Sometimes I worry that if I go to the beach, some muscle-bound guy carrying the latest awesome smartphone and a sleek new tablet PC is going to kick sand in my face. In a voice that sounds like it was carved from granite by union laborers in mud-caked overalls, he would say, “What’s the matter? Don’t you know how to launch that application as an administrator and correct your registry issues?” Would I be able to defend myself? These days, I’m not so sure. It’s not that I’m a weakling—it’s that I worry I am a tech weakling.
I can’t imagine that teachers have it much differently. More and more technology is creeping into your classroom, but can you even restore factory settings on your smartphone without losing your contacts? Can you reconnect your interactive whiteboard to Wi-Fi after a hard restart without calling for help? It’s one thing to be able to use technology. It’s another thing completely to be able to do basic technology troubleshooting.
Rate yourself! We’ll use a 1 to 10 scale with 1 being a technology weakling and 10 being an unstoppable techno-wizard brainiac. I’ll give myself a 4.75. Now it’s your turn.
Sometimes the school district’s technology and materials are not up to par! Our laptops are almost 10 years old! Our teacher center is finally open and I am currently taking a tech course on flipcharts. Now I see that NY’s governor has plans to eliminate funding for teacher centers.
I believe I’m a 5!