I had a great time today with a Spanish class at Hillyard Middle School. We used Adobe Voice (see this post or this page for more information about Voice), and we had some glitches when it came time to share and post the projects. One student (who had worked with a partner, and who had done an awesome job with their project!) had some trouble getting her video posted on the class's Padlet (more info about Padlet here). She was doing exactly the right thing, but the program wasn't responding correctly. She said (with a slightly frustrated smile), "This stuff always happens to me with technology!"
I laughed because I know exactly what she means. Who doesn't? Don't we all feel that way when it comes to technology? I turned to her and said, "If there's one thing that I've learned now that I do technology stuff all the time, it's that this stuff always happens to EVERYONE. You're definitely not alone."
She laughed and said, "I guess that's true." Finally, after the fourth try, we were able to upload her video. Woohoo! (We did have to save it to the camera roll first--the clipboard feature that we were trying to use never did work for her group.)
That's what it's like to work with technology all of the time. Technology requires us to be brave. And patient. Endlessly patient. (How interesting--and humbling--that in this one instance, our students are often so much more patient than us!) And it certainly calls for trial and error. Then more trial and error. More and more errors. And finally, on the really great days or in the best moments, it rewards us with the VICTORY that comes with a success after many, many failures.
And yet, those problem solving skills are such an important part of being a successful person, and they're a vital part of what we need to teach our students. Technology (and most especially trying new programs) gives us the opportunity to learn, to grow, and to solve problems as we fumble along in the dark, looking for the light switch. And how awesome are the days when students find that light switch first! Today, I enjoyed watching the students using the target language, coming up with creative expressions, and integrating their speaking of the language into their projects. The best part was watching them help each other and watch each other's video! They'll do great on their upcoming quiz because of the hard work and practice that they did today.
So yes, technology can be so frustrating. But it can also be so invigorating, and it can lead us to think in new, creative, collaborative ways. I just have to remind myself of those affirmations when I have a "this always happens to me with technology" day.
I laughed because I know exactly what she means. Who doesn't? Don't we all feel that way when it comes to technology? I turned to her and said, "If there's one thing that I've learned now that I do technology stuff all the time, it's that this stuff always happens to EVERYONE. You're definitely not alone."
She laughed and said, "I guess that's true." Finally, after the fourth try, we were able to upload her video. Woohoo! (We did have to save it to the camera roll first--the clipboard feature that we were trying to use never did work for her group.)
That's what it's like to work with technology all of the time. Technology requires us to be brave. And patient. Endlessly patient. (How interesting--and humbling--that in this one instance, our students are often so much more patient than us!) And it certainly calls for trial and error. Then more trial and error. More and more errors. And finally, on the really great days or in the best moments, it rewards us with the VICTORY that comes with a success after many, many failures.
And yet, those problem solving skills are such an important part of being a successful person, and they're a vital part of what we need to teach our students. Technology (and most especially trying new programs) gives us the opportunity to learn, to grow, and to solve problems as we fumble along in the dark, looking for the light switch. And how awesome are the days when students find that light switch first! Today, I enjoyed watching the students using the target language, coming up with creative expressions, and integrating their speaking of the language into their projects. The best part was watching them help each other and watch each other's video! They'll do great on their upcoming quiz because of the hard work and practice that they did today.
So yes, technology can be so frustrating. But it can also be so invigorating, and it can lead us to think in new, creative, collaborative ways. I just have to remind myself of those affirmations when I have a "this always happens to me with technology" day.