I think I can!

Funny Times Toon

Truth. When you are first introduced to a new form of technology it is pretty intimidating. Its this expensive looking thing that you are scared to press on too roughly, you don’t want to double click too often, and you really don’t want to mess up the system. After a while you begin to feel more confident about it but when someone comes around to use your new gadget you can get pretty nervous. We all have stages we go through when it comes to using technology.

Could you imagine the pure confusion some educators went through in the 1980s when Apple decided “Hey, we should see how teachers adjust to and use our computers if we put them in their classrooms”?  I’m sure that for a lot of those test teachers the sheer panic was very evident on their poor faces. According to Apple there were different levels of a teachers involvement with technology.

1.     Entry-This when a new form of technology is introduced to the ‘user’. Basically unknown.
2.     Adoption-User begins to learn device and feels okay using technology but still stumbles with its use.
3.     Adaptation-User begins to incorporate into daily life and feels comfortable with technology.                    
4.     Appropriation-User begins to find other ways to incorporate technology into daily life for both personal and business matters.
5.     Innovation-Technology is used as a way to better parts of our lives but is not the sole tool used. User uses much more sophisticated gadgets and tools because of the purposes it must fulfill.

I am 100 %Confident!!

Personally in my technology‘career’ I feel that I am at the appropriation stage. I am extremely comfortable using different forms of technology and I know how to explore the Internet without fail. I’ve been growing up with technology though, so perhaps this comfort I feel shouldn’t come as a surprise. Since I was in grammar school I learned the basics of a computer. In high school I learned how to type while keeping my fingers on the ‘home keys’ and not looking down at my hands. My computer tech teacher in high school Mr . Tucker, used to put these shoe boxes over our hands and timed how quickly we could type the words could, should, would, etc. over and over until he called time.

…Okay, I lied. Lets knock that down to 80% confident.

I feel comfortable because I’ve been taught the basics but I’m still trying to figure out how to use technology that is still fairly new. For example: Prezi. I think that Prezi is an awesome presentation tool and I’ve wanted to learn how to use it for a very long time. So finally the opportunity has shown itself, but I am struggling a bit with all the different ways to edit. I am a child of powerpoint. I can make my titles fly into the screen with awesome car wreck sound effects. But powerpoint is so basic and boring now and I want to better the way I educate people that means upgrading to Prezi. I personally thought that Prezi was a really difficult site to manage but I just dove in and made some mistakes. Deleted my entire presentation twice but then I figured it out.  When it comes to technology you need to take risks and not be intimidadted by the system in front of you. That is why I believe younger children do so well with phones, tablets, and computers. They are so excited about what they are doing that they don’t think too much. They press buttons, get frustrated, ask for help, and just explore until they finally realize that they are masters at their device. Everyone needs to just take those risks and be brave. Our world is moving too fast to be intimidated or scared about technology. If you don’t take those risks then you will really be left behind.

 Thanks for reading! 

Until next time!!