When most people imagine a classroom, they think of older people teaching younger ones. But when it comes to learning about high-technology devices, the opposite can often be true. That is what is happening through a program in the eastern American city of Columbia, Maryland. The 50 Plus Center offers free technology classes for adults ages 50 and older. The teachers are often teenagers and even younger children.
大多数人想到教室时，他们想到的都是长辈在教小一辈。但是当涉及到学习使用高科技设备时，这一切便恰恰相反。美国东部城市马里兰州哥伦比亚市的一个项目中就正在发生这样的事情。“50+中心”为年龄不小于50岁的成年人提供免费的科技课程。这里的老师通常是青少年，甚至是小孩子。

Myra Stafford is 73 years old. She signed up for the workshop to learn how to use her iPad.
米拉·斯塔福德（Myra Stafford）今年73岁。她报名参加了这个研习班，学习如何使用她的iPad。

Ms. Stafford says she is learning quickly about the device. She adds that she enjoys learning from younger people.
斯塔福德女士表示，她学得很快。她补充说，她喜欢跟年轻人学习。

Eleven-year-old Zhion Perkins teaches Ms. Stafford. He says that patience is very important when working with older adults.
11岁的帕金斯（Zhion Perkins）负责教斯塔福德女士。他说，同老年人共事时，耐心很重要。

"You have to be really, really patient, you know, because some of them might not know as well as others, so you have to be really patient."
他说，“你必须非常非常耐心。因为有些人可能没有其他人学得好。所以你必须非常耐心。”

Meridy McCague is the director of the 50 Plus Center. She says the center offers many other kinds of workshops for older residents of Columbia. The activities include playing cards and physical exercise classes.
迈瑞迪·迈凯格（Meridy McCague）是50+中心的负责人。她说，该中心为哥伦比亚市的老年居民提供许多其它种类的研习班。其中包括扑克牌和体操课程。

Ms. McCague added the senior technology workshop last year. She acted after the center received several iPads from a local community organization. Since then, about 100 senior citizens have signed up for the workshop. Ms. McCague says the classes are necessary for seniors to connect with the world around them.
迈凯格女士去年新增了老年人科技研习班。在该中心从一家当地社区组织收到几台iPad后，她开始行动了。此后有大约100位老年人报名了这一研习班。迈凯格女士表示，该课程对老年人同身边世界交流非常必要。

Kerry Hannon is a career and retirement expert. She says teaching senior citizens about technology can prove helpful for the economy.
凯瑞·汉侬（Kerry Hannon）是一位职业和退休问题专家。她说，教老年人科技被证明对经济有帮助。

"You have a huge growing population over 60 that's just expanding, and offers an incredible opportunity to buy online, to research products that they want to buy, maybe not online, but they research them online. About a third of the Internet users in general are over 50. As seniors get more excited about using the technology, they're going into the market place and buying it. So that's a boom for economy right there."
她说，“60岁以上人口不断增长，这为网上购物以及在网上研究他们想要购买的物品提供了难得的机会。也许不在网上购买，但他们会在网上研究这些物品。大约三分之一的网民通常是50岁以上。随着老年人越来越喜欢使用该技术，他们会进入市场并购买它。所以会促进经济繁荣。”

Madison Lam is a 17-year-old teacher for the technology workshop. She says she also learns a lot from helping seniors.
麦迪逊·林（Madison Lam）是科技研习班一位17岁的老师。她说，她也从帮助老年人中学到很多。

"I think I've learned a lot on how to connect with people and work with them because I'm usually a shy person so I'm not good at connecting with others besides my family and friends. So I've learned to be more outgoing."
她说，“在如何同他人交流以及共事上，我认为我学到了很多。因为我一向比较害羞，所以我不擅长和亲朋好友之外的人交流。所以我学会了更加外向。”

Safire Windley is head of the Youth and Teen Center that operates the program. She says young people like Madison gain more than just social skills from teaching older residents.
萨菲尔·温德利（Safire Windley）是负责运营该项目的青少年中心的负责人。她说，像麦迪逊这样的年轻人从教老年人中学到的不仅仅是社交技能。

"I find in this day and age, our younger people, they're trying to explore and find out how they do they add value to life, just trying to find their way. This is something where they're needed and their skill set is valued and it gives them purpose."
她说，“我觉得在这个时代，我们的年轻人正在努力探索和找出他们如何做才能让生命更加精彩，他们正努力寻找自己的道路。而这个项目需要他们，他们的技能有价值，这个项目给了他们目标。”