Friday, June 18, 2010

Techno-immigrant's brain implodes

My brain after two hours trying to keep up with the young whippersnappers. In reality, a close-up of the lobby sculpture at The Arizona Republic. The ten feet high sculpture is made of re-bar, cut and welded iron and river-polished stones.

Why, oh why do new technology training sessions try to cram two weeks of information in two hours?

The newbies sit in front of their computers, hopeful that they will learn enough before their brains run screaming to hide in a closet in the basement.

The session starts off well enough. Everyone is following along well. They have reached stage three in the process and someone has already slipped behind. The instructor's attention is elsewhere. So a neighbor steps in to help.

So far, so good. The instructor double checks that everyone is back on track, and off he goes. Another two or three steps along, and more people have fallen behind. But in a valiant bid to finish all of the lesson, the instructor keeps going. After all, at least half the students understand what is going on.

But the techno-immigrant is still on step 5, practicing until it becomes familiar. Then he looks up and realizes that 1) everyone around him is far ahead or 2) those around him are equally lost and cannot help.

Please, please, please hear the pleas of the tired old brains which cannot import and retain information like the young ones. Create three sessions, not two. One for the young, techno-savvy, one for those who learn new technologies easily, and not one, but several slower sessions for the brave, befuddled grandparents in your midst.

Nunn Winship
Warden H. S.
Warden, Wash.

6 comments:

  1. You are so right Nunn, but the horse that is last out the gate will finish first. We will not give up.

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  3. Nunn. Hahahahaha. I have told so many that the only reason I am comfortable around some forms of technology is that my students need me to be that way. But ours is the generation of pinball, foosball, some early video games and vintage cars. We kinda skipped new phones since most of us started with party lines, and don't even ask me about XBox... I rarely last three laps in those car race games... especially when someone is shooting at me or me at them.
    But computers... I just need to use what I have seen today.. about four more times or so and I will have it...
    Sam Bidleman
    Bloomsburg High School
    Bloomsburg, Pa

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  4. Love your headline, photo and comments, Nunn. I certainly share your thoughts and feelings. It's why we need each other and our students. Hang in there and we'll all cross that finish line together!

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  5. True, true, true! When I am the student as I was Friday, it makes me realize how my teen students are feeling as well.
    Partnering with students is the way to go! Let them take the lead and show you something--that too, created ownership in the paper or the yearbook. Students who know that their teachers need them as much as the students need the teachers, makes a great realtionship.
    Jodie Schommer
    Lakeside Lutheran High School
    Lake Mills, Wis

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  6. I missed that statue. It's really cool. What a great photo.

    Allison Denman
    Spring High School
    Spring, Texas

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