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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.
Great personal example with Prezi. Don't give up on it, it is an awesome tool! I laughed when I read about your typing teacher and the shoeboxes- that's genius. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBy the way.....I have boxes and boxes of floppy disks- I should use them as tiles!
ReplyDelete