Lifelong Learning Thursday

Nancy Merz Nordstrom, author of Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret of Making the Most of Your After 50 Years will share the benefits of Lifelong Learning on Thursdays.

LEARNING LATER, LIVING GREATER:

The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years.

Lifelong Learning in Your Later Years…

A Health Club for Your Mind, Body, and Spirit!

Now it’s time to talk about educational travel providers.

Over the last 34 years, due to the unparalleled success of Elderhostel, Inc., educational travel has grown exponentially. Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at some of the best programs available to older adults.

Today, however, travel providers are very aware that educational travel is here to stay. As the Baby Boomers-the most educated generation in history-move into their later years, travel organizations are scrambling to offer programs with educational content. Not all of them, however, are doing a good job.

The less reputable firms simply toss in a lecture or two and call it an educational travel program. It’s a thinly-veiled attempt to lure the unsuspecting. So, as with everything else, it’s imperative that you do your homework. Look over the itinerary, study the curriculum offerings and decide for yourself if the program you are interested in suits your needs.

Since we will be looking at some of the best programs, we therefore begin with the story of Elderhostel, Inc. As the pioneers and founders of the educational travel industry for older adults, their history sets the tone for this topic, and their programs are the “gold standard” by which all other educational travel programs are measured.

Next week - The Story of Elderhostel

THURSDAY’S THOUGHT…
“He who does not travel does not know the value of men.” So says an old Moorish proverb. Nothing gives you a better sense of your fellow human beings than to learn about them in their home area. It’s an incredibly enlightening endeavor.

For more information on Learning Later, Living Greater visit www.learninglater.com

You can purchase Learning Later, Living Greater at www.amazon.com

Till Next Time…

Nancy Merz Nordstrom is Director of the Lifelong Learning Department at Computer School for Seniors (www.cs4seniors.com)

The Rolling Rains Report

The Rolling Rains Report
Dr. Scott Rains

We are very honored to announce that Dr. Scott Rains will be a periodic contributor to our blog and the Travel Department of Computer School for Seniors.

Dr. Rains writes daily on travel and issues in the tourism industry of interest to people with disabilities. His work appears online at http://www.rollingrains.com/ and http://withtv.typepad.com/weblog/travel/. He is the founder of the global forum on Inclusive Tourism – Tour Watch. Rains’ articles have also appeared in New Mobility, Emerging Horizons, Venture, Brave New Traveler, Challenges, TravelBiz Monitor, Enabled Online, Contours, Accessible Portugal, Audacity, Travel and Transitions, eTur Brazil, Success & Ability, Turismo Polibea, [with]TV, and Disaboom among others.

For his research on the topic of Universal Design and the travel and hospitality industry he was appointed as Resident Scholar at the Center for Cultural Studies of the University of California Santa Cruz (2004-05). Rains has been retained as a consultant on Inclusive Tourism traveling as Visiting Journalist at the invitation of India, Australia, and South Africa. He is a lifetime Honorary Member of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT.

His 2009 schedule includes invitations to address the third International Accessible Tourism Conference in Singapore, the first conference on neuromedicine, disability and tourism in Milan and the third i-CREATE conference sponsored by the Princess of Thailand in Singapore.

He was co-convener of the second International Accessible Tourism Conference hosted by the United Nations November 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand and was consultant for the September 2007 World Assembly on the U. N. Convention, on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Seoul, South Korea. He is Resource Person for UNESCAP on the topic of inclusion in tourism.

Starting next week Dr. Rains will be sharing information with us about “Inclusive Tourism”—a concept arising from the vigor of a global disability community that both enjoys and asserts the right to full social inclusion.

To learn more about Dr. Rains work, visit http://www.rollingrains.com/.

Dr. Rains will also be serving as a faculty Advisor to the Travel Department at http://www.cs4seniors.com/.

Photo Tips Monday

Dave Berry, Director of the Photography Department at Computer School for Seniors will be sharing his insightful Photo Tips with you every Monday for Capture the Moment Mondays.

4 Tips To Better Photography

As you are reading this post, Patti and I are on a Cruise to the Caribbean on the beautiful Caribbean Princess. We will be visiting the ports of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Antigua, Barbados,Tortola and St.Thomas in the Virgin Islands. I can't wait to share my pictures with all of you in my future blog posts. Before we sail away I would like to share with you four photography tips I share with friends when asked...

These may seem basic but I always follow the Berry photo plan before I go out shooting..

1.) Always look at the scene without the camera. Look for interesting things around you, fill the scene in your mind and than put it together. Visualize what you want the picture to say before you press the shutter.

2.) Put yourself in a position to take great shots. Don't be afraid to move around. Look what's behind you. Hit the streets and hit the shutter a lot.

3.) Don't be afraid to make mistakes---that is the beauty of Digital Photography. Experiment with your photography because you can make instant corrections while you are still shooting. Adjust shutter speeds and apertures to change the photo you are taking. Remember, If you don't like it delete and shoot another one.

4.) Take alot of Pictures----this is the most under discussed thing in Photography. Digital Camera's make it all worth while. There is no reason for not taking alot of pictures and when you go home you can delete the ones you don't like.

Until next week thanks for dropping by--Meanwhile go out and have FUN WITH YOUR CAMERA !!!!!!!!!

Bon Voyage !!!!!!!!!

Dave Berry shares his Photography Tips at Computer School for Seniors (www.cs4seniors.com).