In working with teachers and librarians, I have noticed that there seems to be an ever-growing divide between the so-called “techies” and the technology illiterate. As technology and the web become increasingly important in our day to day lives, I’m afraid that people who don’t have these skills will cease to be effective in their jobs.
In a recent blog post, Seth Godin listed several basic technology competencies. Take his little quiz. Here are a few of the questions:
- Can you capture something you see on your screen and paste it into Word or PowerPoint?
- Can you open a link you get in an email message?
- Do you have a signature in your outbound email?
- Do you fall for internet hoaxes and forward stuff to friends and then regret it?
These are really basic skills that we all need to have. If there is something on the quiz that you don’t know how to do, I encourage you to find someone to teach you. And if you know how to do these things, teach someone else who doesn’t.
Who knows? You may help someone (or yourself) remain employed!
Photo citation: Collage, uploaded on July 14, 2008 by Editor B.
I sent that same quiz to my teachers with the offer to sit down one on one to talk informally or if desired, formally. I had a few who were more techie than not seek answers to a few, but overall, most did not respond. Sigh. I thought my sharing the quiz would make more want know answers or brush up on their own skills. I think all I did was make myself seem more alien to them, and made them feel even more inadequate with reference to tech skills. But the ones who did come asking questions…well…they would have come with or with out the quiz. This quiz did not help me at all. I think it made people think I’m not on the same playing field with them. I wish I had more postive things to say, especially since I knew ALL the answers. One plus though–my principal said we should take small tips and do a five minute tech tip at the beginning of faculty meetings. That’s okay, and we are doing this, but I’m a firm believer that tips in isolation really don’t make an impact. They ONLY make an impact when the learner NEEDS them–which might explain why very few wanted to know how to do the things in the quiz in the first place.
I think you are right. We know that teaching skills in isolation doesn’t work for kids, why would it work for adults? I’m sorry you had a bad experience, but you know that teachers need these skills. Keep working and looking for opportunities to share with them!
I have blogged on this very topic. I work with a staff that are very techie and it is wonderful. They want to know all sorts of things and showing them what is available to them through the library is wonderful. But I have worked at schools were this is not the case. It is so frustrating to have teachers dig their heels in and refuse to learn tech skills or improve their technology skills. The students are so tech savvy these days that if you want to remain relevant you’d better be up there with them! Love the “remain employed” bit.
Thanks for commenting! It’s so important for us to work with the instructional technology folks to help get these people up to speed.