Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Managing Technology with Patience

This morning, I saw that Chris VanderSlice tweeted out a link to a blog post he wrote about being patient with technology. He also included a link to a clip of Louis CK on Conan entitled, "Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy" (video embedded below). His post made me think more about how technology has become such an integral part of our daily lives that we often take it for granted or become frustrated when things do not work as expected.


In education, we often rely on technology for many daily tasks - taking attendance, recording grades, presenting lessons, student projects, etc. Each day we expect that the tools necessary for carrying out these tasks will be available, properly functioning and run smoothly without any problems or errors. As those of use who rely on this technology know, this scenario only exists in a perfect world where technology is infallible and all solutions are simple and can be resolved in just a few clicks.

So, what should you do if you rely on technology for instruction or other daily tasks and it is not working?
  1. Take a deep breath. Getting all worked up, instantly frustrated and annoyed is not going to solve your problem.
  2. Ask yourself, "What is the problem? What did I do before the problem occurred?".
  3. If an error message pops up, make note of the error message. This is helpful information for the Technology staff if the issue needs further attention.
  4. Try restarting your computer - This often solves many problems you may have with your computer.
  5. Ask a student. Many students aren't afraid to speak up and provide assistance (when given the chance). Sometimes they may often provide a different point of view that you haven't considered before.
  6. Use the situation as a learning opportunity for you and your students. Your students are always watching and use the situation to model how to handle unforeseen circumstances.
  7. Contact your friendly district Technology support staff with your problem. (Calmly) provide them with specific information. Remember, they weren't there when you encountered the problem.

Some other useful resources for support when technology is less than cooperative:

No comments:

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...