Begin your lesson by stating a goal. By stating clearly what you are going to teach your senior students before beginning your lesson, you allow them to see the benefit of the lesson and ensure that you are speaking only to students who do not know how to complete that task. For example, if you begin by saying, "Today we are going to learn how to use an Internet search engine to locate information," you make it clear that anyone who already knows how to do that may not need the lesson you are about to provide.
Teach in small groups. To effectively teach basic computer concepts, you must work closely with each of your pupils. If you attempt to teach a group of students that is too large, you will not be able to provide your students with the individualized attention they require to learn the information.
Compare the digital things you are doing with real-life actions. If you make analogies frequently, you make it easier for your tech un-savvy seniors to conceptualize what it is you are going to show them how to do. For example, you could tell your seniors that "logging into your email account is just like walking to the mailbox to pick up a stack of mail."
Avoid moving too quickly. While many simple technology activities seem like second nature to you, they are not so easy for your seniors. By moving slowly, you can ensure that your seniors easily understand the information you are attempting to impart.
Set reasonable expectations for each class. Do not try to cover too much ground at one time. If you attempt to cramp an excessively large amount of content into one class, you overwhelm your students and decrease the overall effectiveness of the lesson.
Move students through the process step by step. An entire process, when taught in a chunk, is often overwhelming. By breaking the process down step by step, you make the activity seem more manageable to your senior learners.
Create an information sheet about each topic for your students. You want your senior students to be able to repeat the learned process on their own. To increase the likelihood that they can do this, you should provide each class participant with a cheat sheet that moves through the process. Your students can take this sheet away with them and refer to it later when they try to use their home computers.