You might think that teachers would be quick learners. You would be wrong.
Does anyone else have a hard time figuring out technology like me?
Anyone else a clumsy bumbling idiot like me?
I'm an obnoxious, clumsy, and idiotic person. I refuse to read directions. When I get tired of trying to figure something out I just force it in, and add a little duct tape. Instead of framed paintings in my office, I have unframed posters I've scotch-taped to my wall. Every day something peels off. Most people use filing cabinets properly. I take the file folders out and put stacks of paper inside the drawers. I'm not a slob, I'm just an idiot. I am what you might call a hot mess.
But the worst thing is how I treat objects. Brand new computer? Yes, I will spill orange juice all over it, thank you very much. It will help the cat hair stick under the keyboard better. New dress shirt? For the win: orange juice stain and a hole at the bottom. My book-bag is too full of crap to actually put my books and papers in so I carry huge stacks of paper to class. Call me the nutty professor.
But the worst thing is how I treat objects. Brand new computer? Yes, I will spill orange juice all over it, thank you very much. It will help the cat hair stick under the keyboard better. New dress shirt? For the win: orange juice stain and a hole at the bottom. My book-bag is too full of crap to actually put my books and papers in so I carry huge stacks of paper to class. Call me the nutty professor.
The IT guys and I are very close, even though its not by their choice. I call them and they say "try turning it off and turning it back on again." I'm like that. If I was a light bulb I'd be 45 watt at best. I learn new things with the slow painfulness of a pregnant hippopotamus with hemorrhoids. The tissue lining my brain that prevents the absorption of new information is thick and mucousy, like the hymen of a female sumo wrestler. Once information breaks through that lining, we're golden.
Yesterday someone showed me how to use the Mobi. She showed me 50 different things I couldn't follow and then asked me to try it out in front of others. I MUST have looked like a drunken howler monkey trying to learn the polka.
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| This makes me miss my Speak n Spell |
Ever try to pat your head with one hand while rubbing your belly in circles with the other hand? Well that's a Mobi. It's cool and all, but its a real talent to master.
She showed me... how to create active power-points, clip audio files, add synchronous sound to images, engage with interactive learning templates, and an interface that would allow students to participate in class activities through group work on the whiteboard.
I showed her... my knowledge of the On/Off button.
My main accomplishment of the day was when she said "okay try to find the color purple" and I found it and wrote on the screen:
I am that awesome. Ph.D baby. $150k of education. Now if only life was at the first grade level, I would ROCK!!
Don't be jealous, haters!
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| I don't know why this guy is having stand-up sex with his table but this is what you find when you Google Image "mobi" |
Does anyone else have a hard time figuring out technology like me?
Anyone else a clumsy bumbling idiot like me?
21 comments:
Technology comes naturally to me, but as a drunken howler monkey, I admit I cannot learn the two-step to save my life.
I am a technology junkie. I love the latest and newest stuff. My education classes talk about the amount of money that is wasted in American school systems by the teachers that do not utilize the technology they are provided with. I believe that technology should not be placed into a classroom where it will not be used, but I am very aware that I will not be one of those teachers. In fact, I probably won't even address the kids until I have finished playing with the new toy they brought me.
Ya I like to mock myself because I learn slowly but I've actually introduced more technology in the classroom than anyone in my department. iPads, Mobis, different software - Camtasia, using online whiteboards, chatrooms, and photography software and whatnot. And the stuff I do have I wasn't given, I wrote grants for and won awards for using. It's pretty cool. I just learn soooo slowly it's ridiculous.
As an I.T. professional I feel your pain. I grew up with technology and trust me, it's a mess. It changes so fast that as soon as you master one gadget another comes along to replace it. Or the software is "upgraded" i.e. to fix "bugs" or as software engineers say, "design errors". We all hear about how important it is to be "Computer Literate", which is somewhat insulting and makes alot of people very insecure to use new technology or even ask questions. Could you imagine if you had to be plumbing literate to use your toilet or had to upgrade and reboot your car every week to keep it working?
It's a Wild West out here in computer land. Every device has to come out with a new model or upgrade every year to keep the money coming in for the shareholders. Yes, for me technology can be a blast and very cool at times, but one day, we will look back on this and see it for the mess it is.
