event at my granddaughter’s school that I was looking forward to going to, but my health was not very good at the time and I had to stay home. My son had his cell phone with picture taking capabilities with him and he took really cute pictures and sent them “instantly” from the school. It was almost as good as being there! Talk about experiencing TLC – Technology, Love, Connection! Reaching out is a two way street.
Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. ~Jane Howard
Technology, Love and Connection is a great way to ward off depression that often accompanies growing old and the feeling of being left out – cut off from friends and family. I see it here where I live at a seniors assisted living complex all the time. Those who have a computer and are online are doing much better as they are busy emailing family and friends all the time. Those who don’t are often sad that they don’t see their grown grandchildren very much anymore as often they are now living in other parts of the world. Even one “You’ve got mail” a day would cheer a grandmother and grandfather’s heart! It takes so little TLC to Reach Out!
Part one: Technology-Love-Connection - How it all began in Grama Barb’s life
Read Grama Barb’s informative article on digit cameras and digital photo frames.
If you enjoyed this article, we invite you to bookmark it and email it to a friend!
Filed under Connecting, TLC by Grama Barb
August 22, 2008
Technology is a cool tool to connect with grandkids
Thank you for stopping by our grandparenting blog! Grammy Tanda and I really enjoy publishing this blog for grandparents. It’s been getting more and more popular, which is exciting! Our mission here is to enable grandparents to love and connect with grandchildren. We show you ways that you can connect and communicate with your grandchildren using all kinds of cool technology. We believe technology itself is neither good nor evil; it’s just a tool. It’s how people use tools that is important. As grandparents, you and I choose to use technology for good; for the righteous purpose of bringing our families closer together. So, this website focuses on helping you, as grandparents, learn about cool technologies you can use to connect with your grandchildren. Technology is cool when used as a tool to connect with your grandkids.
We live in a marvelous age of technology. But sometimes it can be intimidating: the internet, email new websites, inventions, cool tools, state-of-the-art, newfangled gadgets, and other technology. That’s why here at GrandparentsTLC, we offer free information and tutorials that show you exactly how to use cool stuff. Grandparents are cool! We don’t want to be left out while our grandkids are enjoying the 21st century.
I’m sure you’ve had experiences where you were nervous when faced with using some new gadget or tool. Then someone showed you how to use it. You tried it, and your confidence waxed stronger, until it became a useful tool. Why do you suppose it is that teenagers seem to figure these things out boldly and quickly? Take the internet for example. Do you think they are afraid of breaking the computer if they click the wrong button? Of course not.
Fear sometimes causes us to have reservations about trying something new. Yet, we all know grandparents who love doing something so much that they just do it and get good at it. You’re probably that way yourself. Take genealogy for example. I have older sisters that amaze me with their level of expertise using genealogy software and websites such as FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com. They love it too much not to learn how to figure it out.
That’s how it is with grandparenting — we all love spending time with our grandchildren so much that we make special treats for them, travel to see them, spend lots of money on gifts (sometimes too much? 
) — need I go on?
Something magical happens when parents turns into grandparents. Their attitude changes from “money-doesn’t-grow-on-trees” to spending it like it does. ~Paul Linden
As grandparents, we are willing to learn to use cool new technology, if it brings us closer to our grandchildren. Take digital photography for example. When our families send us an email with photos of the grandkids attached, or posts photos on a website, we want to be able to see them quickly, and perhaps save and print them. So, you should invest in a digital camera of your own and learn how to post your own photos online.
Now days, it is so easy compared with when I first started using digital cameras when they came out. I wrote Macintosh camera software for Kodak, who, along with Apple, invented the first consumer digital. Back then it was quite a process to download the photo files from the camera to a computer, create a place on the web for them, and then upload them to the website. Today it is easier than ever to get photos from camera to computer to web, like my son and I did for his baby’s photos. Much of the process is automated. Especially if you own a Mac with the free iLife software. (Gee, I wish Apple paid me a commission!) I’ll create a tutorial about this sometime if you like. What do you think?
So, technology is cool when used as a tool to connect with your grandchildren! As one of our readers commented on the blog here, “It is vitally important that all grandparents learn to use the web and technology to stay close to their grandkids.”
What are some cool gadgets, tools and websites you have enjoyed using the help strengthen your grandparent-grandchild connection? We’d love to reading your comments.
All the best! Shayne
Filed under Cool Technology, Grandparenting by Grandpa Shayne
