NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A high school freshman is helping older people stay connected during the pandemic, using tools like Zoom.
Jordan Mittler, a freshman at the Ramaz School, wanted his grandparents to be able to use their smartphones properly, so he started teaching them new tricks every day.
Then he realized he could help other grandparents as well.
“Recently I started teaching a computer class to seniors,” he explains to WCBS 880’s Mike Sugerman.
The classes were in-person before the pandemic but have since moved online.
“I started this because I felt there was a wide gap between seniors and us and it wasn’t right that they should be left out of this world of technology,” Mittler said.
Things were going well during the in-person meetings, he explains. Moving to Zoom, Mittler says, took a little work.
Many of his students didn’t know how to use it and there were lots of phone calls and patience on his part.
But he says his students are smart people, they just struggle to use technology, which continues to advance at a rapid pace
“I’m a college graduate. I have a masters. I’m a teacher. And I never saw anyone teach the way he taught the class,” says student Shelly Appeal.
The 16-year-old has started his own company, Mittler Senior Technology and even uploaded his classes on YouTube for anyone to use them.
Unfortunately, the seniors don’t get a graduation ceremony like they did before the pandemic.
But, they still have plenty to be proud about.
Among this class of graduates is Mittler’s bubbe, Janet Mittler, who says she can Zoom with the best of them and find a Netflix documentary with no problems.