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This paper reports three exploratory empirical studies with older adults that had little or no prior experience with interactive technologies. The participants were introduced to interactive technology by playing games on touchscreens, playing in pairs with the assistance of a mentor. We focus on two principle aspects, the peer-to-peer interaction during these sessions, and the role of the mentor in progressing the sessions. In the case of peer-to-peer interaction we looked for ways in which players supported each other during interaction to assess the role of peer interaction in this context. In the case of mentoring, we examined the efficacy of a minimalist approach where verbal encouragement, suggestions or (in the last resort) intervention are used to provide support to learners. The sessions showed that learners typically could play and learn basic manipulations independently after initial help and guidance from mentors. We also found that peer interaction, both in verbal and non-verbal communication and cooperative action was broadly a positive influence within sessions, suggesting that there is significant value in building confidence as well as in learning.

Older adults are increasingly being recognised as an important and growing consumer market, however they appear reticent in adopting new technologies. One contributing factor is that their needs are poorly understood by designers and products are thus poorly specified. Within the context of driving as a socially valuable skilled behaviour we applied a participatory design approach to engage with older people as valued partners in the design process.This article examines different strategies for involving older people as experts in their own domain, developing a better understanding of their needs and aspirations and empowering them within the design process. This research took account of new developments in car design and opportunities for intelligent driver assistance systems to support driver safety. The study found that older car drivers responded well to the opportunity to identify their needs and to evaluate prototypes and novel technologies. Their appraisal of these novel technologies particularly supported an improved understanding of the skilled behaviours of older drivers and of the mismatch between these and the technologies. When incorporated into the early stages of the design process, these evaluation activities offer important opportunities to enhance understanding of latent and implicit needs of older adults. In turn this can inform and refine design requirements.

The objective of the research described in this paper was to develop an understanding of the issues affecting the use of large passenger ships by older and disabled people. This paper refers to the special requirements of vision impaired people when booking and travelling on large passenger ships. When investigating their needs it was discovered that there were particular problems with the provision of appropriate information to new ferry users and with the provision of information to enable a vision-impaired person to travel round the ship. The research served to highlight the need for information at all stages of a journey to be accessible to all potential passengers.

Over the last twenty to twenty-five years 'Design for All' principles and practices including Assistive Technologies have been collected into formal and informal courses which have been used to train designers of Information and Communication products and systems. The aim of this paper is to describe the relevant changes occurring in training and education in the design and use of technology. The development of courses and materials has been supported by a number of EU funded initiatives including HEART, DAN, IDCnet and Design for All@eInclusion. In addition there have been individual responses to the demands for training courses in higher education and we include five case studies from around Europe: Greece, Austria, Czech Republic, Norway and UK. These show what can be achieved and act as beacons for continuing progress. EU and national initiatives to support digital inclusion are trying to address the needs of all those who are subject to social disadvantage as a consequence of age and disability as well as other factors such as low educational achievement, poverty and living in remote rural areas. Applying Design for All principles offers the opportunity of designing systems that are better matched to the existing needs of those who are technologically disadvantaged. However progress towards developing more specialist courses or more fully integrated Design for All principles in mainstream technology courses remains slow. The latest initiatives include the development of a curriculum for professional training and this offers an important alternative educational route, adding knowledge of Design for All to those with established technical skills.

The education and training of ICT students and professionals with respect to Design for All is a vital part in the process of achieving eInclusion throughout Europe. This paper outlines the latest activity on the development of a curriculum in Design for All in ICT in higher education and professional development, and discusses some of the challenges of mainstreaming ICT Design for All. Concepts have been devised to introduce Design for All at bachelor-level of mainstream ICT education, to implement a masters degree in Design for All, and to provide training for professionals in ICT industry.

This issue of 'Gerontechnology' addresses two societal changes: the first is the ageing of the population and the second is the increasing need for older people to interact with ICT technology to enable them to participate fully in society both as recipients of care and as holders of wisdom.

The use of the design for all philosophy at all stages of the process of specification, design and management of ICT systems and products fosters an understanding of user diversity and supports the quality of life of older and disabled people. Future ICT professionals, including web developers, will therefore require training in the social and technical aspects of design for all. We here present the development of a curriculum in design for all which is intended to enable them to understand the philosophy, empathise with users with different needs to their own, and address the relevant software and hardware challenges. We conclude with a discussion on how mainstreaming accessibility within technology courses is a critical key to the success of digital inclusion policy. However, it must be noted the multidisciplinary nature of design for all represents a challenge to the way ICT technology knowledge and skills are currently constructed.