I bet if I held out a sammich or a taco you'd figure it out real quick.
Dance for me lil doggie, dance.
My friend Boho is an IT gal. She mocks me mercilessly.
The Mobi can do great things for education and they're coming out with a new version in April that has a better screen. The hardest thing for me is holding this tabled in my hand but instead of looking at it while I draw, I look at the projector screen. It just isn't intuitive for me. Doesn't seem to be a problem for others though. We were just all embarrassed at the demonstration because we WANT to use this technology and we're pretty bright. She probably expected us to make documents and presentations by the end of her talk. But all we could do was find purple.
:)
Pish...You just don't take advice well. I know your type.."I can do it myself!!!!" while stomping your feet,crossing your arms indignantly, and then wiping out all your files. I can just see you drifting off impatiently while an I.T. person is explaining something. Or saying something like, "It worked just FINE until the I.T. person touched my laptop".
I don't know, I have about 25 grade school teachers in my immediate family and circle of friends. None of them have technology they don't use or are wasting. Half of them are innovative with technology and half of them don't use it much.
I wish I could be a techie. I probably seem like one to some because of the all the gadgets I have and new things I try to learn. But it definitely does not come naturally. Its a fight each and every step of the way for me to figure these things out. It took me like 65 years to learn to drive though so give me a decade or two and I'll get this.
You wish I was like that so you could poke me with a stick. But I'm unbelievably deferential to my IT guy. I come to him and say "look I know I'm an idiot. I know you know I'm an idiot. Can you fix this please? Also you are awesome and tomorrow I will bake you a pie."
I LITERALLY SAID THAT BoHO.
I'm much more like "new technology?! Gimme! Teach me!" but then when they start teaching me I'm like "HUH??? WAAH??"
What you described is how I am when my dad tries to explain something. Inside my head I'm thinking OMFG DAD JUST DO IT!! and outside my head I said OMFG DAD JUST DO IT! He reads directions and stuff. Whackjob.
I'm way nicer to people at work than I am to my friends, by the way ;)
Yep, I read manuals. I watch instruction videos. Step by Step.
I kind of think you are the female version of my dad.
You should take him down Mendo to investigate the rusted equipment more.
I love my dad so, that was a compliment. You're both INTJ.
Fucking manuals. I have to figure things out by doing them. It's called kinesthetic. It's also called annoying the shit out of people.
Yeah, directions are for pussies. How hard can a quadruple bypass be?
I'm sure I'll figure it out as I go? Wanna be my test-run?
You're really good at writing purple and booya. I'm not sure I've seen anyone write either of those words better in my life.
Thank you for recognizing pure talent. You are on my good list.
I co-sign Jacqui's comment. Its just a matter of time before you too can follow in the rev.'s footsteps and make MS Paint art.
What's a mobi?
Is it related to a whale with last name Dick?
I would refuse to learn tech in front of an audience. I do one thing at a time, so I would have made that person mad when I stopped her after the first thing.
That's what kids have done to my mind.
Take heart. You are ahead of me in the world of technology. This is the first time I have heard of a Mobi! I am reaching that stage where I don't even attempt to figure out some devices figuring they will be replaced by a new generation before I can get a handle on them.
That's understandable. I wonder if there are videos on what the Mobi can do - if you are a math teacher you can hand out a few student mobis for group projects, and its an interactive technology that allows them to compete against each other and see the results on the screen.
If you use power points or other presentations, it allows you to walk around the room while talking, and also draw on the presentation if you need to illustrate or make changes. I couldn't believe how many different ways this could be used.
It's mostly difficult because its new to me and because you write with a stylus on the device but see what you're doing on the projector screen. Once you get past that it's pretty easy. Definitely worth a try.
But I don't think teachers should have to use technologies they aren't interested in using. Most students I think just want to be in an engaging class and if a teacher can do it another way, great!
I was a little bit like that. She'd show us 5 things, and I'd say "wait, so how do you turn this on?" haha that's an exaggeration but you know what I mean.
So the mobi is a small tablet that fits in the crook of your arm that allows you to remotely control presentation and the computer desktop screen. It's like a small comfortable laptop that controls your desktop but is also equipped as a tablet for drawing and editing and demonstrations. Its very flexible and can do all kinds of things.. for all types of classes.
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