AUBURN - Because technology has become a part of everyday life, the Boyle Center wants to make sure senior citizens don't get left behind.

The center first opened the doors to a computer lab eight years ago.

“We got some computers donated to us from a school,” Maggie Wells, program director at the Boyle Center said. “So we decided to open a computer lab so the residents could use the computers, and we decided to start holding computer classes, as well, for residents and other seniors in the community.”

The courses, instructed by Lisa Tarby, were designed to help seniors get familiar with some of the basic workings of computers and get comfortable using the technology.

“We didn't want anyone to be intimidated by a computer,” Wells said. “Our main goal has just been to introduce seniors to computers and go through some of the basic things they do and get them comfortable with working with these machines.”

One of the main goals of providing these resources to seniors has been to expose them to all a computer can do, from writing a letter to playing games to sending and receiving e-mail. As residents have gotten more comfortable with using the computer lab, it has become a popular place to spend time.

“I think they are really amazed with what a computer can do,” Wells said. “Once they get over being intimidated by it they really like all they can do, writing letters and playing games and things like that. We always have people down here using the computers, not everyone uses them, but a good percentage of the people who live here use the lab pretty regularly. Once they learn about the computers they get addicted to all they can do with it. They are getting on the Internet and sending and receiving e-mails, which I think is nice. The way things are now, grandchildren are more apt to answer an e-mail from their grandparents, so I think it has also become a nice way to stay in touch with family.”

But when the center received its first batch of computers, the machines were already 10 or 12 years old, and already obsolete, Wells said.

“It was a very generous donation,” Wells said. “But they were already outdated by the time we got them and they were running slow and starting not to work right anymore and our repair person said that there really wasn't anything we could do to fix them any more.”

Now, through recent donations from two local charitable organizations, the Boyle Center has been able to update its lab with eight brand new machines.

“We started looking at what it was going to cost to get new equipment,” Wells said. “And then we talked to these two local foundations and they were interested in getting involved and giving almost exactly what we needed to upgrade to the most current PCs. We really wouldn't have been able to do this without their support and we are very grateful for all they have done for us.”

With the new lab up and running, the center will be hosting more classes.

“Since we started these classes we've had a good turnout,” Wells said. “Not just from people who live here, but from other seniors in the community who want to learn more about using a computer. We've had a lot of interest and a great response from the community.”

During the courses, Tarby takes students through the basics of using a computer from the ground up.

“We start with the basics,” Well said. “We start with turning it on and off and go through things like typing and using the Internet and really go through it from top to bottom and try to make it easy. I think a lot of seniors are reluctant to use a computer, it may seem too difficult to learn, but our goal here is to make it easy to learn and make it fun.”