So are the senior students enrolled in the new computer courses offered at the Saratoga Senior Center. In this four- to six-week program, pupils learn to apply basic computer skills during open labs held every Monday from 1 to 3 p.m. These fundamentals include proper hand placement on the keyboard, functions of certain keys, copying and pasting highlighted texts and scrolling techniques.

The instructor, Maggie Ferguson, said her goal as a teacher is to help give seniors confidence to progress to a higher level in computer application by creating an exciting environment to work in and providing programs that would make the learning process fun.

For 30 minutes, students practice their typing skills using a user-friendly program called Typing Master. The program has several games that help make learning faster and more interesting. For instance, in the bubble game, a letter will appear in a bubble and the student has to locate it on the keyboard without looking in a certain amount of time before the bubble disappears. Then, students move on to do some mouse exercises, which involve clicking icons, dragging bars and highlighting.

To make it more practical, Ferguson said, she teaches her students how to avoid computer viruses, erase spam email and clean up temporary files. But more important, students learn how to use email and browse the Internet.

"The future is in computers," she said. "It's extremely important for seniors to keep up with the technology, or at least their grandchildren. They can reach out to so many people using email and find any information they want on the Internet. The knowledge of the world is pretty much at their fingertips."

Yadi Saghafian, 80, is slowly reaching his goal of becoming computer literate. Saghafian loves reading nutrition and health articles and subscribes to various magazines, but he said his purpose in taking the class is to learn how to more quickly access information online. When he was a chemist in his native country, Iran, Saghafian never had to use a computer or typewriter. He said he may be behind in using computers but is not behind in having knowledge about the world.

Once Ferguson's students feel comfortable and more adept at typing and using the mouse, they can move on to Rich Kroll's introduction to computers and word processing class, where they learn how to use the tools in Microsoft Windows.

Kroll observed that one of the biggest difficulties seniors encounter when working on the computer is using the mouse.

"Some of them may have slower motor skills," he said. "They don't double-click as fast as someone who is younger. When this happens, the computer may not recognize the user's command."

Kroll added that seniors with this particular problem can change the timing of the mouse clicks by going to the control panel in the start menu. They can also readjust the speed of the cursor if they find it is moving faster or slower than their hands.

Most of Kroll's students, like 74-year-old Claire Marino, use computers for emailing purposes.

Marino said she was one of the few people in her family who did not know how to use a computer until she enrolled in the class about a month ago.

"I somewhat ignored the high-tech world and felt intimidated by computers," she said. "But now I am keeping up with the world and use email almost every day. I have a lot more confidence when it comes to computers."

Several studies show that seniors are getting in the game, contrary to what many younger people may think. A study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project reveals that those ages 55 and older constitute the fastest-growing Internet demographic group. The study also shows that these seniors tend to surf the Internet more frequently and for a longer period of time than young adults.

The computer courses will be offered throughout the summer. Classes are open to residents who are members of the Saratoga Senior Center. Call the center at 408.868.1257 for information about class schedules and fees.