Proxemics in Computer Skills Training of Persons in Their Late Adulthood

Edward T. Hall presented three aspects of the perception of space: the infra-, pre-, and microcultural dimensions. This theory is the basis of an analysis rooted in years of experience in conducting computer skills training courses for seniors. Proxemics has great importance in IT education of seniors in all three dimensions: infra-, pre-, and microcultural. In the infracultural aspect it ought to be assumed that there exist some fundamental discrepancies arising from the differences between generations. That is why it is necessary to ensure that there is a common understanding of perspectives and relations with the virtual world of the generation of teachers (Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants) and the students (Digital Foreigners, Digital Aliens) that is decisive in the effectiveness of the computer skills training courses. In the precultural aspect it is crucial to take into account the involutionary processes that condition the perception and the learning of seniors. The deteriorating hearing, eyesight, as well as the lowered acuity of other senses may lead to a number of difficulties in seniors’ computer skills training. In the microcultural aspect, in turn, what is perceived by seniors as a positive element is the social distance with the correct arrangement of classroom space which may at the same time allow the students to coarrange the learning space.