I might have stood before the young man but could have collapsed in tears. I didn’t. I merely told him I needed to learn to use the tablet before I left for the conference.
The girl who had originally sold it to me wasn’t at work that day. She’d been able to zip through the functions one after the other, but this fellow didn’t have a clue.
Soon, we were introduced to the company rep; neither did he have an idea how to work it. If he couldn’t, I certainly wouldn’t be able to master it.
Three days and counting.
The next day, I returned the marvelous gadget—or I’m told it’s marvelous—for a mini-lap that I would certainly be able to navigate.
Well…I used it, but it wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped. Anytime I have a new piece of technology, I have to struggle and stumble for quite some time to be able to learn how to use it.
I suppose you can teach an old dog new tricks, but it takes some doing. And I’m older than most old dogs. All of you geezers like me, how do you address this issue of learning the new technology? Whether it’s a new tablet, phone, Facebook, Twitter, blogging, or any other form of social media, how do you old coots keep up?
Any hints for this dinosaur without a clue?
4 comments:
Get a grandchild! My four-year-old grandson can navigate around his momma's cell phone quicker than a pickerel, whether it's finding and playing games, or enlarging photos. And when all else fails, paper and pencil still get my vote. Great post, Linda.
Linda, I have a degree in computers from 2001 yet things have changed so much since then, which wasn't all that long ago!!! It took me three days of constant exploring to figure out how to use my Blackberry, now I have a android. Luckily, my 25 year old daughter had one for a while and helped me figure it out. Then the new kindle, touch screen, took days to figure it all out. I still don't know everything, I'm sure. And don't get me started on the new version of MS Word! OH MY GOODNESS!!! So hang in there. Keep working with it. You'll figure it out, eventually. Next time, give your self at least six weeks before you HAVE to know how to use it...maybe???
I taught with a guy who bought or learned how to use every new tech gadget that came along. Said he wanted to stay on the cutting edge. I admired him - still do - but couldn't keep up with him. But I sure did know who to go to when I had a question. Either that fellow teacher or my son and daughter.
For on-the-go moments, I like my notebook. It's the paper kind and works well with a pencil or pen. At home my new desktop PC is a dream to keep me online, on time, and on deadline. Someday I'll splurge and get a laptop, but I've been holding off because everyone in my family has crashed at least one.
Linda,
You need a teenager. Every new tech toy should come with one. :-)
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